She was never chosen by chance. She was born for this. Elera Kvoss signs the contract to save her father from ruin: one year of marriage, one heir, no questions asked. She believes she's sold herself to a ruthless stranger. She has no idea she's married something far more dangerous. Lucien Virelli's mansion is beautiful, silent, and wrong. Symbols burn into her skin while she sleeps. Something breathes in empty rooms. And the husband who watches her like a man standing between her and an executioner only he can see is not her captor — he's her last line of defense. Generations ago, the Virelli bloodline sealed a pact with something ancient and hungry. Every generation, it claims a bride. Elera is due. Lucien could hand her over and become immortal. Instead, he does the unthinkable: he refuses. "If the devil wants you, he'll have to fight me first." Now Elera doesn't know which fate is more dangerous — being claimed by the entity, or being loved by the man who defied it to keep her.