REECA BROWN
The First Vow Trilogy

Where the Vow Still Burns

Book One of The First Vow Trilogy

Coming October 2026

When mercy demands surrender, choice becomes sacred.

Cover of Where the Vow Still Burns
About the Book

Some oaths do not stay buried.

Long ago, the First Vow drew a line even celestial power was never meant to cross: mortals could be guided, guarded, and warned, but their will could never be taken by force.

Dominion crossed that line.

Now the Vow survives only in fragments, hidden among forgotten roads, ruined sanctuaries, and secrets the world has nearly erased. But some oaths do not stay buried.

Athleen Vale has spent her life surrounded by things no one will explain, the strange mark over her heart, the abandoned chapel everyone avoids, and the secrets her mother carried to the grave.

Then a bell rings from a tower that has held no bell for generations.

What begins as a search for answers becomes something far more dangerous when a wounded stranger falls from a tear in the sky. Known only as Nightstalker, he is scarred, secretive, and carrying a past tied to the very forces now hunting Athleen. He may also be the only person standing between her and Dominion.

Forced onto forgotten roads where remnants of the First Vow are beginning to wake, Athleen must uncover the truth her mother left behind while deciding how much she can trust the fallen warrior beside her.

Because the Vow isn't as dead as the world believes.
And neither are the forces that tried to bury it.

Meet the Characters

Two people pulled onto the same forgotten road.

Portrait illustration of Athleen Vale in a ruined sanctuary
Athleen Vale

She heard a bell no one else could hear.

Practical, stubborn, and still grieving the mother who left behind far more questions than answers, Athleen has spent most of her life surrounded by things no one will explain. When an impossible bell draws her toward an abandoned chapel, she follows it despite every sensible reason to turn back.

Athleen isn't fearless, and she has no desire to become the heroine of some forgotten story. But when something is wrong, she has a difficult time walking away from it, especially when someone needs help. That instinct will carry her farther from the life she knew than she ever intended to go.

Portrait illustration of Nightstalker with a scarred face and pale blue eyes
Nightstalker

He knows how easily protection can become control.

Scarred, dangerous, and hunted by the celestial power he once served, Nightstalker knows far more about the forgotten roads than he is willing to explain. The stories surrounding him have made his name something to fear, and he seems perfectly content to keep it that way.

Then an old oath wakes inside him.

It demands that he stand between Athleen and whatever is hunting her, but Nightstalker knows better than most how easily protection can become control. Traveling beside her will force him to confront not only the forces pursuing them, but the difference between guarding someone and deciding what is best for them.

Inside the World

The old roads still remember.

Bells ring where no bells remain. Forgotten roads wake beneath mortal feet, ruined sanctuaries still remember the law they were built to protect, and warm gold survives beneath centuries of ash and stone.

Beyond them, Dominion waits, radiant and certain that mercy is worth the price of surrender.

A moonlit stone sanctuary door marked with the symbol of the First Vow glowing in warm gold.

The First Vow

An ancient vow built on one truth: protection means nothing if choice is taken away.

A winding moonlit road through dark forested mountains lined with broken vow markers and distant sanctuaries.

Forgotten Roads

Lost beneath centuries of ruin, the old roads still remember where they once led, and what they were never meant to become.

A candlelit ruined sanctuary of broken gothic arches deep in a moonlit forest.

Ruined Sanctuaries

Once places of refuge beneath the First Vow, their broken walls still bear witness to the choices they were meant to protect.

A cold celestial throne-like sanctuary beneath a silver crown of light in a star-filled night sky.

Dominion

Radiant and certain, Dominion promises peace, protection, and an end to suffering, so long as mortal choice is surrendered.

What You'll Find Inside

A story built around the cost of choosing.

Two candlelit lanterns and pale lilies resting among moonlit gothic ruins.

A Slow-Building Romance

A bond built in quiet moments, difficult truths, and the growing choice to close the distance between them.

A ruined gothic chapel bathed in cold blue-white light falling into a stone basin.

Dangerous Mercy

The promise of safety can hide a darker question: who gets to decide what another person must surrender to be protected?

An ancient open book, sealed letters, and a key lit by candlelight in a shadowed archive.

Ancient Secrets

Old symbols, buried histories, and a mother's carefully guarded secrets lead Athleen toward a past she never knew was hers to question.

A moonlit armillary set within ruined gothic arches under a star-filled sky.

A Fallen Celestial

Feared as Nightstalker, a fallen celestial carries centuries of scars, secrets, and reasons not to trust the powers hunting him.

A melted candle and white lily resting in moonlit ruins, quiet and mournful.

Grief & Legacy

Loss leaves more than absence. In the secrets her mother left behind, Athleen begins to uncover a legacy she never knew was hers.

A forked stone path beneath ruined arches in a dark moonlit forest.

Choice at the Heart of Everything

Protection, trust, and mercy can all shape what comes next, but the question remains: is the choice still yours?

From the Black Book

The law beneath the story.

The Black Book lying open in moonlit ruins, aged parchment pages writing themselves in dark ink with the four guiding lines of the First Vow.
Letters from Reeca

The First Vow begins this October.

Join Letters from Reeca for release updates, first looks, behind-the-scenes extras, and future glimpses of the world of the First Vow.