He demanded a sacrifice. She offered him a choice. But some fires refuse to be caged.
For a hundred years, the starving village of Windfell has paid the brutal Ember Tithe. To keep the cruel Crown’s peace and spare their lands from winter’s wrath, a tribute must be sent up the treacherous ash road to the Spire, never to return. When the bell tolls and the terrified village threatens to tear itself apart, Mira Reed does the unthinkable to save her younger brother.
She speaks her own name. She volunteers.
Expecting to be devoured by a mindless beast, Mira steps into the volcanic heat of the Spire—only to find a prison, and a prisoner.
The legendary “dragon” of the mountain is Torin Ember. Bound by cold-iron chains and suffocating magical circles forged by a vicious court mage, Torin is a fiercely protective, dangerously handsome cursed prince fighting a daily, agonizing battle against the explosive heat trapped beneath his skin. He has spent years in the dark, isolating himself to keep from becoming the weapon the Crown demands him to be.
But Mira knows what it means to starve, and she refuses to cower in the dark. Armed with pragmatic brilliance, steady hands, and an unyielding stubbornness, she refuses to be his captive. Instead, she becomes his anchor. She teaches the tormented prince how to harness his terrifying fire through breath and focus, replacing his isolation with an intoxicating, slow-burn connection.
As the undeniable, sizzling tension between the mortal girl and the dragon shifter ignites into a scorching forbidden romance, the Crown’s evil forces descend to tighten Torin’s leash. To break the curse, save her valley, and free the man who has claimed her soul, Mira must stand in the heart of the flames and face down an empire.
Can a village girl with no magic unmake a century-old curse, or will the dragon’s fire consume them both?
If you love brooding cursed princes, fiercely pragmatic heroines, and sweeping magic that will leave you breathless, step into the Ember Spire.
Tropes you will love in this book:
Beauty and the Beast Retelling
Sizzling Slow Burn Romance
Brooding Dragon Shifter / Cursed Prince
Forced Proximity & Captive to Lovers
“Touch Her and You Die” Protector Energy
Fierce, Competent, Ordinary Human Heroine
Hidden Magic & Curse Breaking
Evil Empire / Oppressive Crown
Healing Trauma & Found Family
