The Knight of the Trove (Knights of Mellora, #1)

What if the princess didn't want to be rescued from the dragon?

As the well-trained knight of a dragon's trove, former princess Nesrin would rather fight off suitors than invite one in. Twelve years ago, Nesrin's uncle murdered her mother and stole her deceased father's throne. Nesrin lived under her uncle's brutal thumb for years until she was rescued by a benevolent dragon. Now a grown woman, she protects herself and the dragon trove from the interloping "rescuers" her uncle sends to retrieve her so he can marry her off to the highest bidder.

In a neighboring kingdom, Kas was forced to take monastic orders when he was a child, but the handsome monk volunteered when his country needed someone to find the lost artifact Nesrin's uncle seeks: a magical golden casket rumored to make any army invincible. Forbidden from fighting by his vows but desperate to do his part in the coming war, he arrives on Nesrin's doorstep with a quest she can't refuse. If they can find the casket first, the nations united against her uncle's iron rule might have a fighting chance.

As Nesrin and Kas are pursued by the enemy through a dangerous world, their budding trust blooms into a love Nesrin never wanted and Kas is forbidden to feel. But when the casket falls into the hands of the enemy and an evil far worse than Nesrin's uncle is unleashed, Nesrin and Kas must trust their love and work together to imprison it before the world burns.

This high fantasy romance delivers a slow-burn, forbidden love between a sword-wielding knight and her cinnamon roll monk. Funny and heartfelt, this series-opening quest takes readers across the dangerously beautiful world of Mellora, through foreign palaces, sprawling libraries, into the den of manticores, the bedroom of a knight, and finally to a showdown between good and evil.