My name is Kiev Novalic. I am a vampire, and a murderer. Having betrayed the trust of my own kind and that of the enemies I sold myself to, I have three days left to live. I stare at the girl in the cell opposite mine. Mona, she calls herself. A witch born without magic. She might be my key to freedom, but I should know to stay away. I should know: some scars are etched too deep to heal.

There is much about my past that I have never revealed to anyone. Nobody knows that, before I lost myself, I was a physician's apprentice. I have witnessed countless human illnesses. But I have lived for centuries and never come across a vampire being sick with anything other than his own darkness. Until today. I'm staring at my blood on the floor and a raging migraine is taking hold of me. I'm not sure what to make of it...

The greatly anticipated finale to Kiev's stand-alone trilogy! After all that's happened, I thought I was past being surprised by Mona. But standing here by the lake, I realize I've barely scratched the surface. Her soul is blacker than I could have imagined. I thought I sought redemption. But now, I wonder if this darkness is what attracted me to her all along... Matteo's words ring in my ears: "Of creatures who inhabit the darkness, there are two types. Those who revel in it, and those who fight to escape it." Which am I? Or which do I choose to be?