Branded worthless "trash" who can't cast a single spell, Seraphina hides a forbidden gift — she is the empire's last Ancient-Rune scribe. Forced to become a substitute bride for Cassian, the merciless "Dragon Duke" every noblewoman fears, she seizes her chance to escape.
But behind his ruthless mask, Cassian's a cursed man who loses his mind each full moon. Night after night, Seraphina risks her life to soothe his rage with runes no one else can read, and the beast the world despises begins to crave the only warmth he's ever known.
As an army marches for his power, two souls called cursed and worthless must choose: keep running, or embrace each other's darkness and rewrite their fate.
