A forbidden love. A sleeping fire god. A scholar who dares to wake him. Ilaris, a brilliant yet defiant scholar of the House of Scholars, has always had a gift for trouble. After one too many rule-breaking discoveries, she's exiled to the wilds to restore her reputation. Her task? To catalog the forgotten runes carved by a race long erased from history-the fire giants. But when an earthquake splits the ruins apart, Ilaris releases something far more dangerous than a myth. A chained fire giant awakens from centuries of slumber-furious, vengeful, and too beautiful to be real. His touch burns. His gaze consumes. And his desire for freedom could turn the world to ash. Bound by duty yet drawn to the very creature she unleashed, Ilaris must decide if she'll betray her order... or her heart. For readers who love: slow-burn yearning, mortal/immortal romance, mythology-rich world-building, and impossible quests with heart-wrenching stakes.