"I was told you were difficult." — "I was told you were terrifying. We've both been lied to."Aria Romano has spent her whole life refusing to bend. So when her father trades her to the enemy to end a six-year war, she doesn't break — she walks into Nikolai Volkov's world with her chin up and her eyes open.Nikolai Volkov doesn't do warmth. He does control, precision, and results. He agreed to the marriage because it was strategic. He told himself that's all it was.Then she opened her mouth and nothing was strategic anymore.Enemies. Rivals. Husband and wife.Assassins at the door. Traitors in the house. Families on the edge of war.And two people falling for each other in the middle of all of it — knowing that in their world, love doesn't protect you.It just gives your enemies a better target.