In a kingdom on the brink of war, Prince Esled Serfecvk battles the weight of royal expectations and his desire for freedom. Despite his results on the battlefield, Esled feels suffocated by the constant watch of his guards and the heavy expectations of the throne. Meanwhile, Iris Aekns, a guarded drifter with a dark past, survives in the shadows of a kingdom he loathes. During the annual festival, a devastating ambush by attackers wielding mythical powers threw the castle into chaos. Flames rage, lightning splits the sky, and unseen forces tear through the grounds. Esled escapes with a fractured group, including a mysterious guard with secrets of his own. At the same time, Iris finds himself drawn deeper into the chaos. Unable to ignore the kingdom's attack or Esled's determination to save it. As betrayal looms and an ancient threat rises, Esled and Iris are forced to confront their beliefs and their pasts together. Esled must prove the leader he aspires to be, while Iris fights for something beyond survival and hatred and Esled might just be the reason. Bound by fate, they face impossible odds to save a kingdom on the edge of destruction and themselves.

After a near death experience, 16-year old Makiko Lombardi's celebrity father comes to Tokyo, but Makiko hasn't met him for almost seven years. To please her mother, Makiko refuses to see him. Ashamed about not speaking her mind, Makiko admires Cynthia, an old friend who helps teenage runaways exploited by Yakuza gangsters. When Yakuza follow them, both girls assume Cynthia's in danger, but someone powerful has a problem with Makiko's father and sees Makiko as a pawn. Meanwhile, neither girl believes rumors that a demon stalks and kills runaways. Until something sinister kills Yakuza outside Makiko's house, and a survivor warns her that the demon "likes" her. *** A first boyfriend. Yakuza with unknown plans. A killer demon who "likes" her. What's a quiet girl to do? Added to @AmbassadorsJP 's Kowai: Eerie Reads list - Sept. 2023 Featured on @StoriesUndiscovered Plain Janes? Not These Ladies - May 2022 Added to @Paranormal 's Paranormal Paramours list - April 2022 Notable Rankings: #1 meet-cute (March 14, 2022) #4 yakuza (July 14, 2022)