Princess Serafina Valerius is beloved by her nation and feared by her court. At twenty-five, she holds her fractured kingdom together with an iron will—a brilliant, dominant royal who has rebuilt her country since her father's assassination. But she is not queen yet. A council of vultures circles her throne, waiting for her to stumble. She trusts no one. She needs no one. Until one rain-soaked night, a wounded stranger collapses in front of her car. He is young. Vulnerable. Bleeding. She saves him. She stitches his wounds with her own hands. She lets him rest in her private wing of the palace—her inner sanctum. He says his name is Marco. A desperate, low-ranking mafia runner. A boy who needs protection. It's a lie. His real name is Dante Viscardi. Twenty-one. Heir to a criminal empire—a ghost who rules the underworld from the shadows. He orchestrated that "accident" just to get close to her. Now he's inside her palace. Inside her defenses. And she has no idea the broken boy she pitied is a man determined to claim her heart. But Serafina has never bowed to anyone. When she discovers the truth, she doesn't retreat—she confronts. Yet the more she pushes him away, the deeper he falls. In this dangerous game between royalty and sin, only one question remains: who will surrender first? He doesn't love gently. He loves fiercely. Obsession. Possession. Forever. ⚠️This book contains mature themes, violence, obsessive love, and morally grey characters. Read at your own risk. ⚠️VICIOUS DEVOTION Copyright All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means—including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods—without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law