Shadow Born
Empyrean Book 4
Eleri has spent her life hidden from the world. Now her gift of sight may force her to choose between her only home and thousands of lives.
Ghost hero ✦ Seer heroine ✦ Stolen daughter ✦
Imaginary friend ✦ Moral choice ✦ Fantasy novella
A compact, steamy fantasy romance novella with a naive but morally brave seer heroine, a ghost hero, a gargoyle father figure, dark magic, and a complete HEA.
Vibe
Shadowy, emotional, magical, intimate, and quick to read.
Perfect For Fans Of
Ghost romance, sheltered heroines finding their agency, morally difficult magic, gothic atmosphere, and shorter fantasy reads.
Expect
A stolen daughter, a gift of sight, a ghost hero, a gargoyle father figure, dark magic, high stakes, steam, and an HEA.
Blurb
A stolen daughter.
Eleri has been sequestered from the outside world all her life, surrounded by her guardian’s minions and the gargoyle who is the only father she has ever known. Her only friend is imaginary.
Her eyes will open.
Her guardian asks her to use her gift of sight in a spell to find a lost dragonkin—no matter the cost. With thousands of lives in the balance, she will have to choose.
The only home she has ever known—or doing what she knows is right.
Shadow Born is a fantasy romance novella with a naive heroine and a ghost of a hero. There is an evil group plotting against them and steam suitable for adult readers.
This novella has no cheating and a happily-ever-after ending. It shares a continuing story with the other Empyrean books and is best enjoyed in series order.
The Empyrean Realm
Empyrean’s magic is beautiful, strange, political, and often dangerous to the people asked to wield it.
Shadow Born centers a new couple while drawing directly on the continuing conflict and lost-daughter threads of the earlier books.
It is Book 4, a 99-page fantasy romance novella, and is best read in series order.
Good for readers who want:
- A quick fantasy romance novella.
- A ghost hero and a heroine with the gift of sight.
- A sheltered heroine making a costly moral choice.
- Gargoyles, dragonkin, dark spells, and continuing realm stakes.
- A complete central HEA.
Maybe skip if:
- You want a full-length standalone with no continuing-series context.
- Ghost romance or dark magical stakes are not a fit.
- Sequestration, manipulation, or threatened mass harm are not a fit.
More About This Book
Tropes & Reader Expectations
Ghost hero; seer heroine; stolen daughter; sheltered heroine; imaginary friend becomes real; gargoyle father figure; dangerous spell; moral choice; fantasy romance novella; explicit heat; guaranteed HEA.
Content Notes
Confinement and manipulation; dark magic; threatened mass harm; fantasy violence and peril; explicit sexual content.
Full content warnings can be found here.
Reading Order
Shadow Born is Empyrean Book 4 and a 99-page novella. The romance resolves, but the story is best enjoyed after the first three books.
Book Details
Publication date: February 19, 2023
Format: Ebook, Paperback
Language: English
Print length: 99 pages
ASIN: B0BW9QFW2K
Main Characters
Eleri: A sheltered seer raised apart from the outside world who must decide whether loyalty to home matters more than doing what is right.
Thorne: The ghost Eleri believed was imaginary and the hero tied to her first real chance at love and freedom.
FAQ
Is Shadow Born a short read?
Yes. It is a 99-page fantasy romance novella.
Is the hero a ghost?
Yes. Thorne is the ghost hero Eleri once believed was an imaginary friend.
Can I start with Shadow Born?
The central romance resolves, but this novella relies more heavily on the continuing Empyrean story and is best read in order.
Does Shadow Born have an HEA?
Yes. Eleri and Thorne’s central romance resolves with a happily ever after.
How spicy is Shadow Born?
sex that waved goodbye to vanilla a few miles back; check content warnings for book-specific details.
*Reader-facing notes are used until clean review excerpts are available.