This is a prequel story to a 6-book series with a mage protagonist. Rielle, the protagonist works together with her master (and lover) Leigh to save the viscount of a city, but then the paladins arrive - soldiers who are immune to magic, and aren't a big fans of mages.

I got some serious Dragon Age vibes from this story, but given that I love Dragon Age and I love mages, that is definitely a good thing. Rielle was a kindhearted protagonist that I think I would love. Leigh (and by extension the rules and philosophy of their employers) was pissing me off already in this short story, and honestly I could feel no romantic chemistry between the two of them -but Rielle stood up for her beliefs, and judging by the blurbs, she seems to have a different love interest in the later books? No idea what happens there.

In short, I loved this story, I loved Rielle, and I put the first book of the series on my TBR. It's pretty cheap on Amazon right now but I'm not sure if that's permanent or due to a sale or something.