I was born a Shadow Devourer, a princess everyone in Arden believed would bring ruin. Only my sister Aurelia protected me, taught me mercy, and kept the monster inside me quiet.
To stop a war with the vampires, Aurelia became King Lucien's blood-bound bride. One year later, the Night Court sent her home in a black coffin—her limbs severed, her tongue gone, and her body covered in savage bite marks.
I learned the truth from Lucien's own guards: Aurelia had been locked in a silver cage, and Nadia—Lucien's favored consort—set a starving blood hound on her. So when the Crimson Pact demanded a second princess, I volunteered to become Lucien's next bride.
The Night Court expected another helpless human. Instead, I killed Nadia's blood hound in front of Lucien, skinned it as a gift, and later drove a silver blade toward the vampire king's heart. He caught my wrist—and became even more fascinated with me.
I let Lucien believe I was a monster just like him, laughing beside him in the blood-soaked arena while hiding my real purpose: revenge for Aurelia. Then Nadia's terrifying sister, Commander Valeria, arrived to protect her. Watching the sisters embrace, I made my next promise—if they took my sister from me, I would take theirs from each other.
