My Husband, the Blighted Saint

My father's funeral pyre was still warm when the marriage contract arrived. To save my ailing younger sister, Rila, from a life of poverty, I agreed to wed Lord Valerik of the Frostfang Hold - a man no one had seen in a decade. I expected a recluse, not a monster whose very touch withers life to ash. He is a prisoner in his own home, gentle in his solitude but tormented by a curse that makes any affection a death sentence. As I navigate the cold silence of our stone halls, protecting him from the zealous 'Purifiers' who hunt him, an unspoken love blooms in the space between us. I've devoted myself to finding a cure, a legendary ritual requiring a great act of selfless love. But the closer I get to the truth, the more I fear that this ancient rite isn't meant to save him. It's meant to transform him. Can I break his curse without unleashing a far deadlier power upon the world?