The Binder’s Secret

Lilith is a Spirit Binder, heir to a bloodline sworn to guide the restless dead to the afterlife. To fully awaken her gift, she must complete fifty bindings. On the night of her first, a wealthy widow, Lady Beatrice, bursts into the chapel with a sack of gold, begging her to bind the souls of her twin sons, Silas and Elias, who drowned together. A dual binding is rare and dangerous, but the fortune offered could save Lilith's ailing mother and restore the family to their ancestral home in Avalor.

Before the ritual, Lilith's mother cancels a childhood betrothal and reveals the craft's most important secret, speaking of unused Life Essence and warning her to be careful. At the manor, Lilith performs the vows in her scarlet robes, then enters the chamber where the two bodies lie. Lady Beatrice confesses that Silas is her true son and Elias her nephew, and offers more gold if their crossing is smooth. Alone with the dead, Lilith finds Elias breathtaking, and a wicked thought takes hold as she begins the exchange.