

For three hundred years, the cultivator Sean Yale single-handedly guarded the pass, keeping the demon invasion at bay and ensuring peace for Aureate. But his long vigil bred only complacency and distrust. Accused of fabricating the demon threat, he was cast out by the very nation he protected. Without him, the demons descended, throwing the realm into chaos. As Aureate faced its doom, Sean moved on, aiding other lands against the onslaught, his legendary might now sought by all who once doubted him. In the end, it was he who pushed the demons back to the wastelands and restored peace, leaving those who betrayed him to face the consequences of their folly.

"I never meant to betray my husband. But when you’re running for your life and trapped between your two forbidden stepsons — one whose body burns like fire, the other whose darkness pulls you under — resistance becomes impossible. On horseback, on a storm-tossed boat, and in a rattling night train with Damien sitting right there… I let them touch me. I let them ruin me. And worse — I started wanting it. Needing it. Now I’m just kilometers away from safety, yet I know I’m already completely lost. Because the woman who arrives at that safe house won’t be Damien’s loyal wife anymore. She’ll be her stepsons’ filthy, willing whore."