Death Sentence Diagnosis

Osric Mordaunt, a notorious assassin of the Fyren Order, receives a terminal diagnosis: his seith—the magical life force that powers his abilities—is rotting away. Without it, he will be useless to his Order, which means certain death. Desperate, he seeks out the only healer with a reputation for miracles: Aurienne Fairhrim, a brilliant, arrogant member of the rival Haelan Order. Their Orders are enemies, and Aurienne is unlikely to help a Fyren, but Osric's options are running out. The stage is set for a collision between two powerful, stubborn personalities, each with everything to lose.

The Reluctant Healer

Aurienne Fairhrim is the best healer in the Tīendoms, but she's also proud, principled, and loathes everything the Fyren stand for. When Osric tries to coerce her into helping him—first with threats, then with a bribe of twenty million thrymsas to fund her Order's research into a deadly children's plague—she's disgusted, but the needs of her Order and the suffering children force her hand. Her mentor, Xanthe, pushes her to accept, seeing the opportunity to save lives. Aurienne agrees, but only under duress, and with the clear understanding that she despises her new patient.

Bribery, Blackmail, and Onions

Osric's attempts to win Aurienne's cooperation are a blend of charm, threat, and farce—he even contemplates kidnapping her in a sack of onions. Their first meetings are a battle of wits and wills, with neither giving ground. Aurienne's disgust is matched only by Osric's desperation. Ultimately, the deal is struck: she will attempt to heal him, in secret, in exchange for the massive donation to her Order's plague research. Both are forced into an uneasy alliance, each convinced the other is insufferable.

The Bargain Struck

With the bargain in place, Osric and Aurienne begin their clandestine collaboration. Osric's condition is dire, and Aurienne's scientific expertise is his only hope. But the treatment is uncharted territory: seith rot is incurable, and the only possible solution lies in ancient, half-mythical healing rituals tied to the full moon and "thin places" where the boundaries between worlds blur. Aurienne is skeptical, but Osric's insistence—and the desperate need for funds—pushes her to try.

Plague and Power Plays

As Aurienne's Order battles a devastating outbreak of Platt's Pox among the poorest children, the political powers of the Tīendoms are indifferent, withholding funding and support. The Haelan Order is stretched to its limits, and the suffering of the children weighs heavily on Aurienne. Meanwhile, Osric's donation is a lifeline, but its mysterious origins draw suspicion. The Orders' rivalries and the indifference of the ruling elite create a backdrop of tension and urgency.

Moonlit Experiments Begin

Aurienne and Osric embark on a series of experimental healing rituals, each timed to the full moon and set in places of legendary power. The process is humiliating and frustrating for both: Aurienne feels she's squandering her talents on a lost cause, while Osric's hope flickers and fades with each failed attempt. Their sessions are marked by bickering, mutual contempt, and a growing, unspoken fascination.

Science Meets Folklore

Aurienne's research into the Monafyll Stone—a mysterious artifact inscribed with lunar calendars and healing symbols—leads her to believe that the key to Osric's cure may lie in forgotten rituals and the alignment of time, place, and seith. Together, they consult a disgraced philologist, Widdershins, whose cryptic translations offer tantalizing but maddeningly vague clues. The line between science and folklore blurs, and both are forced to confront the limits of their knowledge.

Failed Healings, Rising Stakes

Each healing attempt fails, and Osric's condition worsens. The tension between them is sharpened by the ever-present threat of discovery: if Osric's weakness is revealed, his own Order will kill him; if Aurienne's collaboration is exposed, her career and life are at risk. Meanwhile, mysterious intruders attempt to break into Swanstone, and the political situation grows more volatile. The stakes are no longer just personal—they're existential.

The Enemy Becomes Essential

As Osric's health deteriorates, Aurienne becomes his only hope—and he, in turn, becomes essential to her Order's survival. Their forced proximity and shared danger breed a grudging respect, and moments of vulnerability begin to pierce their mutual hostility. When Osric suffers a life-threatening embolus, Aurienne's skill saves him, and the balance of power between them shifts. The lines between enemy, patient, and partner blur.

Intruders and Emboli

The attempted break-in at Swanstone is revealed to be part of a larger, more sinister plot. Osric's own Order is implicated, and he is forced to kill one of his own to protect Aurienne and her Order. The cost of their alliance becomes bloodier and more personal. Meanwhile, Aurienne's healing of Osric's embolus binds them together in a new, uneasy trust. Both are now complicit in each other's survival.

The Lighthouse and the Black Sun

One of their healing rituals, set atop a windswept lighthouse during a gannet murmuration, brings them to the brink of something miraculous. For a fleeting moment, the boundaries between worlds seem to dissolve, and both feel the possibility of a cure. But the moment passes, and the healing fails. The disappointment is crushing, but the intimacy of the experience leaves both changed—and more entangled than ever.

A Monster's Vulnerability

The ongoing failures and mounting dangers force Osric and Aurienne to share their pasts and vulnerabilities. Osric's tragic childhood and the violence that shaped him come to light, as does Aurienne's own history of loss and disappointment. Their mutual confessions deepen their connection, even as they continue to deny any possibility of real affection. The line between hate and something else grows perilously thin.

The Price of Protection

When Osric is gravely wounded protecting Aurienne from an assassination attempt by his own Order, she is forced to save his life in her own childhood home, risking everything. Their relationship, once defined by mutual loathing, is now marked by sacrifice, gratitude, and a dangerous intimacy. Both are now criminals in the eyes of their Orders, bound together by secrets and blood.

Murder, Mayhem, and Motives

As they investigate the motives behind the attacks on Swanstone, Osric and Aurienne uncover a plot involving the deliberate spread of Platt's Pox as a weapon of war. The true enemy is not just disease, but those who would use it for power. Their alliance becomes a race against time to expose the conspiracy and prevent further catastrophe, even as the threat from Osric's warchief, Tristane, looms ever closer.

The Dance of Denial

Forced to maintain the charade of friendship (and more) at a family celebration, Osric and Aurienne's simmering attraction comes to a head. A rain-soaked dance on a moonlit balcony leads to a kiss that is both inevitable and forbidden. Both are left reeling, unable to deny the connection that has grown between them, but equally unable to accept it.

The Kiss in the Rain

The kiss changes everything. What began as a performance for others becomes a moment of genuine longing and vulnerability. Both are forced to confront the reality that their enmity has become something else—something dangerous, exhilarating, and impossible. The boundaries between enemy and lover, duty and desire, are irrevocably blurred.

The Threat of Tristane

As Osric and Aurienne's alliance deepens, the greatest threat yet emerges: Tristane, Osric's legendary warchief, is coming for Swanstone. Her skills surpass even Osric's, and her mission is deadly. Osric and Aurienne must work together to fortify Swanstone and prepare for an attack that could destroy them both. Their collaboration is no longer just about survival—it's about trust, loyalty, and the possibility of redemption.

Something Becoming

In the quiet before the storm, Osric and Aurienne find themselves changed by all they have endured together. Their partnership, once defined by necessity and hatred, has become something else—something fragile, hopeful, and real. As they prepare for the final confrontation, both must decide what they are willing to risk for each other, and whether the irresistible urge to fall for your enemy is, in the end, a kind of salvation.

Characters

Osric Mordaunt

Osric is a member of the Fyren Order, a shadow-walking assassin whose life depends on his magical seith. Diagnosed with incurable seith rot, he is desperate, ruthless, and willing to do anything to survive—including blackmailing and bribing his enemy, Aurienne. Osric is charming, sardonic, and deeply scarred by a violent childhood and the brutal code of his Order. His journey is one from self-serving killer to someone capable of sacrifice, vulnerability, and, ultimately, love. His relationship with Aurienne is both a lifeline and a crucible, forcing him to confront his own humanity.

Aurienne Fairhrim

Aurienne is the most gifted healer of the Haelan Order, renowned for her brilliance, arrogance, and unyielding principles. She is fiercely loyal to her Order and the suffering children she serves, but is forced into an alliance with Osric by necessity and the needs of her plague-ravaged world. Aurienne is rational, scientific, and deeply uncomfortable with the superstitions she is forced to explore. Her journey is one of opening—to risk, to uncertainty, and to the possibility of loving someone she should hate. Her compassion is both her strength and her vulnerability.

Xanthe

Xanthe is Aurienne's mentor, a legendary healer whose wisdom, pragmatism, and occasional ruthlessness guide Aurienne through impossible choices. She is the voice of experience, urging Aurienne to seize opportunities for the greater good, even when it means compromising her ideals. Xanthe's presence is a stabilizing force, but she is not above manipulating circumstances to achieve what she believes is right.

Mrs. Parson

Osric's steward, Mrs. Parson, is a master of logistics, intelligence, and the dark arts of getting things done. She is fiercely loyal to Osric, pragmatic, and unflappable, providing both comic relief and essential support. Her network of informants and her ability to handle Osric's increasingly desperate schemes make her indispensable.

Tristane

Tristane is the legendary leader of the Fyren Order, feared even by her own assassins. She is Osric's warchief and the embodiment of the Order's ruthless code. Her approach to problems is direct, violent, and effective. When she becomes involved in the plot against Swanstone, she represents the ultimate danger—one that even Osric fears.

Cíele

Aurienne's deofol (magical familiar), Cíele, is a white, red-eyed genet with a sharp tongue and a fiercely protective streak. Cíele serves as Aurienne's messenger, conscience, and occasional comic foil, providing both practical assistance and emotional support.

Leofric

Leofric is a fellow Fyren, Osric's friend and occasional source of chaos. He is comic, crude, and unpredictable, often complicating situations with his antics. His presence highlights the camaraderie and dysfunction of the Fyren Order.

Widdershins

Widdershins is a former professor whose controversial translations of the Monafyll Stone provide crucial, if cryptic, clues to Osric's possible cure. Eccentric and embittered, he represents the dangers and possibilities of pursuing knowledge outside accepted boundaries.

Bardolph Wellesley

Wellesley is a powerful noble whose involvement in the plot against Swanstone and the deliberate spread of Platt's Pox makes him a key antagonist. His actions are driven by ambition, desperation, and a willingness to sacrifice others for his own ends.

Cinder

Cinder, Osric's deofol, is a smoky, wolfish creature who serves as his messenger and link to Aurienne. Cinder's presence is a reminder of Osric's power, his vulnerability, and the magical bonds that tie the characters together.

Plot Devices

Enemies-to-Lovers Dynamic

The central device is the classic enemies-to-lovers arc, but with a twist: the stakes are life and death, and the enmity is not just personal but institutional, magical, and existential. The slow burn of their relationship is fueled by forced proximity, mutual dependence, and the gradual revelation of vulnerability. Their banter, bickering, and reluctant cooperation drive both the plot and their emotional development.

Magical Disease and Healing Rituals

The incurable seith rot and the Platt's Pox epidemic serve as both literal and metaphorical threats. The search for a cure blends rigorous science with ancient folklore, requiring the characters to navigate the boundaries between reason and belief. The use of full moons, "thin places," and the Monafyll Stone as ritual focal points creates a structure of repeated, escalating attempts, each with its own emotional and narrative stakes.

Secret Alliances and Double Lives

Both Osric and Aurienne are forced to operate in secrecy, risking death if their alliance is discovered by their respective Orders. The constant threat of exposure, betrayal, and violence creates a backdrop of suspense and urgency, while also providing opportunities for moments of trust and intimacy.

Political Intrigue and Conspiracy

The indifference of the ruling elite, the rivalries between Orders, and the deliberate use of disease as a weapon create a web of intrigue that both complicates and motivates the protagonists' actions. The revelation that the epidemic is part of a larger plot for war raises the stakes from personal survival to the fate of the Tīendoms.

Vulnerability and Transformation

Physical and emotional vulnerability are central: Osric's illness, Aurienne's exhaustion, and their mutual confessions create space for transformation. The narrative structure alternates between their perspectives, allowing for deep psychological insight and the gradual erosion of their defenses.

Foreshadowing and Symbolism

The repeated use of moon phases, thresholds, and "in-between" places foreshadows the characters' own journey from opposition to union. The Monafyll Stone, the calligraphies of rain, and the dance in the storm all serve as symbols of the possibility—and the cost—of crossing boundaries.

Analysis

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is a masterful blend of romantic fantasy, medical drama, and political intrigue, using the enemies-to-lovers trope to explore the transformative power of vulnerability, trust, and shared struggle. At its heart, the novel is about the ways in which necessity can force us to confront our prejudices, open ourselves to the possibility of change, and find connection in the most unlikely places. The interplay between science and superstition, reason and emotion, is mirrored in the protagonists' journey from mutual contempt to reluctant partnership to something like love. The book interrogates the costs of loyalty, the dangers of institutional power, and the redemptive potential of compassion—even for those we are taught to hate. In a world where survival depends on collaboration across boundaries, the story suggests that the greatest miracles are not those of magic or medicine, but of the human heart's capacity to change.

Last updated: August 1, 2025