A Marriage of Convenience. Happiness Cannot Be Commanded

An ordinary trip to a shelter for gifted orphans leads Princess Orlova into the hands of a master of blood and dark arts. The nightmare that has haunted her in dreams since her student days returns, threatening the princess and her loved ones. For the sake of her family, Olga is willing to make any sacrifices—even to swap bodies with the master’s blood disciple and run away to marry a stranger. Of course, nobody asked the girl’s consent and no one warned her that in a marriage of convenience, love isn’t part of the plan.

In her home world, Tatyana’s life was cut short suddenly, and in the new world she met a bloody ritual in which she became an unwilling executioner. Tane couldn’t bring herself to sacrifice a noble girl to take her place. But she had the strength to deal with the monster that had dragged everyone into this madness. Now both participants of the ritual must face the assassins’ clan.

A task that is practically impossible—unless the girls learn to trust each other and find strong defenders who will come to help at the first call.

Another story from the “Talisman for the Prince” cycle. Standalone. It intersects with other books only through shared world realities.