Rumored to have gone mad with bloodlust, the vampire prince Mars had been imprisoned for a century by the usurper, the iron-fisted Queen Seraphina.
When the human maid Ellie accidentally wandered into the forbidden wing, she expected to be executed. Instead, she was forced to become Mars's personal attendant. Enduring his overwhelming presence and seemingly cruel torment, Ellie struggled to survive in constant fear—until she discovered a necklace she had lost three years earlier hidden beneath his pillow. She gradually uncovered the truth: Mars had feigned insanity for twelve years to evade assassination. Behind his violent facade, he had concealed his true strength, and in the ruthless royal court, he regarded Ellie as his only source of hope and salvation.
When Queen Seraphina discovered the growing bond between them, she mercilessly exiled Ellie to the deadly Siberian tundra and bound Mars in specially forged chains, imprisoning him once again.
Clinging to the promise she had made with Mars, Ellie fought to survive in the frozen wilderness. Breaking free from his shackles, Mars crawled barefoot across the snow for three days and three nights before finally finding her, barely alive. But the Queen's elite vampire hunters were already closing in. During a desperate escape across a frozen lake, Ellie was shot in the back while protecting Mars, leaving her on the brink of death. Seeing the woman he loved lying in a pool of blood, Mars finally cast aside his mask of madness.
