The Gilded Cage I Called a Heart

Brina Volos was once the most promising cartographer in the Vessian Royal Guild, famed for her ability to chart the unchartable. But after a catastrophic public failure, she is disgraced, stripped of her rank, and left with nothing but her sarcastic wit and a desperate need to redeem herself. Her only hope is the legendary Sunken Map of Orov, a relic rumored to reveal any hidden truth. Her quest leads her into the treacherous Glimmerwood, where a sudden storm forces her to take shelter in a forgotten, eerily silent manor. The master of the estate is Lord Kestian, a man afflicted by a terrible curse: his touch is instant death to all living things. Bound to his decaying home, Kestian has resigned himself to a life of bitter isolation, with only a mischievous, light-weaving creature for company. Brina, convinced the map is hidden within the manor's walls, agrees to stay. As they cautiously navigate their shared confinement, an unexpected warmth blossoms between the cynical map-maker and the lonely lord. But the curse is not what it seems, and the 'artifact' she’s hunting for is far more complex than a piece of parchment. Can Brina uncover the true nature of Kestian's curse before zealous knights, eager to slay the 'Glimmerwood Blight,' destroy them both?