"Touch me, Blaze... and you'll remember me every time something beautiful dies." -- She was the only sin he'd die to confess. So he destroyed his kingdom for her absolution. -- 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫. Power built their world. Power destroyed it. She pulled the trigger that turned his hate into a kingdom of fire, and now fate binds them to the same war. Hate keeps them sharp. Hate keeps them alive. But hate is just another mask for power. And when it cracks, they'll both discover the cost of letting go. -- In a city ruled by blood and silence, some names are spoken only in whispers. New York breathes violence like smoke-its kings crowned in crime, its peace bought in bodies. Blaze Marino, heir to a fractured Italian empire, doesn't believe in myths. He believes in control. In power. In pain as currency. But when a woman with white hair and a scar like prophecy crashes a masquerade of monsters, everything changes. She moves like fire. Vanishes like smoke. Leaves no name, no trail-just destruction and desire. And with her, the game changes. As alliances crack and old ghosts crawl from the shadows, Blaze finds himself caught between revenge and something far more dangerous: curiosity. Obsession. A pull he can't explain. They say saints die young. But what if she was never a saint at all? And if she was- maybe she always knew how her story would end. 𝕿 𝖍 𝖎 𝖘 𝖎 𝖘 𝖆 𝖘 𝖙 𝖔 𝖗 𝖞 𝖆 𝖇 𝖔 𝖚 𝖙 𝖆 𝖘 𝖎 𝖓 𝖓 𝖊 𝖗 𝖆 𝖓 𝖉 𝖍 𝖊 𝖗 𝖈 𝖔 𝖓 𝖋 𝖊 𝖘 𝖘 𝖎 𝖔 𝖓 𝖊 𝖗 Tropes / Themes: ✦ Mafia · Enemies AND Lovers/Yearners · Don x Assassin ✦ Russian x Italian · Dark Romance · Slow Burn ✦ Antihero · Psychological Tension

Mercy Leigh Hollis knows how to be good. She's been good her whole life- Soft-spoken. Skirt-wearing. Heaven-fearing. Taught to keep her legs closed and her prayers louder than her thoughts. But one wrong moment puts a man with blood on his hands in her life-and suddenly, "good" doesn't feel like enough. He's older. Meaner. Doesn't flinch at sin. And he sees right through her lace and Sunday dresses. She wasn't supposed to want him. She wasn't supposed to like the way his voice sounded when it said her name. She wasn't supposed to open the door when the devil knocked- But here she is. Askin' to be taught. And he's more than willin' to ruin her the slow way. This isn't a redemption arc. It's a fall from grace with eye contact.

𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐀 𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐒𝐎 knows how to disappear in plain sight. A quiet student. A ghost in the crowd. A girl with nothing left but her books, her memories, and a name that still makes the wrong people stare. She's spent two years outrunning shadows, burying the past under exam papers and late-night coffee. But secrets don't stay buried forever. 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐈 is heir to the empire that rules Catania, Sicily from the inside out. Cold. Lethal. Untouchable. He's been forged by blood, betrayal, and the barrel of a gun since the age of fourteen. He leads with a silence that makes men shiver, and destroys without mercy. But when a familiar name resurfaces, so does a storm he thought was long dead. When their paths collide, it's not fate. It's a warning. One wrong move could burn everything to the ground. And Elena? She might be the spark that starts the fire. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗴𝗼? • - • 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 • - • • 𝐀𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞 • 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 • 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 • 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 • 𝐊𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 • 𝐒𝐦𝐮𝐭 • 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 • 𝐓𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬 • 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 • 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

"No-please-don't do this!" Seraphina sobbed, her voice cracking as she clung to her eldest brother's wrist. "I-I'll be good. I'll do whatever you say, just don't-" A sharp crack echoed through the room as his palm struck her cheek, sending her crashing to the marble floor. Pain exploded across her skin, but it was nothing compared to the terror clawing at her chest. From above, his voice was cold. Unmoved. "You will marry him." She shook her head wildly, crawling backward until her spine hit the wall. "He's a monster," she whispered, her breath shuddering. "He's not human. Please, don't make me do this. I'll die." Her second brother crouched in front of her, grabbing her chin roughly, forcing her to look at him. His lips curled, eyes void of warmth. "Then die." Her breath hitched. "But you will die as his wife." The door behind them creaked open. Heavy footsteps. Her father stepped inside, his expression unreadable. "Lock her in this room," he ordered. "She will not step out until her wedding day." Sera thrashed as hands seized her, dragging her toward the massive iron doors. "No! Please-Father, please!" But he didn't even look at her. The last thing she saw before the door slammed shut was her brothers standing side by side, indifferent as she was thrown into a fate worse than death. Then darkness. And the only thing left was the suffocating truth. She was a sacrifice. A bride to the Sinister, a devil himself. #A STANDALONE BOOK