Book one in an interconnected series of STANDALONES.

Beyond the realm of gods, two cities stand at the brink of despair, and a dark destiny awaits Death's newest Maiden.

Long ago, Requiem was plagued by war and abandoned by the gods but Death saved the suffering people, giving each soul a hundred years of immortality. With that grace, he also sent two Maidens. One of Life, for healing and comfort, and one of Death, the only person in the world with the ability to kill.

Generations later, the Life Maiden is missing and Princess Deyanira is nothing more than a trained weapon. A hunter. A murderer wrenched into Death's dark court to have the name of her next victim seared onto her palm.

She is the enemy of this land. But, when she's given the chance to bring peace through marriage and finally show her father's kingdom her worth, she is viciously tricked into marrying the wrong man, ruining the future of the damaged realm. Her only hope to give something back to the world is to find the missing Life Maiden.

Now, eternally bound to her enemy and dragged into the dark burlesque show her new husband is bound to, she must fight to keep herself free. And her heart. Especially when she becomes the hunted.

Meena’s Reading Vibe:

A dark, gothic fantasy laced with forbidden romance and danger. Think candlelit halls, whispered vows bound in blood, and the weight of destiny pressing against your chest. Till Death carries you into a world where love is a weapon, marriage feels like a trap, and every page drips with tension between ruin and redemption. Perfect for curling up with under flickering candlelight, pumpkins on the table, and lace at your fingertips—the kind of story that feels both haunting and intoxicatingly beautiful.