" But now he was marrying someone else, and that was that.  Lord Arnkell was forging an alliance between strongholds.  His upcoming betrothal was the cement which would bind his lands to the neighboring Haidra kingdom.  There were places beyond the swamps where creatures lived—creatures so terrifying, the people of both Haidra and Arnkell needed each other to survive. "

― Kate Danley , The Dark of Twilight (Twilight Shifters, #1)