Swept up in political intrigue, an assassin and a princess embrace a passionate love in this fourteenth-century romance by a New York Times–bestselling author.
As the last unmarried princess of Monteverde, Elayne is trapped in a marital bond when her hand is promised to the land’s ruler. On the voyage to meet her future husband, she is captured by Allegreto Navona—the living embodiment of the dark angel she’s seen in dreams. Endowed with godlike beauty, his eyes burn bright with sin. A woman of modesty would flee such a man. But try as she might, a wanton hunger binds her to his side . . .
Trained as an assassin, Allegreto is the bastard son of an ambitious lord who raised him to murder for control of Monteverde. Now that his father is dead, if Allegreto can make Elayne his wife, it will cleanse his tainted blood, and the country will be his, but she is no mere maiden to be possessed. Unexpectedly, he falls in love with her, finding in her quick mind and azure eyes the conqueror of his heart. But will his dark past scare her off?
With a legendary ability to create lovers you’ll never forget, the author of Flowers from the Storm offers a lively historical romance.
A fatally dangerous man-and the woman who stands in the way of all he has ever desired . . . Beautiful and ruthless, the elegant assassin Allegreto will stop at nothing to regain his rightful place. And the perfect instrument has just fallen into his hands, in the lovely form of Lady Elena-the long-lost princess of the land he intends to wrest back from his enemies. But she is no mere maiden to be possessed. Even as he forces her to bend to his will, in the heat of desire and fury Elena finds the hidden power in her own soul, a merciless passion and command that will bring her dark lover to his knees.
“Laura Kinsale’s work is unfailingly brilliant and beautiful.” —Julia Quinn
“A deeply emotional, heartrending love story . . . a tormented hero and engaging heroine, dark pasts and midnight fears, eloquent prose and page‑turning pacing . . . a masterpiece of romantic fiction.” —Romantic Times