"As a Holder's daughter Aspeth Honori knows the importance of magical artifacts . . . which is
why it's a disaster that her father has gambled all theirs away. Now that her family is in
danger of losing their hold-and their heads-if anyone finds out the truth Aspeth decides to do
something about it. She'll join the Royal Artifactual Guild and the adventurers who explore
ancient underground ruins to retrieve the coveted arcane items. It's a great plan-with one big
problem. The guild won't let her train because she's a woman. Aspeth needs a chaperone of some
kind. The best way to get around this problem? Marry someone who will let her become an
apprentice. Who better than a surly guild member who requires a favor of his own? He's a
minotaur (it's fine) who is her teacher (also fine) . . . and he's about to go into rut (which
is where it gets tricky). He also has no idea she's a noble (oops) and he'll want nothing to
do with her if he discovers her real identity. Now Aspeth just has to pass the guild tests
thwart a fortune hunter and save her hold-oh and survive a rut with her monstrous horned
husband whom she might be falling in love with. It's time to dig deep. Literally"--
