The Marked Court Series by Brenda Oritz

He was never meant to want her.She was never supposed to survive him.Every generation, one girl is Marked.Branded by magic and fate, she’s offered to the monstrous Courts—gifts of flesh meant to keep peace between realms. When Aria is chosen, she doesn’t beg. She doesn’t cry.She makes a she will never kneel.But the Warlord of the Midnight Court is no ordinary monster. Kairon is ancient, winged, bound by blood-oaths and darkness. He expects obedience... moreHe was never meant to want her.She was never supposed to survive him.Every generation, one girl is Marked.Branded by magic and fate, she’s offered to the monstrous Courts—gifts of flesh meant to keep peace between realms. When Aria is chosen, she doesn’t beg. She doesn’t cry.She makes a she will never kneel.But the Warlord of the Midnight Court is no ordinary monster. Kairon is ancient, winged, bound by blood-oaths and darkness. He expects obedience.What he gets is a defiant blacksmith’s daughter who challenges him at every turn—who sparks something inside him he thought long dead.Their bond was never meant to awaken.Their desire was never meant to burn.But as political unrest simmers, ancient power stirs, and the truth behind the Offering glyphs begins to unravel, Aria and Kairon must surrender to a fate written in blood—or forge a new one in fire.One that could break the realm.Or remake it in their image. less