Vera spent her entire life pretending the darkness inside her doesn't exist.

Raised among The Mother's Guardian's - an elite order descended from Gods and trained to kill without mercy - she learned early that weakness is dangerous, obedience is survival, and monsters are never spared.

Which is a problem when there's something beneath her skin that's terrifyingly alive.

At first, Vera believed she could hide it by building mental walls to not only keep others out, but to keep the beast clawing around inside of her in. But when the balance of the realms shifts and her beast becomes a key component for survival, will she be able to accept the worst parts of herself to control it?

Ace has always been difficult to look away from, beautiful in an effortless, unfair way. With the kind of charm that makes people reckless around him. But he likes getting far too close to Vera for her comfort. Being around him is dangerous enough, wanting him could be the thing that destroys her control.

But it's the God in the shadows who truly unsettles her.

There's something dangerous about the way he watches her, as if he can see through the walls she's spent years building. Every encounter leaves her feeling exposed, off-balance, and terrifyingly understood.

With each new piece found and every salacious whisper from the God trying to possess her, she begins to fear that the darkness inside of her isn't something to suppress . . . it's something waiting to be set free.