At Reichenbach Academy, a centuries-old institution, the burgundy and gold uniforms are pressed and dry-cleaned. Aiming for perfection and status. The academy, nestled in the depths of the Swiss Alps, is built on secrets and harbors an ancient force that has begun to stir. When a werewolf student collapses mid-class, his skin etched with glowing, mysterious sigils, whispers of a new sickness ripple through the school. The administration calls it contained. Some of the students know better. Thorn Rosales, a half-vampire psychic with a reputation for trouble, feels the song in her bones long before anyone else does. Xavier Thorpe, the tortured artist from Nevermore, still haunted by the Hyde and his own mistakes, starts sketching the same symbols that now burn across his classmate's skin. Drawn together by coincidence, or something far more deliberate, they uncover the truth: a haunting secret bleeding through the academy's walls. But Reichenbach has always thrived on silence. And the walls are starting to sing.

❝𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐦𝐞.❞ A hundred concubines lived in Emperor Sylvos' inner court - the heart of his thorned fortress. With a cruel ranking system, only favored concubines had the honor of meeting with His Majesty. And only the woman able to bear him a child could become empress. Raine Stjorme had climbed the ranks to the top. And after praying each night, she was finally with child. Yet all this was rewarded with the cruelest of fates. Murdered by the man she loved, Raine cursed Emperor Sylvos with her dying breath. She cursed his whole court as they snickered at her final moments. And her curse had taken root. Now, Raine awakens three years before her destined death, on the fateful day she first encounters the emperor. Armed with this second chance, she vows to make him fall - and to bring his empire down with him. But when faced with the tyrant who claimed her heart, could she still follow through? ✦✦✦ 𝙏𝙍𝙊𝙋𝙀𝙎 𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙇𝙐𝘿𝙀𝘿: -𝙀𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 -𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 -𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙭𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙮 -𝘼𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙜𝙚 -𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 -𝙑𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 -𝘽𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝙁𝙈𝘾 -𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨

Her love is a weapon. It's killed before. And this time, she's sworn it won't happen again. Everyone at Blackthorn University thinks Kara is just another human girl juggling midterms, frat parties, and overpriced lattes. No one suspects the truth: that she's a Phoenix shifter, hiding in plain sight in a world ruled by werewolves and lycans. Even her closest friends don't know the fire simmering beneath her skin. But Kara isn't just hiding from them, she's hiding from fate. From the one thing she dreads more than anything else: her mate. She's done letting her love be a death sentence. She won't survive another loss. The scars she bears run deeper than flesh. So when Ryker, the dangerously magnetic lycan General, realizes Kara is his fated mate, she does exactly what she swore she would. She pushes him away. Again. And again. And again. But lycans don't walk away from their mates. And Ryker? He's dominant, possessive, and utterly relentless. He's a storm she can't outrun, a flame that won't go out. And every heated glance, every stolen moment, threatens to shatter the walls she's spent years building. As secrets ignite and her past begins to unravel, Kara must face the truth: Can she let herself love again, knowing it could destroy them both? Or will her lies-and the deadly curse entwined with her love-be the very thing that dooms them forever?