I felt as taut as a bowstring pulled, ready to release the arrow and realizing that I had to build the target I needed to hit. [loc. 1690]
Airón, prince of the Northern Empire, has been raised as an assassin: his twin sister Eonai is to marry the Emperor of the fearsome Imperium, after which Airón will kill his new brother-in-law. He doesn't expect to survive, but the Imperium must be destroyed. Except it all goes horribly wrong when Eonai and Airón are presented to Tallu, 'a viper' reportedly responsible for the deaths of his parents and younger sibling. Because Tallu decides that he will, instead, marry Airón...
Classic enemies-to-lovers plot, with the addition of a hilarious raven named Terror (Airón can talk to animals, part of his Northern heritage), some half-starved sea-serpents in the palace lake, a dragon egg -- which Airón does not treat with nearly enough care -- and a supporting cast of servants, nobles and soldiers. Because the story's told as Airón's narrative, we know as little as he does about the Emperor's true motives, which keeps Airón wrong-footed and the reader intrigued. The worldbuilding was intriguing, and the budding romance credibly slow.
I enjoyed this a great deal and instantly read the next in the series...
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