She came to destroy him. She never expected to want him. Selena Nightshade returns to the Royal Dominion with shadows in her blood and vengeance in her heart. The Aurelius crown murdered her family and branded her a traitor. Now, disguised as a commoner, she slips through the gilded courts of Aurelius Palace with one goal: get close to Prince Darius and tear his world apart from the inside. But Darius is nothing like the cold-blooded royal she expected. Sarcastic, restless, and drowning in a golden cage he never asked for, he meets her hostility with maddening indifference—and a heat in his hazel eyes that she cannot ignore. He should be her enemy. He should be her target. Yet every sharp exchange leaves her breathless, every accidental touch lingers too long, and soon hatred begins to feel dangerously like hunger. Forced together by a cruel twist of royal politics, Selena and Darius must play the roles of betrothed lovers while secretly circling each other like predators in the dark. He is fire—wild, consuming, and desperate to break free. She is shadow—cold, ancient, and sworn to destroy his bloodline. But when the palace walls close in and the truth of Selena's stolen birthright surfaces, the line between justice and revenge blurs. Loving him could cost her everything. Losing her could burn his kingdom to the ground. In a world of ancient curses, forbidden magic, and a forest that hungers for royal blood, two enemies must decide what they are willing to sacrifice. Will the shadows consume them both, or can fire and darkness forge something stronger than revenge?