As a Holder´s daughter, Aspeth Honori knows the importance of magical artifacts... which is why it´s a disaster that her father has gambled all theirs away. Now that her family is in danger of losing their hold - and their heads - if anyone finds out the truth, Aspeth decides to do something about it. She´ll join the Royal Artifactual Guild and the adventurers who explore ancient underground ruins to retrieve the coveted arcane items. It´s a great plan - with one big problem. The guild won´t let her train because she´s a woman. Aspeth needs a chaperone of some kind. The best way to get around this problem? Marry someone who will let her become an apprentice. Who better than a surly guild member who requires a favor of his own? He´s a minotaur (it´s fine) who is her teacher (also fine).. and he´s about to go into rut (which is where it gets tricky). He also has no idea she´s a noble (oops), and he´ll want nothing to do with her if he discovers her real identity. Now Aspeth just has to pass the guild tests, thwart a fortune hunter, and save her hold - oh, and survive a rut with her monstrous, horned husband, whom she might be falling in love with. It´s time to dig deep. Literally.