Introduction: Power is the only faith that endures when gods are dust and kingdoms rot from within.Vaelros is a relic of a forgotten age—an ancient vampire cursed with a hunger that goes beyond blood, a hunger for control, for dominance, for something he cannot name. Awakened from centuries of decay, he is a shadow of the monster he once was… until he meets her.Eira is an apothecary, sharp-tongued and unyielding, with no patience for myths or monsters. Survival is her craft, and she’s never needed saving. But when fate—or something far darker—binds her path to Vaelros’s, she becomes entangled in a struggle far greater than she ever imagined.Their connection is a volatile tether of obsession and defiance, straining against the pull of blood, desire, and a darkness neither of them fully understands.He is a creature who doesn’t know how to want without taking.She is a woman who refuses to be owned.But some hungers cannot be tamed.And not all chains are made of iron....