Bride of Stone (The House Averre, #1)

She's a princess married off against her will. He's the guard delivering her to the altar.

The powerless sister to a volatile crown prince, Estegonde Averre has spent her whole life surviving at court. But when her brother's schemes leave her betrothed to a vicious nobleman, she must leave her cutthroat family home and travel to the estate of her husband-to-be – accompanied by his most dutiful guard.

Gon knows she shouldn't trust a man loyal to her horrendous betrothed. But Errik Eirikson isn't the brute she expected; he's quiet, ruggedly handsome, and uncannily determined to tend to her every wish even when she tries to guard her heart. Worse, he saves her life the very first night of their journey, when a mysterious assassin comes for her head.

As the royal family turns against itself and rivals move to eliminate Gon before her wedding can take place, Errik soon becomes the last man she can trust. And the more she learns about the secrets behind his unreadable grey eyes, the harder it becomes to ignore the dangerous attraction between them.

But Gon is promised to another. Errik is sworn to obey his lord. Falling in love would be treason … and to the House Averre, treason means death.

Bride of Stone is a standalone princess x bodyguard romantasy taking place in the world of the Runewitch Saga, thirty years before the events of The Death-Made Prince. While it's as slow a burn as possible for a shorter story, it does contain spicy content intended for 18+ readers.