She runs her arena with ruthless ambition, pitting warriors against deadly monsters—until a half-frozen gladiator crawls out of a blizzard and into her control.

Malina Questhen has spent a decade building The Black Hearth from blood and grit. She survives by keeping her distance, staying in command, and never wanting anyone she can’t afford to lose. But her patrons crave more carnage, her fighters are dwindling, and without change she’ll lose her chance to reopen Frosthall, the ancient arena that could secure her future. So when a mysterious gladiator appears in the midst of a blizzard and becomes hers to command, she sees the champion her crowds crave—if she can nurse him back to health.

Waythorn speaks little, remembers less, and moves with the eerie stillness of someone barely human, yet she feels his unspoken attention lingering on her skin. Soon she will discover his obedience is a facade to disguise the fatal goal that drove him into her arena.

After a disastrous fight night forces Malina into a dangerous, intimate bargain with him, their lives become entangled far beyond the sands. If she can uphold her side of the deal, she could finally have Frosthall and secure the future she’s bled for. But the closer she grows to Waythorn, the harder it becomes to ignore the pull between them.

Falling for a man whose fate is written in blood on sand is the one mistake she can’t afford—because keeping her promise will mean losing him forever.

The Black Hearth by Eddy Rose is a dark fantasy romance that blends the brutal spectacle of Gladiator with the grimdark mystery of The Witcher—then sets it on fire with a steamy, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers arc. If you crave a mature, ruthless heroine, a quiet, haunted gladiator, and a world dripping with blood and ruin, The Black Hearth is for you.

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