A Strange and Stubborn Endurance

Velasin vin Aaro, a nobleman from Ralia—a land where relationships between men are forbidden—finds his arranged marriage to a girl from neighboring Tithena upended after a confrontation reveals his preference for men. The Tithenai envoy proposes an alternative: that Velasin instead wed Caethari Aeduria, the brother of his former intended. Caethari, long resigned to the possibility of a political marriage, is caught off guard by the sudden betrothal. As a hidden faction proves willing to kill to sabotage the new alliance, the two men must learn to trust one another to survive. The novel explores themes of gender, identity, and self-worth against a backdrop of intricate court politics.