To protect her brother, a young noblewoman assassinates her father and uses her accumulated power to become the head of her family. In the same city, an illegitimate heir discovers the first victim of a serial killer and is drawn into the royal court he’s tried so hard to avoid. With both commanded by the vampire king to find the murderer, they enter a glittering web of desire, treachery and vengeance that could cost them their souls . . .