Introduction: The last heir of the Fulgaris bloodline walks the streets of Valenthis as a ghost.Zeke remembers when his name meant something鈥攚hen vampire lords lowered their eyes at his approach, when his family鈥檚 crest opened every door in the capital. Now, it is a death sentence etched into his skin. The Civil War took everything: his father鈥檚 throne, his mother鈥檚 laughter, the boy who once believed in mercy.Survival demands blood. Zeke pays the price鈥攊n stolen coin, in broken bones, in the slow erosion of his soul. Then comes the day the Vamperor鈥檚 soldiers drag him from the gutters and offer him a choice: die as a nameless criminal, or live as the regime鈥檚 sharpest blade.But Valenthis does not forget.The city whispers in the dark. The statues in the palace square weep unseen tears. And the truth of the Fulgaris massacre lingers like smoke in the air鈥攃lose enough to choke on, too faint to grasp.In this world, vampire lords play their games with living pawns. Human rebels sharpen their knives with broken promises. Every smile hides a knife, and every alliance is written in disappearing ink.Zeke walks the edge of a knife. One misstep, and the past will finish what the war started.Some legacies refuse to stay buried.And some princes refuse to kneel....