The Bronze Warrior (Heroes of Melowynn #1) by V.L. Locey

A kingdom thrives on diplomacy and secrets. Pasil Greenleaves, Captain of the Royal Guard, has spent his life sworn to blade and oath, a man forged in steel, silence, and duty. Loyal to a fault, eager to serve, and unshakably composed, he’s tasked with protecting a dignitary after the arrival of a powerful delegation from the Black Sand Isles, a distant, magic-steeped realm that left the tight control of Melowynn and its religious theocracy eons ago. Welcomed warmly to Celear, the seat of the mainland elves, is Teryn Nouradi, a high-ranking diplomat and mage in the Sandrayan high court: brilliant, beautiful, and utterly impossible. Where Pasil is all sharp lines and responsibility, Teryn is blinding winds and shadow, wielding ancient magic with a flick of his fingers and a smile that hides centuries of political discretion and etiquette. Their meeting is anything but smooth. Teryn’s presence is a disruption. A mystery wrapped in silk and heat—and he knows it. But when a dark force begins unraveling the fragile peace between their lands, both men are forced into an uneasy alliance. As political games twist into threats of war, Pasil finds himself pulled into a dangerous mission with the foreign envoy who sees past his armor. Read more