Badmouths, Bards, and Their Bodyguard

Tala—born Taldesa—serves the truth-seeking Valiant Circle as a monk who would rather land a blow than wait for a tidy explanation.

Her superiors still expect composure, even as her best friend Avie goes missing and her newest charge arrives: the famous water halfen bards of Cashmere Fantasy.

Ameriden is smug, Casimine is charming, and staying professional in such close quarters proves nearly impossible when both men pull at her attention.

Pressure from their past starts to crowd the fame they have earned.

Then she learns something she never expected, and her duty, the bards, and her own certainty all come into doubt.

For a monk already used to bending her order’s rules, these two may be the line she will not hold.