A strange set of circumstances has brought two separated lovers back together. Will they rekindle their love or end up killing each other?
Theodosius
Theodosius was a cervid shifter in training to be a Thorn - a shifter who dedicates their life to the protection of all cervids. Thorns are the most well-trained, fearless, and strongest shifters of the preternatural world, both in human and animal form. Theodosius had always wanted to be a Thorn. He'd never thought of anything else.
Until he met Sabina.
Although forbidden by cervid law, the two became lovers. When Sabina abruptly left not only the Thorn training center but also cervid life altogether, Theodosius promised himself that once he attained the rank of Sharpened Thorn, he'd seek her out and demand she marry him. The Sharpened Thorn is the only position among the ranks that can marry.
Sabina
Sabina was on track to become the first female Thorn in the last hundred years. Her life consisted of nothing but training. Her entire sense of self was wrapped up in becoming a Thorn. When disaster struck, Sabina walked away from her position expecting Theodosius to follow her.
He didn't.
Heartbroken and alone, she took her training as a Thorn and became a private investigator working mostly with unsuspecting humans. Her keen senses, quick reflexes, strength, and speed gave her an advantage in the profession, and soon word got out even among the hidden magical community. Fae, druids, witches, dryads, and even other shifters would seek her out for help. But when a cervid shifter requested aid, Sabina found herself face to face with Theodosius again.
She can't risk being around this male. Her heart wouldn't survive another bad ending between them. But there's more going on than Theodosius wanting her attention. A Blackened Seed, a messenger from the Winter Gods, has emerged, and she needs assistance in fulfilling the gods' will. This might even start a civil war among the cervids.
How could a girl say no to that?
