The first time Seraphina killed Prince Valtheris, she felt nothing but satisfaction. The second time, terror.The Sisterhood of Mercy sends Seraphina to Nocthys to kill the cursed prince and end the kingdom's eternal night. But Valtheris rises, shadows knitting his wounds like living thread. He does not strike. He smiles. "Run." When she refuses, he binds her to him.In a haunted palace, the hunt turns to heat and hunger. His shadows learn her skin. Her body learns his darkness. Each step reveals a different truth. His torment is not an accident. Neither is hers. The Sisterhood did not send her to slay a monster. They forged her to become one.Still, the prince will not let her go. Not when the shadows know her name. Not when her blade answers his touch. Between battles, heat builds in the dark. And in the quiet after, a memory of lavender and roses pulls at her, a promise she cannot name and cannot forget.At dawn, a ritual will demand willing sacrifice. To break a curse. To save a kingdom. To keep a heart. Mercy always costs blood.