Julian I don’t lose control. Not with souls. Not with bargains. Not with emotions I buried centuries ago. Ophelia Arden was supposed to be a transaction. Her father made the deal. I took what was owed—her gift, her fire, the part that made her feel. It should’ve ended there. But the bond between us refuses to let go. And the closer I get, the more I wonder if I ever had a choice at all. She doesn’t know what I am. Or what she is to me. And if I were a better man, I’d stay away. But I’ve never been good. Ophelia I used to feel everything. Now my emotions are locked somewhere I can’t reach, and my art is nothing but echoes. They say I’m fading. But I know better. Something was taken from me. Julian Duvain watches me like he already owns every piece of what’s left. He’s wrong in all the ways I should run from—but I don’t. Because when he looks at me, something sharp stirs in my chest. He sees what no one else does. And whatever he’s hiding… it feels tied to everything I’ve lost. I should be afraid. But I’m already burning.

I married the wrong man. I chose safety—until my soulmark flared to life at my sister’s Infernal Union and shattered the illusion. It didn’t burn for my husband. It burned for a stranger with a devil’s grin and blood on his hands. Owen Duvain is a demon cloaked in charm, a walking curse dressed in tailored control. His touch ignites the mark on my skin. His gaze sees the parts of me I’ve hidden from everyone else. But he’s dangerous. Secretive. Bound to deals inked in darkness and debts still waiting to be paid. Every instinct tells me I made vows—and I shouldn’t break them. Even if I’m starting to forget why I made them in the first place. Now my certainty is slipping, my world splintering, and the man I married is becoming someone I don’t recognize. Owen doesn’t ask me to choose him. The bond already has.