‘What’s so funny?’ she snapped.

He wanted to brush away that sweaty hair from her nape and kiss her there. His fingers remembered the heat and silk of her skin when he’d unfastened her dress. The scent of her, warm and rich, still lived in his mind. He wanted to lick the salt from her skin.

Remember you can’t have her. ‘Nothing,’ he said. ‘At all.’ He stood and extended his hand. ‘Your vessel awaits.’

–

In a realm where magic has vanished and a kingdom teeters on the brink, Ember Hart, a master thief with a hidden past, is thrust into a strange new world and a destiny she never sought. Anointed as ‘the Promised One’, she is bound by a twisted prophecy into an unholy union with the kingdom’s beastly prince. Rumours of his brutality haunt the palace halls.

But Ember is no sacrificial lamb.

Forming a precarious alliance with the dangerous Rhaell, Captain of the Guard, Ember seizes the chance to return home by helping to restore the kingdom’s lost magic. In this land of danger and desire, can she reclaim her freedom or, with every barb and bated breath, will her growing awareness of Rhaell risk everything she yearns for?

–

‘A vibrant magical world, woven throughout with Johnson's trademark wit, snark and spice’ Ruth Frances Long

'The story had me hooked from the beginning—there’s magic, drama, romance, and some great twists that kept me guessing.' ★★★★★

'The Promised Queen by Kate Johnson is a one in a lifetime book!' ★★★★★

'Heart pounding adventure with a thief searching for stones to complete a heart.' ★★★★★