Serena has always feared her own lips. Born with the cursed gift of the Luna-Maker’s Kiss—a power that can steal life with a single touch—she has spent her life running from shadows she cannot name. But when she’s captured by the ruthless Council of Wolves, her worst nightmare becomes real. Locked in a dungeon and forced to kill at their command, Serena clings to sanity through the only voice she can trust: Damien, a shackled warrior in the neighboring cell. Broken, bloodied, but unyielding, Damien becomes her anchor in the dark, teaching her how to breathe, count, and survive when fear threatens to consume her. But the Council isn’t her only enemy. Kael, the crimson-eyed rival who murdered her mother, has returned to claim Serena as his own. To him, she is not a prisoner; she is destiny. His whispers slip into her dreams, his shadow coils around her waking hours, and his promise is chilling: You were made for me. Caught between a protector who can’t break his chains and a rival who holds the Council in his palm, Serena must fight to control the gift that is both her curse and her weapon. Every trial drags her closer to breaking, yet every stolen whisper with Damien binds them deeper, even as Kael watches from the dark. In a world where one kiss can end a life, love itself may be Serena’s most dangerous rebellion.