The Blade of Severed Bonds (Smoke and Shadow #4)

A blade, a bargain, and a curse.Adrienne wants nothing more than to hone her skills in the forge, find an apprenticeship, and save enough to one day study her magic at the shadow temple. She’s worked tirelessly to complete the sword that will be her ticket out of Calcheth and the oppression of Lord Irazin.

Until that blade is taken from her.

Every month, Irazin steals from his people in order to lay an offering to the shadow wolf that stalks their streets, but Adrienne refuses to lose her greatest achievement. Armed with nothing but stubborn determination, she braves the night to steal back her sword.

Only to find someone else is there stealing it first.

If she wants it back, she’ll have to make a deal. Can she trust this stranger's offer of protection, or will she trade one tyrant for another?

A loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast, TBOSB is a short romantasy novella featuring a dyslexic, plus-size heroine and despite having some dark elements, ends with a HEA. This is part of the larger Smoke and Shadow world but is not required to understand the series. Also includes deleted and bonus scenes from the previous books.

This story was previously published in From The Relics of Legends and Lore. While the plot remains the same, this version contains a consensual romantic scene and additional sub-plots that did not make it into the short story.