He was meant to fade. Until he met him.

Karrik of Skoldrith is a warrior on his last hunt. Wounded, cold, and ready to fade, he drags himself to the only shelter he can find: the crumbling ruins of a long-forgotten fortress. But he is not alone.

Bound to the stone and silence is a creature of shadow and fire—a great dragon once feared and worshipped, now little more than a ghost. The Hollow King watches Karrik with ancient eyes—curious, wary… and captivated. Against instinct and reason, he chooses to help.

And as death slowly retreats, something unexpected blooms between them: companionship in isolation, warmth in the quiet, an impossible longing, a love neither of them expected. 

But the ruins are no haven. They are a tomb, a tether, a place of power that still hungers. And the Hollow King’s time is running out.

Karrik came to die.
Now he must fight for something even rarer than survival: a future—for both of them.

Perfect for fans of The Bear and the Nightingale and The House in the Cerulean Sea – An atmospheric tale of forgotten magic, quiet healing, and the bond between a dying warrior and a dragon who was never meant to be saved.

Part 2 of The Unforgotten Duology