A Bride of Salt and Starlight

She can hear his heart. It is the one part of him that cannot lie. Princess Mira of Qaryssa has spent her life reading star charts, not men. When the gruff chief of the Twelve Clans asks for her hand to seal a peace, he does it in an unsigned letter. Mira agrees on one condition: they will follow the old desert custom and cross the deep desert together to the Well of Seven Stones. At the well, either of them can refuse. Zahir wants water for his people and an alliance that will hold. He does not want a palace princess. Then Mira's gift awakens. She can hear every heartbeat around her, and his speeds up whenever she comes near. Her exiled brother is loose in the sands. A rival chief wants war, and a traitor remains in the palace. Between the desert crossing, the danger at home, and one tent, Mira and Zahir must decide what they want when neither of them owes the other a yes. A Desert Fantasy Romance — Arranged marriage · Grumpy/sunshine · He falls first · Forced proximity · Happy ending AI disclosure: Most of the text was generated by AI agents from the author's ideas and with his assistance.