Vows Written in Ash

When bankrupt heiress Seraphina Vale is forced into marriage with Lucian Marrow, the feared lord of Blackthorn House and heir to a criminal empire disguised as old money, she expects a gilded cage. She does not expect the man behind the rumors: cold, scarred, violently protective, and carrying grief like a blade. Their marriage is meant to settle her father’s debts and secure Lucian’s claim over the city’s underworld—but Seraphina has her own reasons for saying yes.

Years ago, her mother vanished after investigating Blackthorn House. Seraphina believes Lucian knows what happened. As desire turns dangerous and every touch becomes a confession neither can afford, she uncovers a conspiracy buried beneath charity galas, blood contracts, and ancestral lies. But Lucian’s darkest secret is not that he bought her hand in marriage. It is that he has been protecting her since the night her life first burned down—and if she learns why, she may hate him forever.