Jerielle can heal almost anything. Except the grief of burying her fated mate.

After a Fallen Angel murders her husband, Jerielle follows her mother-in-law to Starfall—a foreign kingdom of monsters ruled by a dangerously beautiful king wreathed in shadow and starlight. The Barbarian King is powerful. Feared. Cursed. And from the moment he sees Jerielle, he wants her.

Taken beneath his protection, Jerielle finds herself burning for a male she never intended to love. She has already buried the mate fate chose for her once. But fate, it seems, has chosen twice.

If the Barbarian King does not bond with his fated mate before the winter solstice, an ancient curse will consume him, leaving the beast known as the Barbarian behind forever. And with Fallen Angels gathering at Starfall’s borders, the kingdom cannot afford to lose its king. Neither can Jerielle. Because the closer she gets to the monster beneath his skin, the less she wants to cure him of it.

But loving the Barbarian King is not enough to become his bride. An ancient claim upon Jerielle must first be broken, and if the king wants the widowed healer fate has chosen for him, he will have to stand before his kingdom and claim her as his own.