The Oath Unbroken

Kalen Roseblade is drowning. Three months ago, his brother died in a fire Kalen couldn't reach in time. Now he moves through the motions of his trainee life at the Roseblade seat, eating when reminded, training until exhaustion silences the guilt, waiting for something to make him feel like living again. Then Anastasie Lemaître arrives: a noblewoman whose family's territory was conquered, who walked through a war zone to reach safety, who refuses to break no matter how much the world tries to shatter her. When Kalen is assigned to the escort bringing her home, he expects a straightforward mission. Deliver the lady. Return. Keep breathing. But something is wrong in Lemaître territory. The villages watch with the wrong expressions. The expected allies never appear. And the deeper they travel, the clearer it becomes: they're not delivering Anastasie home. They're delivering her into a trap. When everything falls apart, Kalen discovers something stirring inside him. Speed he shouldn't possess. Strength beyond his training. A fire in his chest that pushes him past every limit he's known. He doesn't understand what's happening to him. He only knows that the woman who made him want to live again is in danger, and he will tear through anyone who tries to stop him from reaching her. The Oath Unbroken is the first book in a progression fantasy series about grief, survival, and discovering what you're capable of when everything you have left is on the line.