A prophecy foretold that King Vaelthorn would find his weakness the moment he found his mate.

Born with the power to wield fire, Vaelthorn is feared throughout the fae realm—but even power cannot protect him from fate.

When he learns of a prophecy predicting that his mating bond will become his greatest weakness, he takes drastic measures to prevent it from ever coming true.

Among the fae, a mating bond can only be forged through skin-to-skin contact.

So Vaelthorn makes sure no one ever touches him.

Then Skyler falls through the veil.

A human from another world, Skyler never intended to enter the fae realm. She was searching for her missing brother when she and her boyfriend wandered somewhere they shouldn't have—and were captured by the feared Fae King himself.

Vaelthorn is certain the strange human knows more than she's telling him.

Until his fire fails to burn her.

Determined to uncover the truth, he sends Skyler to the dungeon and commands his most powerful magic users to test her resistance.

They succeed.

His magic does not.

And when frustration finally drives Vaelthorn to tear off his glove and touch her skin, he discovers the horrifying truth.

The woman he tortured.

The human who has every reason to hate him.

The one person he was willing to destroy to protect himself from prophecy...

Is his mate.

But humans don't form mating bonds.

Vaelthorn may be irrevocably bound to Skyler, but she feels nothing for him except hatred. And with nowhere else to turn in a dangerous world she doesn't understand, she must rely on the very man responsible for everything she's endured.

Winning her forgiveness may prove far more difficult than winning her heart.

Especially when Skyler's missing brother—and the enemy Vaelthorn has spent his life preparing to destroy—may be closer than either of them realizes.