Introduction: In 18th-century France, where honor is settled with steel and the slightest insult can lead to a duel at dawn, Adrien Valmont is untouchable. A prodigy at école de l'Acier, the most prestigious fencing academy in Paris, he has never been bested—until the day he meets Lucien Moreau.Lucien is everything Adrien despises: privileged, arrogant, and the son of a man who built his fortune ruining others. But when they are forced to train together, their rivalry turns into something far more dangerous than a clash of swords.Between whispered challenges in empty hallways and stolen glances across the dueling ring, hatred begins to blur into obsession. And when a conspiracy threatens to drag them both into the deadly politics of the aristocracy, they are faced with an impossible choice: betray each other… or break every rule to stand together.In a world where their kind of love is as forbidden as failure, what will be stronger—their swords, or their hearts?...