Aesylt watched her father and brother, along with half their village, massacred by the vengeful king when she was only eight. This violence thrust her into the role of leading their people through the aftermath, until her other brother suddenly returns a decade later to resume the mantle of stewardship, leaving her without a purpose.

But then another man enters her life: Duke Rahn Tindahl, a reserved scholar from the king’s court who has traveled to their village to help with the ambitious task of creating the first encyclopedia of their kingdom.

By the light of an evening fire, Rahn asks Aesylt to be his disciple. With stars in her eyes, she eagerly accepts.

Together, they chart the celestial skies, finding shared passion in studying, learning, and friendship. But when their curriculum shifts to a more intimate subject, it shakes the foundation of everything they’ve built.

Determined to forge a path as a scholar, there’s nothing Aesylt won’t do in the name of their research. Rahn, however, knows there are some boundaries they should never cross.

Then Aesylt is publicly accused of using dark magic, and a violent coup forces them to flee to another village, conveniently affording them all the privacy they need.

For the science, they whisper, as their illicit research escalates, as they risk everything.

Because the forbidden feelings they’ve been secretly battling have been waiting for just such an opportunity.

And not all boxes, once opened, can be closed again.

 

The Duke and the Disciple is an age gap, teacher/student romance, featuring Duke Rahn and Aesylt, characters first introduced in The Claw and the Crowned. It is the second story in the Sceptre Cycle of The Book of All Things, but can also be enjoyed as a standalone.

The Sceptre Cycle:
Stolen thrones, love triangles, arranged marriages, and fractured duty from the descendants of Ilynglass (high heat)
The Claw and the Crowned
The Duke and the Disciple