A Vow in Vengeance Summary: Rune’s Dark Romantasy Revenge
TL;DR: A Vow in Vengeance: A Mortal Assassin Walks Into Immortal Territory
Rune Ryker has spent six years surviving on the wrong side of a thousand-foot granite Wall.
She is twenty, a former street thief turned spy and assassin, and the most wanted woman in the mortal kingdom of Vexamire.
Instead of running, she walks straight into the Selection—the annual reaping of one hundred mortal youths sent across the Wall as penance for a failed uprising.
A Vow in Vengeance by Jaclyn Rodriguez is the first book in the Immortal Desires series.
It follows Rune into Arcadia, the realm of the immortals, where magic runs on Tarot Arcana, changelings serve the kings who own them, and a dark-winged crown prince may be either her enemy or her only way to find the family she lost.
- Premise: A mortal assassin volunteers for a deadly immortal Selection to cross the Wall, find her missing family, and get revenge.
- Magic system: Tarot Arcana cards grant powers. Rune draws The World—the rarest card in existence—and the only other wielder is the prince she hates.
- Core relationship: Enemies-to-lovers with a fake fated-mate claim that slowly becomes real.
- Central conflict: Two people bound by an Immortal Pact plot to topple three immortal kings, end the Selection, and gather four legendary Artifacts.
- Tone: Dark, gritty, romantic, and fast-paced, with academy classes, political intrigue, and sudden violence.
- Ending note: Book one closes on grief, war, and a vow rather than a resolution.
Who’s Who in A Vow in Vengeance
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Rune Ryker | Twenty-year-old former spy and assassin known as the Wraith of Westfall; draws The World Arcana. |
| Prince Draven Vos (Kallos Ceres) | Crown Prince of Sedah, wielder of The World Arcana, and secretly the demigod son of rebel leader Kieran Ceres and the goddess Nox. |
| King Silas Vos | Immortal King of the Druids who wields the Judgment Arcana and adopted Draven as a weapon. |
| King Altair | Immortal King of the Seraphs, a tyrannical demigod who wears a truth-testing halo of starfire. |
| King Eldarion | Immortal King of the Elves, ruler of the subterranean kingdom of Alfheim. |
| Riordan Ryker | Rune’s father, Selected seven years earlier; now a captain and Hand of the Seraph King. |
| Reina Ryker | Rune’s mother, secretly Reina the Ravager, the alchemist who created the Curse. |
| Remus Ryker | Rune’s twin brother, Selected by the elves at age six and living among elven nobility under another name. |
| Prince Ansel Vos | King Silas’s younger biological son, a druid prince who wields the Judgment Arcana. |
| Princess Reva | Seraph Princess of Nevaeh, betrothed to Draven in a political alliance. |
| Kasper | First-year changeling who is secretly the bastard son of King Altair and an assassin for him. |
| Morgan | Changeling from Valhan linked to the Ten Spires clan and the Ascension rebel group. |
| Ember | Rune’s closest friend at the Forge, who draws the Star Arcana. |
| Wynter | Druid changeling who wields the Judgment Arcana and holds unrequited feelings for Rune. |
| Felix | Easygoing changeling who draws the Fool Arcana. |
| Thane Blackwell | Mortal Lord of Westfall who trained Rune as his Wraith. |
| Kiana | Rune’s former fellow Shrike and lover in Westfall. |
| Commander Soto | Commander of the Wyvern Aerial Legion and guardian of the Forge. |
| Scorpius, Fable, Malik, Zara | Draven’s elite inner cohort of higher-year druid students. |
A Vow in Vengeance Summary (Spoilers Ahead)
Spoiler warning: the following section covers the plot in full, including the ending.
Fifteen years before the story begins, mortals rose up against the immortals of Arcadia and lost.
Their leader, Kieran Ceres, and his chief alchemist, Reina, answered with a blood-magic Curse that stripped every immortal of the ability to reproduce.
In response, the three immortal kings created the Selection.
One hundred mortal youths are reaped each year, forced across the Wall, bound by an Oath, and transformed into changelings to refill immortal dynasties.
Six years before the main events, fourteen-year-old Rune Ryker flees into a blizzard after druid patrols drag her mother away. Her twin brother was taken eight years earlier, her father one year before that.
Rune survives by entering the service of Thane Blackwell, Lord of Westfall. She becomes a Shrike, then his supreme spy and assassin, known as the Wraith of Westfall.
When her closest companion and lover, Kiana, kills herself during Thane’s lethal competition to spare Rune’s life, something in Rune breaks. Years later, Thane brings Kiana’s younger sister to his manor to manipulate her.
Rune slashes Thane’s face into a six-pointed star, burns his palace, and flees with the largest bounty in Vexamire on her head. She has one goal left: find her family.
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Rune surrenders to the Selection in the ruined capital of Kravenish. Prince Draven Vos, Crown Prince of Sedah, conducts the reaping alongside his younger brother, Prince Ansel.
Rune provokes them deliberately and is chosen as the final candidate. The Selected are marched up the Wall, where King Silas forces them to drink a crimson potion and swear an unbreakable Oath binding their souls to Sedah.
At the Arcana drawing ceremony, Rune draws The World—the rarest Major Arcana in existence. The court is stunned, because Draven is the only other World wielder in over five hundred years.
Rune is transported to the Forge, Sedah’s elite military academy, built among rivers of lava and active volcanoes. Because of their shared Arcana, she is assigned as Draven’s roommate in the World Hearth.
Their first interactions are openly hostile. Rune throws a boot at his head; Draven confiscates her father’s carved bone fishhook pendant, then returns it with a warning that her old identity means nothing.
Classes begin in Tarot magic, etiquette, mental wards, and physical sparring. Rune builds a study group with fellow changelings Ember, Felix, Morgan, Kasper, Amaya, Cleona, and a gentle Judgment-wielder named Wynter.
Political trouble arrives when Princess Reva of Nevaeh comes to the Forge to enforce her betrothal to Draven. She is accompanied by Rune’s long-lost father, Riordan Ryker, now a captain and Hand to the Seraph King.
Reva offers to buy Rune’s transfer to Nevaeh. To block the deal and escape the marriage, Draven publicly claims Rune is his fated mate, arguing that two World wielders are destined to rule Sedah together.
In private, Draven reveals the truth about himself. He was a mortal child Selected at six years old, and his biological father was executed by King Altair. He wants to destroy the Wall, end the Selection, and unite Arcadia.
His plan requires four legendary Arcadian Artifacts: the Oathbreaker Cup, the Lightbringer Sword, the Darkstone Wand, and the Kingmaker Ring. Rune and Draven seal an Immortal Pact, branding a raven mark on their forearms.
At the Hollow Festival masquerade ball, Morgan ambushes Rune. He is tied to a rebel faction called the Ascension and the Ten Spires mercenary clan, and he uses illusion magic to impersonate Draven.
Morgan tries to assault Rune and traps Draven in spell-ropes while holding her friends hostage. Rune outsmarts him, and Draven breaks free and strips Morgan of his Arcana entirely.
During interrogations in the Boiler dungeon, Rune uses her Wraith skills on Kasper and learns he is secretly searching for his immortal father. Draven erases Kasper’s memory of the questioning.
Draven, Rune, and Draven’s inner cohort travel on wyverns to Alfheim under the pretense of mining zenith crystal. In the subterranean capital, Rune finds her mother, Reina, enslaved as a siren.
Reina reveals two shattering truths. She is Reina the Ravager, the alchemist who created the Curse, and Draven is Kallos Ceres, the biological son of Kieran Ceres and the goddess Nox.
Reina altered both Rune’s and Draven’s childhood memories to protect them. She also warns that if the immortals capture her, they will force her to undo the Curse—which would endanger every changeling alive.
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In a zenith canyon infested with feral acid-drakes, Rune unlocks the Star Arcana through sheer hope. She forges a sword of heavenly fire, saves Draven, and recovers the hidden Darkstone Wand.
Back at the Forge, Draven retrieves the Oathbreaker Cup from his biological father’s tomb. On Rune’s twentieth soul-day, he gives her three gifts: proof her brother survived among elven nobility, a document freeing her mother, and the Cup itself.
He proposes a real future, and they confess genuine love. Seconds later, Kasper ambushes them, revealing himself as the bastard son of King Altair and a spy who has been watching through a crystal frog.
Kasper stabs Draven in the ribs, slits his throat, steals the Darkstone Wand, and fatally stabs Felix when Felix and Scorpius intervene. Rune channels the Empress Arcana with love to heal Draven’s throat, but Felix dies in Ember’s arms.
Kasper escapes through a shadow portal to the Sedah Royal Palace with Magda and Seraph forces. Rune, Draven, and their unified friends pursue him to defend the kingdom and rescue Reina.
A violent battle erupts outside the palace between druid changelings and King Altair’s seraph army. Rune’s father, Riordan, tries to strike Altair to save her.
Altair freezes Riordan with gold binding magic and impales him through the gut. Riordan dies in Rune’s arms, his changeling form reverting to mortal dust.
In the epilogue, Rune and Draven attend a funeral pyre for Riordan and Felix. King Altair holds Reina captive in Nevaeh, war is declared, and Nevaeh’s army is gathering.
Draven offers Rune the Oathbreaker Cup so she can dissolve her bonds and flee. She refuses. Instead, she puts on her engagement bracelet, drinks from the Cup beside him, and seals their final vow.
Bound as true partners, they pledge to master their magic, gather the remaining Artifacts, rescue her mother and brother, execute King Altair and Kasper, and take the thrones of Arcadia.
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Summary by Chapter (Spoilers)
The book contains 35 sections: a Prologue, a Royal Decree, 32 numbered chapters, and an Epilogue.
Prologue: Six Years Ago — Fourteen-year-old Rune hides in a frozen cabin with her mother after her twin brother and father were both Selected. Druid patrols find them, and Rune’s mother is dragged away after giving her a mantra of courage. Rune escapes alone into the blizzard, vowing to survive and reunite her family.
Royal Decree — A decree signed fifteen years earlier by Kings Altair, Silas, and Eldarion is presented. It mandates the annual reaping of one hundred mortal youths as penance for the mortal uprising. Failure to comply means death or forfeiture of property.
Chapter 1: The Selection — Twenty-year-old Rune stands in Kravenish, wanted for burning Lord Thane Blackwell’s manor. She deliberately places herself in the Selection to cross the Wall and find her family. Prince Draven and Prince Ansel conduct the reaping, and Rune speaks to Ansel so he selects her last.
Chapter 2: The Wall — Guards march the Selected up the colossal granite Wall. Rune carries an exhausted boy up thousands of steps while singing a forbidden lullaby. At the top, King Silas questions her, then forces the candidates to drink a crimson potion or jump to their deaths.
Chapter 3: Arcana — Rune drinks and is bound by the Oath to serve Sedah forever. Silas explains they are changelings who will attend the Forge for a year before transforming during the Descent. Rune draws The World, shocking the court, and Draven shadow-transports the group to the Forge.
Chapter 4: Sedah — Commander Soto welcomes the changelings and warns that brittle metals break. Personal items from their mortal lives are confiscated for burning, but Draven takes Rune’s bone fishhook necklace and hides it in his tarot box. Rune learns Draven is her roommate.
Chapter 5: Roommates — Rune hurls a boot at Draven’s head, and he uses Death magic to drop it back on her. After a standoff involving ropes and threats, Draven returns her necklace and warns that past identities mean nothing. Rune learns The World can access all Arcana powers if the wielder is strong enough.
Chapter 6: Practical Magic — Rune finds her schedule pinned under her wanted poster. Pureborn student Mira chokes her against a wall until Professor Vexus intervenes. When Vexus lists Arcana groups on the board, Rune reveals she drew The World, forcing him to add her name beside Draven’s.
Chapter 7: Divination — Rune meets Wynter, who explains that social power in Sedah comes directly from magical power. She joins a study group with Ember, Morgan, Kasper, Felix, and Amaya. Draven reads her mind in their apartment, and Rune aggressively shouts her thoughts back at him.
Chapter 8: Training — Instructor Kenzo strikes Rune for poor footwork during sparring. Princess Reva arrives with her escort, including Rune’s father, Riordan, now a captain. Reva demands Draven honor their betrothal, but he refuses and blocks her attempt to buy Rune’s transfer.
Chapter 9: The Curse — After Mira kills a changeling boy in sparring, Draven briefly reanimates the corpse to deliver a final message. When a changeling throws a dagger at Draven, Rune tackles him to safety. Draven then reveals he was Selected as a mortal child and explains the Curse that made immortals infertile.
Chapter 10: The Invitation — Weeks pass as Rune practices mental wards, Tarot work, and combat. A letter from King Altair confirms he will consider altering Reva’s betrothal in exchange for Rune. Rune receives a jet-black invitation from Draven to the Autumn Equinox Ball and tells Ember she expects to be transferred.
Chapter 11: The Equinox Ball — Draven tutors Rune in court etiquette and offers her half his sandwich. Using the Magician Arcana, he transforms her clothes into a silver spider-silk gown with diamond jewelry. They descend the grand staircase into Sedah’s opulent black-marble court.
Chapter 12: The Halo — King Silas presents Rune to King Altair, who forces her to kneel and places a truth-testing halo around her neck. The halo turns red from her hidden rage and shows a vision of Rune holding a four-realm crown. Altair draws his sword to execute her on the spot.
Chapter 13: Fated — Draven summons a black sword and clashes with Altair until Silas freezes both kings. Silas demands to know whether Draven wants to end his betrothal. Draven announces that Rune is his fated mate and intended queen, legally claiming her under Sedah law.
Chapter 14: The Deal — Draven explains the claim protects Rune from assassins and execution. He reveals his plan to gather the four Arcadian Artifacts and end the Selection. They strike a formal deal and seal an Immortal Pact, branding a raven on Rune’s forearm.
Chapter 15: Giving a Damn — Rumors of the engagement spread across the Forge, and Rune lies to her study group about feeling the mating bond. Morgan accuses her of clout-chasing and pressures her to manipulate Draven. When he corners her on the Hearth steps, Draven appears and threatens his life.
Chapter 16: Healing — Draven brings Rune to a private courtyard to train with Kenzo. Kenzo spars brutally with Draven, knocking out a tooth that Draven instantly heals. Kenzo then trains Rune with wooden swords and tells her Draven believes she is special.
Chapter 17: The Devil’s in the Details — Professor Vexus uses the Hierophant to project memories in a Major Arcana demonstration. Draven defeats a Sun Arcana user and forces Wynter to his knees with Judgment magic. A Devil Arcana professor creates a room-wide illusion, and Draven teaches Rune to shatter it through The World.
Chapter 18: Dangerous Dealings — Rune studies ancient texts for Artifact clues while mastering wards and combat cards. Morgan is sentenced to the Boiler, and Draven uses the Moon Arcana to restore Rune’s natural curly hair. That night, Draven confesses he watched his father executed by Altair.
Chapter 19: Hollow Festival — Draven explains the intimacy of exchanging claim marks, and they bite each other’s necks, leaving visible scars. After surviving written and practical exams, Rune tells Wynter she is attending the Hollow Fest ball with Draven. Wynter accepts her choice sadly.
Chapter 20: Death’s Hearth — Rune dresses as the White Goddess and Draven as Azazel for the masquerade ball. They dance intimately before joining Rune’s study group. When Kasper mocks Rune’s past as a Wraith, Draven forces an apology, then steps away to handle campus security.
Chapter 21: Nightmares — A masked man lures Rune upstairs, where she finds Morgan impersonating Draven with Devil illusion magic. Ascension rebels surround her and hold her friends hostage. Rune tricks Morgan into letting her bind Draven’s hands, and Draven dissolves the fake ropes, slaughters the rebels, and strips Morgan’s Arcana.
Chapter 22: Interrogation — Rune uses her Wraith skills to trick Kasper into confessing he joined the Selection to find his immortal father. Draven erases his memory of the interrogation. Rune then confesses her past with Thane Blackwell and Kiana’s suicide, and Draven promises never to force her to stay.
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Chapter 23: Alfheim — Magda packs Rune’s bags while warning her she is playing with fire. Rune, Draven, Soto, and Draven’s cohort ride opal-scaled wyverns into the subterranean elven kingdom. King Eldarion mocks changelings as rebel scabs while Draven keeps a cool facade.
Chapter 24: A Feast for One — Fable suspends time with the Hanged Man so the group can plan without eavesdroppers. Malik and Fable search elven records for Rune’s family while Zara and Scorpius gather blackmail. Rune finds three spy holes in their room and shares an intimate moment with Draven.
Chapter 25: Dinner — At a royal banquet, Rune sees enslaved humans in golden manacles serving food. Eldarion boasts that his son Prince Ronan won the Kingbreaker Trials and wears a ring matching the Kingmaker Ring. He then serves roasted winged-unicorn meat, and Rune suppresses violent rage.
Chapter 26: Siren — The cohort reports that Rune’s mother is alive, enslaved as a siren in Illithial. Malik projects illusion doubles while Rune and Draven shadow-travel to the estate. Reina warns she cannot leave the grounds due to binding spells, then recognizes Draven as Kallos Ceres.
Chapter 27: Traitors — Reina admits she wiped Rune’s and Draven’s childhood memories and created the Curse herself. She warns that capture would let immortals undo it and endanger all changelings. Devastated, Rune leaves her mother behind in anger.
Chapter 28: The Hollow Canyon — Rune and Draven argue furiously over secrets, origins, and their broken deal. Draven admits he needs her as an equal partner on the throne. The next day the group travels to a zenith canyon, where Rune and Draven reconcile.
Chapter 29: Hope — A two-headed feral acid-drake and its hatchlings attack inside the cavern. Rune unlocks the Star Arcana through hope, forging a shield of starlight and a sword of heavenly fire. She kills the drake, Draven ignites zenith to destroy the hoard, and the Darkstone Wand is recovered.
Chapter 30: The Crystal Wand — The team returns to the Forge, and Rune hides the Darkstone Wand in her loft. Draven is called to the palace, and weeks pass while they exchange secret letters through an enchanted pen. He identifies the Oathbreaker Cup’s location at his father’s tomb.
Chapter 31: Soul-Day — Rune finishes her Minor Arcana exams. On her twentieth soul-day, Draven gives her proof of her brother’s survival, documents freeing her mother, and the Oathbreaker Cup. He presents an engagement wrist-cuff and confesses his love, which she returns. Seconds later, Kasper emerges and stabs him.
Chapter 32: Knight of Swords — Kasper reveals he is King Altair’s bastard son and has been spying through a crystal frog. He slits Draven’s throat and kills Felix when Felix and Scorpius intervene. Rune heals Draven with the Empress Arcana but cannot save Felix, and Kasper escapes to the Sedah palace.
Epilogue: Tomorrow — Rune, Draven, and their friends attend a mourning pyre for Riordan and Felix. King Altair holds Reina captive, war is declared, and Nevaeh’s army gathers. Rune refuses Draven’s offer to dissolve her bonds, drinks from the Oathbreaker Cup with him, and seals their vow to conquer the thrones.
Book Details and Reading Snapshot
- Genre & Subgenre: Adult Romantasy / Dark Academia / Tarot Magic Fantasy
- Core Narrative Tropes: Enemies-to-Lovers, Fake Betrothal / Fated Mates, Dark Academia, Revenge Quest, Secret Identity / Royal Demigod, Forced Proximity
- Tone & Atmosphere: Dark, gritty, romantic, high-stakes, atmospheric, action-driven
- Primary Conflict: Mortals versus immortals, and Rune and Draven’s hidden rebellion against the three immortal kings
- Pacing Style: Fast-paced and episodic across academic semesters, punctuated by combat, romantic tension, and plot twists
- Book Structure: 35 sections—1 Prologue, 1 Royal Decree, 32 numbered chapters, and 1 Epilogue
- Publisher: Slowburn
- Publication Date: January 13, 2026
- Pages: 368
- ISBN-10: 1638932549
- ISBN-13: 978-1638932543
- Series: Book 1 of 2, Immortal Desires
