I Married the Cursed Duke
2026 · Complete Novella

I Married the Cursed Duke

A novella by
“He turns to ash everything he touches. She just brushed his fingers, and she's still alive.”

In the frozen north, anything the duke touches without gloves turns to ash. To pay off her ruined mother's debts, Astrid signs a twelve-month marriage of convenience in an unwelcoming castle. But at their first dinner she discovers a secret she can't tell anyone: she is the only person his touch never withers.

10 Episodes · Novella
Complete Novella
Table of Contents

All Episodes (10)

Episode 01
~8 min

The Dower of Smoke

“Selling oneself for a year is not dying; it is merely postponing the breath until spring.”

1,667 words
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Episode 02
~6 min

Pewter Cutlery

“The hunger in this castle feels altogether too much like military discipline.”

1,280 words
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Episode 03
~7 min

The Miracle of Salt

“There is nothing more dangerous for an exile than discovering that someone can touch him without perishing.”

1,406 words
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Episode 04
~6 min

The Midnight Pact

“The silence between two liars is the only contract that is never signed.”

1,181 words
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Episode 05
~5 min

Walpurga's Shadow

“In sunless noble houses, the larder keys weigh heavier than ducal crowns.”

943 words
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Episode 06
~6 min

Pine Needle Tea

“Sometimes a shared grievance binds tighter than an altar vow.”

1,254 words
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Episode 07
~5 min

Half a Confession

“There is no mystery more dreaded than one's own salvation once one has resigned oneself to punishment.”

1,084 words
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Episode 08
~5 min

An Afternoon by the Hearth

“Laughing at oneself is the first disarmament in a war nobody chose to declare.”

1,087 words
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Episode 09
~6 min

The Bread of the Miracle

“Human flesh forgets the agony of an old wound far sooner than the first touch that did not burn it.”

1,187 words
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Episode 10
~10 min

Thaw Upon the Ramparts

“Whoever has dwelt long within ramparts of frost needs no promise of summer; it is enough that someone takes their hand without letting go.”

1,970 words
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An Inkora Stories original, written with AI assistance under human editorial direction and review. Irene Sabater is an editorial pen name. Learn more