She can read the manuscript men are killing to possess.
He has been ordered to keep her alive.
To survive the road, they must call their lie a marriage.

Gupta-era ancient India, 400 CE. Vachana Devagupta is the only scholar alive who can read the scattered fragments her mother died protecting. When the imperial court sends her after the sacred relic hidden within them, she is placed under the protection of Commander Aryaman — disciplined, watchful, and dangerous to anyone who threatens her.

Across river roads, temple archives, gilded courts, and deadly ambushes, they hunt a secret powerful men would kill to control. To move unseen, they must travel as husband and wife.

One story. One room. One bed.

The marriage is a lie.
What it awakens is not.

Song of the Chintāmaṇi is a steamy, open-door historical romance with fake marriage, forced proximity, only one bed, a brilliant scholar heroine, a protective warrior hero, sacred mystery, political danger, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after. Book One of The Nāda Codex.