Young exorcist Elara Voss has spent her life serving the Saintfire Order, believing its flames protect the living from witches, monsters, and the Black Plague. That faith begins to collapse when she is sent to escort the feared witch Morriga Vane to a mountain abbey—and accidentally awakens Azrael, a dangerous fallen-winged prisoner buried beneath an ancient bridge.
Bound to Azrael by a supernatural chain and marked by a mysterious scar in her left palm, Elara enters an abbey built over a breathing black gate. Inside, she discovers that the monsters she was trained to fear may be victims, while the holy officials she obeyed have been stealing names, bloodlines, curses, and free will for centuries.
As forbidden attraction grows between Elara and Azrael, she must choose whether to remain the obedient vessel the Order created—or become the exorcist who breaks its chains and returns every stolen name to the living.
