The Winter Veil Trilogy Series by Brynn Maddox

Touch her and die. That's the rule. Isolde Alcott has worn her curse like armor for three years. The winter veil keeps everyone at arm's length, which is exactly where she needs them. As leader of the mortal rebellion, she's spent a decade planning to kill the vampire king who murdered her mother. She doesn't need softness. She doesn't need touch. She just needs him dead. But ancient magic doesn't care what she needs... moreTouch her and die. That's the rule. Isolde Alcott has worn her curse like armor for three years. The winter veil keeps everyone at arm's length, which is exactly where she needs them. As leader of the mortal rebellion, she's spent a decade planning to kill the vampire king who murdered her mother. She doesn't need softness. She doesn't need touch. She just needs him dead. But ancient magic doesn't care what she needs. When a coronation spell marks Isolde as the fated queen of Tiberian Holt, the very monster she's sworn to destroy, she's dragged into the Palace of Shadow with a countdown carved into her bones. Forty days to marry him. Forty days to consummate a bond she didn't choose. And if she refuses? Both realms collapse into nothing. The magic is cruel in its it can sense pretense. She can't just endure his touch. She has to want it. And every day she resists, someone she loves dies in their sleep. Touch him and betray everything she believes. Don't touch him, and watch her family die one by one. Tiberian is nothing like she expected. His secrets run deeper than his sins, and his hands are gentle where they should be brutal. The mate bond pulls her closer with every passing night, and her traitorous body is starting to answer. But some truths can shatter a woman more completely than any curse. And the proof she finds about her mother's death? It will either save her or break her beyond repair. Enemies-to-lovers. Forced proximity. Touch her and die. .. unless you're the one man she's sworn to kill. 🌙 For readers who enemies-to-lovers, angst, forced proximity, devotion, dark vampire kings, heroines who rise from victim to goddess, and found family. less

She left him bleeding on a crumbling throne. The bond made sure she felt every moment of it. Isolde fled the palace with proof of betrayal burning in her chest and Tiberian's heartbreak echoing through their connection like a wound that won't close. Now she leads the mortal rebellion from a frozen mountain stronghold, pretending she doesn't feel him reaching for her across the miles. Pretending she doesn't wake gasping from dreams that aren't hers. But she's changing... moreShe left him bleeding on a crumbling throne. The bond made sure she felt every moment of it. Isolde fled the palace with proof of betrayal burning in her chest and Tiberian's heartbreak echoing through their connection like a wound that won't close. Now she leads the mortal rebellion from a frozen mountain stronghold, pretending she doesn't feel him reaching for her across the miles. Pretending she doesn't wake gasping from dreams that aren't hers. But she's changing. Her death-touch is evolving into something darker. Something hungry. The curse she thought she understood is transforming her into the very thing she's a vampire queen with ice in her veins and power she can't control. The realms are dying faster now. Reality bleeds at the edges. And when Tiberian's general is captured by enemies who want them both destroyed, Isolde has no choice but to work with him again. Even if it means sharing dreams, sharing memories, and sharing truths she never wanted to see. What she discovers in those memories changes everything. Forgiveness feels like falling. Like surrender. Like coming home to a place she burned down herself. But just as hope takes root, a darker truth emerges from the depths. The ancient evil orchestrating their suffering has a name, a face, and Isolde's blood running through her veins. Illyrianne the Undying, the first vampire queen, has been pulling their strings from her prison in the deepest underworld. The plague. The coup. The curse. The mate bond itself. All of it was designed to create a key strong enough to set her free. Their love isn't an accident. It's a weapon, and Illyrianne intends to use it. Separated lovers. Shared dreams. A truth that shatters everything. And an ancient evil who's been waiting for them all along. 🌙 For readers who enemies-to-lovers, angst, forced proximity, devotion, dark vampire kings, heroines who rise from victim to goddess, and found family. less

She was never meant to survive the underworld. She was meant to. become. it. Isolde descends into the nightmare depths with Tiberian at her side, their bond finally whole, their love finally chosen. But the first vampire queen is waiting. Illyrianne wears Isolde's face, speaks with her voice, and shows her exactly what she'll become if she claims her full power. A blood-soaked tyrant on a throne of bones. Tiberian in chains at her feet. An empire built on the corpses of everyone she ever loved... moreShe was never meant to survive the underworld. She was meant to. become. it. Isolde descends into the nightmare depths with Tiberian at her side, their bond finally whole, their love finally chosen. But the first vampire queen is waiting. Illyrianne wears Isolde's face, speaks with her voice, and shows her exactly what she'll become if she claims her full power. A blood-soaked tyrant on a throne of bones. Tiberian in chains at her feet. An empire built on the corpses of everyone she ever loved. The vision haunts her through every layer of the underworld. Through the nightmare realms where her darkest fears take flesh. Through the blood fields where Illyrianne sacrificed ten thousand mortals to build her kingdom. Through the prison-throne room, where an ancient monster offers her a. Free me, and I'll give you everything. Refuse, and I'll devour what's left of your world. Starting with him. But Isolde didn't survive a death-touch curse, a forced marriage, and her own transformation just to become another monster wearing a crown. She didn't fall in love with Tiberian just to watch him kneel. She came to rewrite the rules. In the depths where her ancestor built an empire on blood and sacrifice, Isolde will claim her birthright on her own terms. Two thrones. Two realms. One love that refuses to break. The epic conclusion to the Winter Veil trilogy. Fated mates who chose each other. Found family forged in fire. And a happily ever after that rewrites the world. 🌙 For readers who enemies-to-lovers, angst, forced proximity, devotion, dark vampire kings, heroines who rise from victim to goddess, and found family. less