In this dark historical YA debut, two young men—one scarred and dutiful, the other wickedly magnetic—fall for the same young woman. But is it safe for her to love either of them back?

In exchange for land and a title, 16-year-old Ilona Csáki's father has betrothed her to the Transylvanian voivode's eldest son, 18-year-old Mircea.  Ilona is sent to the royal court, where, isolated and surrounded by backstabbing and treachery, she finds a spot of joy in her encounters with the voivode’s younger son, outgoing Vlad Dracula III, and his thoughtful cousin Andrei, both of whom immediately fall for her.

Vlad, brash and temperamental, chafes beneath his father's stern control, desperate to prove himself and step out the shadows cast by his cruel and powerful older brother. Andrei, quiet and earnest, longs to be recognized as more than just the boy obscured by Vlad's confidence. 

As the boys' feelings for Ilona grow and the shadow of an impending war looms over the court, Vlad's resentment of his brother Mircea begins to seethe into something far darker. Amidst all the upheaval and intrigue and betrayal, Ilona must find herself and decide where her feelings lie... because the deadliest battle of all may just be the one for her heart.