In the brutal world of the Shadow Covenant, Commander Thaddeus Nightborne follows one strict rule: never claim the same healer twice. Emotions make fighters weak, attachments create vulnerabilities—this is the creed that keeps him alive in the endless war against the Feral corruption.
Until Rowan Emberthorn's healing touch woke something primal in him.
The night she finished her healer's rites, Rowan's essence changed into something Thaddeus had never encountered. For four intoxicating months, he broke every rule he'd ever made, returning to her healing room night after night with a hunger that terrified him. Rowan thought their connection transcended the Covenant's cold laws—that she was finally the one who could reach the unreachable Commander's frozen heart.
Then the visions came—prophetic dreams showing her carrying his child. Days later, Thaddeus revealed his blood-binding to Lyanna Stormweaver, the War Council's chosen bride, sealing an alliance that would save thousands from the Feral advance.
Shattered and carrying his secret heir, Rowan fled into the Borderlands with nothing but her healer's pride and unborn child. She found unexpected refuge with Dante—a mysterious exile who taught her daughter to control powers that shouldn't exist.
Four years later, Thaddeus finally tracks her down, his sanity fractured by an obsessive hunt across hostile regions. But when Rowan refuses to return, Dante reveals a truth that changes everything: he's Thaddeus's blood-brother, and a forbidden Eclipse Ritual bound their life forces together in youth. Rowan isn't caught between two men—she's the third point of an ancient death-binding that triggers only once every century.
Now, choosing one mate will actually drain the other's life force, while the War Council hunts them for harboring the Eclipse Child—a daughter whose existence could either save the Covenant from corruption or destroy it entirely.

I pulled shadows from the darkness and wrapped them around our cabin like armor.


It wouldn't stick. Not against hundreds of Ferals lead by a corrupted Eclipse Queen. But it might buy us thirty seconds. Maybe a minute if we were lucky.


"Daddy-Dante?" Ember's small voice shook. "Are we gonna die?"


"No, little flame." I knelt beside her, pushing my voice to stay calm even though my heart was breaking. "I won't let anything happen to you."


Thaddeus stood at the window, watching the Feral mob charge closer. His troops had scattered—only five remained, and they looked ready to run. Cowards.


"The plan is we're dead," I said simply. "Unless you've got an army hidden somewhere."


Rowan grabbed my arm, her fingers digging in tight. "There has to be something. Your shadow-walking—can you get us out?"


Chapter 7 - The Blood-Brother Returns