ARIANA

Freedom isn't what I thought it would be.

Outside his walls, the world is colder, sharper.

Every choice tastes of guilt; every breath carries his ghost.

But when he finds me again, the rules change.

What we were is gone. What we are now is dangerous.

Because loving him was my sin once—

and this time, it might be my vice.

ALESSANDRO

I let her go once. I won't do it again.

The empire's burning around me, but she's still the only thing I can't destroy.

She thinks she's escaped the monster.

She doesn't see that I built the darkness to keep her safe.

I'll make her remember who she belongs to—

even if it damns us both.

This is the second book in the Blood Promise Series. Reading Order:

Silent Heart, Cruel Vice, Sinful Crave.