Shortlisted in Muse Awards. "He thought he was the hunter. He didn't know she had nothing left to lose." Trapped within the dark, looming walls of Vaelhorst Palace, Aethelgard is a captive surrounded by enemies. Her survival depends entirely on the mercy of Malakor-a ruthless, hyper-vigilant Dark Lord whose very name strikes terror across the kingdoms. Separated from everything she knows by the treacherous, ink-black waters of The Mourning Tides, escape seems completely impossible. But Malakor underestimates the girl in his shadows. Before sending her to the Dark Lord, the sinister witch known as Pale Marrow ripped away Aethelgard's emotions, leaving her completely hollow. Malakor expects a terrified prisoner, but instead, he faces a mind completely untethered by fear, panic, or mercy. As a dangerous, slow-burn game of wit and proximity unfolds between captive and captor, the lines between hatred and curiosity begin to blur. Aethelgard must use her cold, emotionless clarity to dismantle Malakor's court from the inside-before the magic fades and her feelings come rushing back. A dark fantasy romance filled with royal intrigue, psychological tension, and a toxic power dynamic that will burn down an empire.

"𝐻𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒. 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑡" ♥︎𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖆𝖑𝖔𝖓𝖊♥︎ ᴀɴ ᴀʙᴀɴᴅᴏɴᴇᴅ ʙʀɪᴅᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇʀ ʀᴇʟᴜᴄᴛᴀɴᴛ ɢʀᴏᴏᴍ. 𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 🍿𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆..... 💫𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞. 💫𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. 💫𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫. 💫𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫. sᴏ, ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ᴅᴏɴᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴏsᴇ ʀᴇᴅ ғʟᴀɢ ᴛᴏxɪᴄ ᴍᴍᴄ/ᴄʜᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴏᴘᴇ /ᴍᴏʀᴀʟʟʏ ɢʀᴇʏ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀs...ᴛʜɪs ɪs ʏᴏᴜʀ ɢᴇᴛᴀᴡᴀʏ. (∩_∩)

"Well, you didn't expect me to sleep on the floor, now did you?" she scoffed. His eyes darkened. Her throat went dry. .˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳. Noticed by everyone. Trusted by no one. Loved by none. For Maria Carasso, being the first-born daughter of the ruthless Madre Beatrice is a deadly game of chess. In a high-society world where every smile hides a knife and loyalty is always borrowed, she is expected to either conquer or completely self-destruct. Then comes Marcello Salvatore. He is dangerous, magnetic, and deeply entwined with the American Mafia, a man whose silence is more threatening than most men's violence. What begins as a fragile, calculated alliance slowly spirals into a forbidden attraction Maria was never meant to feel. Then there's Matteo Salvatore. Where Marcello is winter, Matteo is wildfire. Charming, reckless, and impossible to ignore, he laughs too easily, says too much, and keeps appearing exactly when Maria needs someone in her corner. In a family where trust is a liability, he becomes the one person she never expected to lean on. But empires are not built on love. They're built on blood. When the first body drops, every finger points to Marcello. Worse yet, Maria knows exactly what he is capable of... and they could all be right. Now trapped between two Salvatore men, a mother who raised her to be a weapon, and a war that reaches far beyond New York, Maria must decide which is deadlier: betraying the family that owns her, or trusting the one that never will.