When his younger sister is propositioned by the Tyrant King, Aster steps in to take her place. Just when he fears he must face this fate alone, the King assigns Rowan the Black to protect him—an Enforcer Knight with a tortured past. Despite his cruel reputation, Aster can't shake the feeling that Rowan is familiar to him. Haunted by memories of his lost childhood sweetheart, Jace, Aster must now navigate a veritable political chess game he wasn't at all prepared for. 

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“Flowers like the rose are needed for so many reasons,” Aster said. “The ground needs their roots, bees need their pollen, and animals need their leaves. So they do what they can to survive, by any means necessary. Does that mean a rose is evil for growing thorns?” He looked up at Rowan.

Rowan kept his eyes on the rose. He didn’t seem convinced. “A single rose has never caused as much pain as I have, Aster.”

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Broken Vows is created by Alex Agar, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author. 

BRoken Vows

A couple days passed quite unlike they did before. 


Aster was quite aware of every minute that passed this time, thanks to the hole in his leg. Physick Hellena did a wonderful job stitching him up, though no one but Jace could’ve pulled the forsaken thing out without Aster pitching a fit. Only Jace. Now, sewn up and sipping Hellena’s poppyseed tea to help dull the pain, Aster could walk a little more each morning. 


Still, it was agony. Not just his wound, but being in the temple. The number of refugees that made it to the sanctuary and survived the wildfire was dwindling by the day. The Keepers sent more bodies down the river to join the gods than Aster wanted to count. 


Chapter 48: The Gentle Queen