The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy (Dearly Beloathed)

Osric is a lethal operative of the Fyren Order, an assassin guild defined by blood and coin, while Aurienne is a Haelan, a scholar-healer sworn to the preservation of life. Their worlds are built on rigid, opposing moralities: one kills, the other cures. When their paths collide, Osric begins to rely on Aurienne to mend his broken body, but each illicit healing session beneath the full moon threatens to dismantle the boundaries protecting their hearts.

As Osric finds himself inexplicably drawn to the woman who represents everything he is not, Aurienne struggles to reconcile her duty with a burgeoning, dangerous attraction to a man who lives by the blade. Their tentative, high-stakes connection is thrust into turmoil when they uncover the truth behind a ravaging plague sweeping through the Tīendoms. Realizing the sickness is a calculated weapon unleashed by a sinister, unseen power, they are forced into an uneasy alliance.

Caught between the demands of their respective Orders and an undeniable, forbidden chemistry, Osric and Aurienne must navigate a landscape of shifting loyalties. In a world where light and dark are beginning to bleed together, the pair discovers that the greatest threat to their survival—and their souls—may be each other.