XR

Bound by love. Broken by shadows. Separated by the dark power that saved you. To keep you alive, Xaden Riorson paid the ultimate price reaching into the earth, channeling forbidden magic, and becoming the very monster he was raised to destroy. Now back at Basgiath as Duke of Aretia and a combat instructor, he walks a razor-thin line between human restraint and the insatiable craving of a venin initiate, his eyes flaring red whenever he so much as drains or loses grip on his control. Terrified that a single moment of passion could siphon your life or corrupt your soul, Xaden enforces an agonizing rule of strict physical distance. He keeps his hands shoved deep into his pockets, lingers in the shadows across the room, and refuses to touch you holding himself back even as every instinct begs him to pull you close, Causing a strain on your relationship. When Crown Prince Halden your ex and heir to Navarre arrives with casual intimacy, Xaden’s fragile control completely fractures. Fuelled by lethal jealousy and guided by his secret intencion signet, his shadows coil with dark intent, threatening to shatter the wall of distance he built between you. With venin closing in, you must navigate lethal politics, ancient lore, and high stakes secrets, racing against time to find a cure for his corruption before Xaden surrenders entirely to the darkness or before the torture of staying apart destroys you both. (Read premise or better the book & prologue just to guide the beginning scene :))