How Not to Court Your Human Captive by A. K. Caggiano

Six human women, betrayed by their own only to be rescued by the very demons they were taught to fear, find themselves trapped in a harrowing, magical city.
But the cautionary tales were wrong, and they’re quick to learn demons don’t inspire terror but temptation…
When a human’s fury meets a demon’s fire, hatred isn’t the only thing to ignite.

Stolen from her prison cell and sold to slavers, Ember’s anger is all she has left to survive the nightmarish Achreos Barrens and its demonic inhabitants. Never mind her tenderly healed wounds and cozy cottage confines, she’s still being treated like a criminal. Her warden is a hardened soldier so hateful of humans that Ember stands no chance at exoneration. Sure, there may be moments when her demon jailor’s domestic ineptitude is endearing and his presence feels startlingly like security, but neither will stop her from provoking him and his disgusting tail.

Squadron leader Severath has failed at his sole duty to protect his home. Burdened with guarding a killer and coping with the loss of an eye and horn, he’s rewarded only with the human’s ire. Judgement should be simple since she’s pled guilty, but her unbridled hostility feels like a façade. He should be fighting to reclaim his position on the guard and his solitary life rather than verbally sparring with such a menace, but he never thought his home could be so lively or that he might enjoy having a miniscule murderess torment him at every turn.

Ember and Severath soon discover the border between animosity and affection is as thin as the veil between the human and demon worlds. Confined in close quarters, the two are forced to share their truths and confront their aversions to intimacy. But falling for a demon is dangerous, especially with Ember’s pending trial and Severath’s uncertain career. Will they land safely in the arms of their fledgling love or spiral into shared loathing?