Violet_167

Isabella Beaumont figured she was making a smart, if desperate, trade: her freedom in exchange for marrying the dreaded Duke Alaric Thorne. 
Sure, the guy had a reputation darker than a moonless night, whispered about in every corner of the kingdom, but it was just a contract, right? A way to escape a brutal past that had literally left its mark on her face. 
She wasn’t expecting warmth, and definitely not passion. But then Alaric, this formidable, feared man, starts acting… protective. His unexpected kindness will make her want to throw away her protective mask and actually fall for the man who was supposed to be just her ticket to freedom. 
Just as Isabella starts believing she might actually deserve happiness, everything begins falling apart around them.
With the villains on the loose, old wounds being ripped open, and everyone’s true colors showing, is this sudden, fierce love strong enough to survive the storm? Or will the darkness from their pasts and the deadly games shatter everything they’re starting to build?

The Masked Duchess

The carriage bounced roughly over yet another rut, jolting me against Alaric's shoulder. The morning mist still clung to the dense trees flanking our path, turning the world around us into a hazy dreamscape. We'd been traveling for hours, leaving the manicured roads of civilization behind for increasingly narrow, overgrown tracks.


"I apologize for the rough ride, Your Grace," said Cassian Vance from his seat across from us. The head of Alaric's security detail hadn't relaxed his vigilant posture since we'd departed Lockwood Manor before dawn. "These northern roads aren't maintained like those near the capital."


"I suspect that's precisely why my mother chose this location," I replied softly, gazing out at the wild, untamed landscape. The perfect place to disappear.


Alaric's hand found mine, his thumb tracing reassuring circles against my palm. "How are you holding up?"


Chapter 117 - Journey into the Shadowlands