Life in the perilous Thorn district is a constant battle for Arvelle and her younger brothers. And the vampire standing on her doorstep is about to turn their world upside down.
Faced with an unthinkable choice, Arvelle makes a magically binding vow to do the impossible: kill the emperor, an ancient vampire created by the god Umbros. But first, she must enter the Sunderingâan arena where only the fastest, strongest, and deadliest survive long enough to be selected for the emperorâs elite guard.
She quickly draws the ire of the Primus, the powerful figure charged with protecting the emperor. But the vampire under the armor is the last person Arvelle expects to encounter in the emperorâs court.
With her brothersâ lives in the balance, Arvelle has no choice but to ally with the man who once shattered her heart⊠and with the emperorâs sadistic son, Rorrikâtwo vampires whose motives are impossible to pin down. Rorrik holds the key to understanding the powers Arvelle is developingâabilities that would put a price on her head if discovered by the emperor.To survive the arena and complete her mission, Arvelle must get to the bottom of a conspiracy that will change everything she thought she knew about herselfâand the two vampires who are deeply entwined with her destinyâŠ
Why You Should Read This Book
Tropes
Trigger Warnings
We Who Will Die
âIâm going to take everything you love, everything you remotely care about, and Iâm going to ruin it.â
âI missed you more than I miss the sun.â
âObsessing over the things you canât have will gradually eat away at everything you are and could be.â
âVampires are nothing if not possessive. And sometimes we break our toys so no one else can have them.â
âRorrik. One of the emperorâs sons. The eldest. Almost as cruel as he is beautiful.â
âI was obsessed with you for years before I left. I used to sneak into your room just to watch you breathe. I waited, each day agony as I begged the gods for you to finally admit we were meant to be together.â
âIâm glad I was an escape for you. One you could abandon once you no longer needed that escape.â
âOne of my worst realizations was how many people willâwithout a second thoughtâtrade other peopleâs freedoms for their own minor comforts.â
âYou donât get to tell me to trust people when youâre the one who incinerated any trust I had left.â
âYou responded well today. You listened to your instincts. Youâve always performed well under pressure. When you allow yourself to truly let go.â
Subscribe to Late Night Reads Weekly Newsletter
Get early access to our TBR list, podcast episodes, bonus content, irresistible book recommendations, and so much more!
