‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Nour Delour doesn't chase men. She manufactures them. Shapes their desire with oils, honey, blood, and flame. In her Harlem candle boutique, every scent has a spell, every wick a whisper of old Southern rootwork passed down from women who knew how to make love feel like a fever. So when Rajah Thomas━the ex who ghosted her, walks by her shop window with his new girl on his arm, Nour doesn't cry. She gets even. She carves his name into wax, mixes it with her own essence, then lights the candle her grandmother warned her never to use: the 𝗪𝗮𝘅 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁. It doesn't just draw Rajah back━it 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘴 him. And this time, he returns with wet eyes, trembling hands, and a craving he can't explain. He's starving for her aroma, her skin, her darkness. He says her name like a prayer. Cries when she lets him taste her. Tells her he'll never leave again. But obsession has a cost, and magic always demands balance. As the flame burns lower, Rajah unravels. He starts sleeping outside her door. Sobbing when she doesn't answer. Losing jobs, friends, time. As for Nour? She's not untouched. She's sweating through her sheets. Moaning his name in her sleep. Bleeding from places that shouldn't bleed. The spell has tethered them by more than lust━it's welded their souls into something unnatural, and if she tries to break it, 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩. Still, there's a part of her━the part that wanted this━that isn't ready to let go. Because this love? It's not soft. It's not safe. It's 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝘆. 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐒𝐔𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄. @GLOSSNEILES ON THE COVER ART.

She rules the city with her mouth stained red and her hands clean of mercy. Seraphine rouge isn't a legend, but a law. An immortal vampire queen who feeds in velvet-lined rooms, seals contracts in blood, and decides who lives long enough to beg. Nightclubs are her altars. Red envelopes are her verdicts. If you receive one, your fate has already been chosen. She does not give her body without taking something in return. But there was always someone who disobeyed. Kingston Blackwell, a human kingpin with a drug empire, dirty money, and a hunger that rattles her more than the smell of blood. Kingston is violent, obsessive, and dangerously unafraid. Their connection is toxic and consuming; he wants to own her, and she wants to ruin him. And then there is Lucian Fox. The enemy's son. The forbidden love. His desire for her is quieter, deadlier, and written in prophecy sealed in blood magic rituals that feel far too intimate. Loving him could start a war, and his touch could end the world. As witches betray, demons collect their debts, bodies pile up, and the city begins to bleed. Seraphine is forced to confront the one thing no crown can protect them from. Because power is intoxicating, love is weakness, and the queen who lets herself burn, everything she rules with her. This is not a love story. This is a story about obsession, dominance, and the cost of sitting on a throne soaked in blood.

"𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗀𝗈𝗍𝗍𝖺' 𝖽𝗈 𝗂𝗌 𝗌𝖺𝗒 𝗒𝖾𝗌"

𝐀𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝗼𝗺𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝗼𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝗺 𝐣𝗼𝐛 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝗼𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝗼𝗺 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝗺𝗼𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝗼𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝗺𝗼𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝗼𝗺 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝗼𝗺 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞. 𝐀𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝗺𝗼𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝗼𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝗼𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝗼? 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝗼𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝗺𝗼𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝗼𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝗼𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝗼𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝗼 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝗼𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝗼𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐯𝗼𝗺 𝐭𝗼 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐭𝗼 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞.

"𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙'𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧."

𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐬𝐬 (short) 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.

Why do we stay in situations even after it's clear they no longer serve us? In relationships where love was never really love, and the person we're holding onto means us no good? Time after time, the signs are there to prove they aren't our person. Yet we still stay. Why? Is it comfort, denial, fear? And if a sign came that could change your situation, how big would it have to be for you to take it? For Nahmir, that sign came on another Friday night from a girl he met at a club he wasn't even supposed to be at, doing things he had no business doing. Now, he's stuck at a crossroads: stay in the mess he's used to or change his ways and take a chance on Tahje. And even if he chose the later...is she even going for that? She has no problem taking his money, letting him woo her with gifts and sweet talk-but on the real, she knew she wasn't about to get caught up in drama over a man she just met. Especially, an apparently taken one at that. Only time would tell. - 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 2025