The Scarlet Chains

He was trained to feel nothing. She was taught to expect nothing. Together, they broke every rule they'd ever been given.

Cassian Ashford never wanted to fall in love. As the Duke of Thornmere and heir to the ruthless Iron Council, he was raised to be his father's perfect weapon-cold, calculating, and controlled. Love was a weakness he couldn't afford. Marriage was just another political maneuver.

Until he met her.

Seraphine Blackwell was supposed to be a transaction. An alliance wrapped in silk and empty vows. But from their first meeting in that sunlit library, something shifted. She saw through his masks, challenged his walls, and made him feel things he'd sworn he never would.

Now, five years into a betrothal built on lies, their carefully constructed world is about to explode.

When rebellion strikes at the heart of the Empire and their engagement ceremony turns into a bloodbath, Cassian makes a choice that changes everything-he saves her. And in that moment of chaos and fire, he confesses the truth he's been hiding for years:

He's in love with her. He's always been in love with her.

But love in the Crescent Empire comes with a price written in blood.