Lark Hollow never believed in old stories-until a red cord burns itself around her wrist and drags her into a palace that breathes. Across stone halls threaded with iron and salt, the immortal court watches with smiling hunger. The hedge that haunts the borders of their realm wants one thing: a living mouth to speak through... and Lark is the perfect hinge. Rowan-the palace's grim ferryman and keeper of thresholds-should treat her like a problem to lock away. Instead, he offers something more dangerous than protection: choice. But every vow has a price, and the closer Lark and Rowan grow, the more the hedge presses at the seams of her life-reaching for her family, her voice, and the one door she can't afford to open. Because in this realm, words become law. And Lark is done being anyone's key. Thornkissed is a dark, atmospheric fantasy romance full of living magic, dangerous bargains, slow-burn tension, and a heroine who learns to hold the leash-before the leash holds her.