The Final Steep

He's a murdered prince with seven days before he becomes a monster. She's an outcast necromancer who might be his only hope.

Teyra Tepes brews tea for the dead. Kicked out of the Academy for feeling too much, she scrapes by running a crumbling tea shop in Athergard's poorest district, helping ordinary ghosts say their final goodbyes. Her quiet life shatters when a stranger walks out of the rain: a solid ghost with a royal signet ring and no memory of his death.His name is Ash. The lost Thornwick prince, murdered five years ago in a conspiracy that stole the throne. His spirit is destabilizing. In seven days, his soul will tear itself apart into a violent, mindless poltergeist.To save him, Teyra must break every rule the Academy taught her. But a ruthless underworld boss known as the Moth is tracking their every move, the woman who killed Ash wants him back, and an ancient darkness is waking beneath the city streets.With time running out and her forbidden magic devouring her from the inside, Teyra faces a choice no necromancer should have to make: walk away and survive, or hold on and lose everything that makes her human.

Perfect for fans of slow-burn fantasy romance, morally grey characters, and gothic worlds where the dead don't stay quiet.

The Final Steep features a seven-day countdown, a murder mystery wrapped in a prophecy, a forbidden magic system fueled by empathy, and a love story between a woman who feels too much and a dead man who can't afford to feel at all.

The Final Steep is the first book in The Athergard Trilogy, a gothic romantasy of tea, ghosts, and the dangerous weight of caring too much.