What Darkness Brings (The Ballad of Beating Hearts), Jenna Wolfhart

The gods are dead. The stars have vanished. And the Order controls all magic.

Angharad Morgan has served them for as long as she can remember. She raises the recently dead to steal their secrets, a skill that has earned her a coveted place within the castle walls and the trust of the inner circle. Until she reveals a hidden power no one knew she had: she can kill by touch.

Now they see her as a threat.

To earn back their favor, Angharad travels to the windswept coast to hunt a dangerous exile, learn his secrets, and use her power against him. But he’s seen her in his dreams, and he’s been expecting her.

He takes her captive in his tower just as it comes under attack.

Bound by mysterious magic, they’re forced to work together against an unknown enemy, racing to find a relic that could heal the broken sky and awaken the dead gods.

She wants to trust him—and surrender to the irresistible pull between them—but believing him might be the most dangerous choice she can make.

Now the Order is coming for them both. Angharad must choose between the only world she’s ever known…and the man who makes her want to break it.

What Darkness Brings is the first book in a slow-burn, high-stakes romantasy duology that's perfect for readers who crave morally gray characters and heroines forced to choose between loyalty and love.