Fear is Severyn Viremont's birthright. Forged in the Court of Bloodwhispers, she is both blade and shadow, a creature whose crimson eyes command silence. To love her is to bleed for her and still, the powerful cannot look away. When rebellion kindles in the human Rings, Severyn is sent to burn it out. But every step into Ashlight pulls her deeper into a snare: a high lord who tempts her with defiance, and a prince whose hunger for her borders on ruin. The whispers speak of blood, of power long buried, of truths that should never rise. And Severyn knows better than anyone. Beneath sunless skies, some truths claw their way to the surface. ****EXCERPT**** His shadow fell over her before his touch did. Kairos moved like smoke, sudden, silent, inevitable, until Severyn's back grazed the cold stone of the garden wall. The knife she'd kept hidden was still in her palm, but his fingers closed around her wrist before she could raise it. "Still hunting me?" His voice was a velvet snare, soft enough to almost disguise the sharpness beneath. Almost. Severyn tilted her head, crimson eyes flashing like a blade unsheathed. "I don't hunt prey that comes crawling." His grin bared the faintest glint of fang, too handsome, too cruel. "Then what am I to you, Severyn? A prince on his knees... or creature you'd rather sink your teeth into?" The knife trembled between them. Her strength against his grip, his heat bleeding into her skin. She should have shoved him back. Instead, she felt the wild thrill of the chase shiver down her spine. Kairos leaned closer, lips brushing the corner of her mouth without taking. "Fear makes them cower before you," he whispered, his breath hot and unrelenting. "But I... I want to be devoured by it. By you." Her pulse roared like war drums, but her smile was sharper still. "Careful, Prince," she breathed, turning the knife until its edge kissed the hollow of his throat. "You might get exactly what you beg for."

Horror