Before the Sea Divided: 2

Love can bloom in the most dangerous places-even between two princes whose empires are drifting toward war. When Prince Lian of China sends a diplomatic letter to Prince Ren of Japan, their cautious exchange soon deepens into an intimate correspondence between two lonely heirs bound by royal duty. Meeting at last during a summit, they steal forbidden moments in moonlit gardens and create a secret language of cranes, willows, and mist, carried across the East China Sea through Ren's hidden network. But someone is watching, and every coded poem could be condemned as treason. As political tensions rise and their time together runs out, Ren and Lian must choose between the kingdoms they were born to serve and a love powerful enough to change them-yet dangerous enough to cost them their titles, their families, and their lives.