A little freedom is all I want.

That and a friend or two. But I settle for escaping to Higher Grounds coffee shop instead.

I lose myself in my artwork, and for a few hours each day, I can forget about how trapped I feel in the merkingdom as the unwanted and inconvenient niece of an angry, bitter king. If I could find a way to support myself, I could leave the lake—and Uncle Caralorn—and start fresh somewhere else.

The fates must have a sense of humor, because Ever's newest resident, an ancient vampire, offers to hire me to redo the town's welcome packet. Betmal is over-the-top charming one minute and possessively dominant the next, and it's far too easy to get lost in those flashing crimson eyes. Business meetings filled with heated looks and suggestive banter quickly prove one thing—Betmal is more than my temporary boss and more than my first friend. And he's more than happy to be the sexiest of professors in his bedroom.

When my uncle tells me he's found a suitor and I'm to be shipped off within weeks, my desperation to escape hits an all-time high. Unfortunately, leaving the lake isn't as easy as it seems. Caralorn will do anything to ensure my marriage goes off without a hitch, even if it means locking me in the lake prison until my wedding day. I'm stuck between fighting him and tearing the merkingdom apart or accepting my fate and doing my duty.

Betmal says we only have one life to live, one chance at a forever love. He says we have to take that chance even if it brings Caralorn's wrath down on the rest of Ever. But I don't want anyone to be in my uncle's crosshairs.

Duty wars with desire in the ultimate battle for my future. I can only hope we don't lose to the depths of my uncle's misery.