“After a lifetime of noise, you arrived like silence. I love you with every fiber of my being, little doe.”
Bambi Sometimes the monster is the person who’s supposed to love you the most. Growing up in a cult taught me that lesson early. Trust no one—especially men.
I’ve lived by those words ever since I escaped. For the first time since I was a little girl, I finally felt safe. Then the snakes came, shattering the life I’d fought so hard to build.
Now I’ve been thrust into a world I never knew existed, and to make matters worse, a man insists I belong to him.
Been there. Heard that. Didn’t stay for the T-shirt. Most of my friends have found their happily ever after with their Ruks.
Even my best friend insists I’m making a mistake by pushing mine away—that finding your person is worth the risk, and I’ll regret it forever if I don’t give him a chance.
I’ve never known what it feels like to be loved. But maybe… Maybe it’s time I find out.
Bikar
My body has been twisted into an abomination that defies the laws of nature.
After everything the Aynar did to me—and after the sins I’ve committed against my own brother—I never believed the gods of Ruk would bless me with a Starshine. Then they gave me her.
She is the purest soul I’ve ever known. My heart. My future. Everything I never realized I was missing. The only problem? She can’t bear to look at me.
She trembles when I get too close, hides behind her friends when I try to speak to her, and flinches as though I’m the very monster she fears.
If earning her trust means abandoning every rule of courtship I’ve ever known… then so be it.
Because all I want is the chance to love her. And, if the gods are merciful… To have her love me in return.
This is the final installment in the Brigands of Ruk series.
