Prologue

Alexandra's life was perfectly ordinary-or so she thought. Her days were filled with wedding preparations for her sister, quiet afternoons hidden away with forbidden books, and unanswered questions about her father's disappearance years ago.

But everything changes one fateful night when her curiosity leads her to read from an ancient tome. With a single incantation, she accidentally summons Kael-a devastatingly handsome, dangerously sharp-tongued being who claims he's from the underworld.

Kael is a demon, or so he lets her believe. Bound to her by blood and magic, he has no choice but to remain in her world. But his arrival tears open a doorway between realms, unleashing monstrous creatures that hunger for Alexandra and the power the book holds.

Now hunted by forces she can't comprehend, Alexandra strikes a risky deal with Kael: he'll protect her from the creatures-and the secrets lurking in the shadows-and she'll help him break free of their bond. But Kael's cryptic remarks about her father and her own hidden heritage force Alexandra to confront a truth she isn't ready for: her bloodline holds power beyond her imagination, and it might be the reason everything is falling apart.

With danger closing in, and Kael's own secrets threatening to unravel everything, Alexandra is torn between the magnetic pull she feels toward him and the darkness he seems to embody.

Can she trust the demon she summoned to help her find the answers she seeks? Or is Kael leading her into a trap that could destroy not just her, but everything she loves?