enemies to lovers · resistance healer · imperial ruler · medical drama · war setting · complex relationship · moral conflict · fantasy romance · hidden identity
The air in the hidden hospital reeked of copper and fear. Arden Vanderbilt, heir to a ruthless empire, sat in a claimed room, a rebel’s knife wound seeping blood through his tunic. Outside, the echoes of slaughter faded. The door burst open. A soldier shoved a woman inside—Azalea, the head doctor. Her clothes were stained, her eyes burning with fury, yet her composure was iron. She glared at her captors, then at him. Light blonde hair, ice-blue eyes. In the midst of ruin, she was ethereal. Arden, despite the carnage he’d ordered, felt his breath catch. She was beautiful. Dangerously so. She approached, professional mask firmly in place, ignoring the blood on her hands and the death in her gaze. "I was told you were injured," she said, voice steady. Arden stared, struck not by pain,…