The first rule of the Ricci estate was simple. DO NOT LOOK AT THE CAPO! Dalia broke it the moment his shadow filled the doorway. She had felt him before she saw him. The shift in the air. The quiet fear that crept up her spine and settled between her shoulders like a warning. Men like Lucien Ricci did not announce themselves. They were sensed. Felt. Endured. Everyone said he was ruthless. That his hands were stained with blood and power in equal measure. That once you belonged to him, you never truly left. Dalia had never planned to belong to anyone. She was just a maid. Quiet. Invisible. A girl with dreams tucked away where no one could touch them. Until his eyes landed on her and did not look away. Until his voice said her name like it tasted good. Until one command changed everything. There was a moment, later, when she would understand that it had never been about choice. That desire had teeth. That power could be intoxicating when it wanted you back. Lucien Ricci did not chase. He waited. And when Dalia knelt at the edge of his world, trembling but willing, he knew exactly what he would do. He would ruin her carefully. He would claim her completely. And she would never be the same girl who walked into his room again.

Long before blood stained snow and gods chose sides, before prophecies were spoken aloud and broken blades whispered their hunger, something ancient stirred. A power once betrayed, once torn apart and buried beneath lies, had found a heartbeat again. And that heartbeat loved. Miranda Jacobs was never meant to be the center of creation's collapse. Born of war and wonder, of a war god and a just queen, she carried light . She did not seek destiny, yet destiny bent toward her all the same. Dmitri Volkov housed two souls and one promise. His uncles dark soul and Aetherion a fallen reborn : that nothing would ever touch what was his. Love anchored him where rage would have burned the universe to ash. Love also made him dangerous in ways the gods had forgotten to fear. Because the old rules no longer held. Tyron, born of betrayal and crowned by resentment, believed power was taken, not earned. He sharpened blades meant to erase souls, sent monsters into the dark, and whispered to shadows that thought the gods weak. He wanted the girl. He wanted the end. And Olympus trembled. Zeus clung to control, blind to the cost. Hera hungered for what should never be unchained. Hades saw the future and recoiled from it. Ares sharpened his sword not for glory, but for family. Poseidon watched the tides turn, knowing balance was already broken. The prophecy was clear. When light is pierced by darkness, when love becomes the battlefield, the fallen will rise without mercy, and forgiveness will die with the stars. This was not a story about heroes. It was a story about what happens when love becomes a weapon, when gods make the same mistake twice, and when the universe learns that some bonds cannot be broken without everything burning with them. Book Two begins where fear turns into war. And war remembers names.

"K-Kane!" she gasped, her hands instinctively landing on his shoulders. He smirked. "What?" Her cheeks were flushed, her breathing uneven. "Stop that." His hands slid over her waist, securing her in place. "Why?" She swallowed hard, eyes darting away. "You're making my heart beat too fast." Kane took her small hand and placed it against his chest. His heart was pounding just as violently as hers. "Like mine?" he asked, voice lower, more intense. By day, Kane is a tech billionaire, dominating boardrooms with his sharp mind and icy demeanor. By night, he's a ruthless underground boxer, unleashing his demons with every brutal punch. No one gets close-until Mona. She's small, shy, and too damn sweet for his world. With fiery red hair and innocent green eyes, she's the only softness he's ever known. But behind her hesitant smiles lies a dark past, one that haunts her in nightmares she refuses to talk about. When a storm forces her to stay the night, lines blur. One kiss turns into obsession. One secret could destroy them both. Can Kane protect her from the past she won't reveal-or will his own darkness consume them first? * I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE *