Will a warrior choose to give his heart to the beautiful enemy he has captured?
Rafek Morroson is a warrior known for his bravery and strength. While alone in the forest, he encounters a man he believes to be an outlander spy from a rival hold. The man's name is Shoro, and he has the look of a male concubine: pretty, delicate, and lean. Capturing Shoro when he's bathing in the river unaware is an easy matter, but things grow complicated when Rafek learns the man he has taken is neither a spy nor a concubine. Shoro is an artist—a sculptor who carves beautiful statues from marble—and he would rather rot away in the dungeon than return home. Rafek has no use for artists. He has even less use for men as small and soft as women. He prefers his lovers to be as strong and virile as he is. Only he can't get the pretty little artist out of his mind or deny how his hands ache to touch Shoro and his lips to taste him. But Shoro is running from demons of his own, and no promise from Rafek may be enough to make him feel safe.
Shoro Bardell barely managed to flee with his life from an abusive noble patron. He has lived for years under the control of Korodon, a brutal lord who believes he owns Shoro, body and soul. Desperate not to be sent back to Korodon, he agrees to sculpt a statue for Rafek's brother, the lord of Earvek, and satisfy the man's huge ego. But Rafek is a different man than his brother. He might be far from handsome, but he is strong, powerful, honorable...and when Shoro is with him, he feels safe for the first time in his life. He never thought he would find a good man to love, but perhaps the gods are finally taking pity on him. But when Korodon comes searching for Shoro, all his talent and all Rafek's strength might not be enough to keep them safe from lies and betrayal...
Reader note: contains m/m fantasy romance themes including male male love and intense emotional elements.
