The Warlord Who Chose Her

Born into nobility yet treated worse than a servant, Elowen Ashmere spends her life as a maid in her own family’s house abused, silenced, and forgotten. When her family’s greed threatens their standing, they sell her into marriage to Lord Kael Draven of Blackspire, a man rumored to be a ruthless warlord who commands terrifying void magic and leaves destruction in his wake.

Elowen expects cruelty. Death, perhaps.

Instead, she finds a man who keeps his distance, grants her safety, and demands her consent in a world that never has.

Feared by kingdoms and whispered of as a monster, Kael is an overwhelmingly powerful ruler bound by an ancient seal that threatens to consume him should he lose control. Love is a weakness he cannot afford until Elowen’s quiet resilience and unexpected kindness begin to anchor his volatile power.

As court politics tighten, rival nobles scheme, and past abusers resurface, Elowen must confront her own worth while standing beside a man whose power could reshape the world. Together, they navigate jealousy, betrayal, and desire, discovering that true strength is not found in domination but in choosing each other.

From a mistreated maid to the Lady of Blackspire, Elowen’s rise is as much about healing as it is about power. And in a kingdom ruled by fear, the most dangerous thing of all becomes a warlord who loves.

Chapter 46 — The Weight of Many Hands


The bells rang again at dawn, steady and unadorned, marking time rather than triumph.


Elowen stood at the highest terrace of the citadel, the stone still cool beneath her bare palms. Below, Blackspire unfolded into motion shutters opening, carts creaking forward, voices rising as the city remembered how to live without waiting for catastrophe.


Not because of fear, but because something inside him refused to settle. The presence from the night before lingered not as a voice, but as an awareness, like a door left ajar in the back of his mind.


Chapter 46 - The Weight of Many Hands