On the night of her arranged marriage to the kingdom's cruelest noble, 19-year-old Elira discovers a hidden letter from her dead mother — revealing a family curse that binds the women in their bloodline to die if they marry for duty, not love.
But fate has other plans.
Elira runs away into the cursed forest of Blackmoor, where it's said no soul returns. Instead of death, she finds a dark, beautiful man bound by chains of fire — Kael, the imprisoned Prince of Shadows, cursed to sleep for a thousand years.
By freeing him, she becomes his "Chosen," a soul tethered to him by ancient magic… and desire. But the world believes Kael is a monster, and her family will stop at nothing to drag her back.
To survive, Elira must choose:
Break the curse, awaken her hidden power, and risk falling in love with the darkness… or return to a life of obedience and slowly lose her soul.
Chapter 1: The Wedding Veil
The veil was white. The blood on her fingers was not.
Elira stared at her reflection in the cracked mirror, trembling hands smoothing down the silk gown that didn't belong to her — not in spirit, not in heart. Outside, bells tolled for celebration. Inside, her heart mourned.
They said Lord Dareth was a good match. Rich. Respected. A man of status. But they didn't see the way his eyes followed her like prey. Or how her voice became dust in his presence.
Then, on the dresser, a letter — yellowed, sealed with a rose-shaped wax stamp. Her mother's handwriting.
"If you're reading this, it means you too are about to be sacrificed. But you don't have to be. Run to Blackmoor. Trust the darkness."
That night, Elira fled — into the woods, into legend, into a story where she was no longer the pawn.