Florer, Maranda

Drake Rathburn has spent most of his life running. At twelve years old, he was sent to the Dragonfly Academy, a place his parents believed would straighten out their rebellious son. Instead, it became a nightmare that stole his childhood and left scars no one could see.

The Lithen Academy promises structure, safety, and purpose for its students. Behind its locked gates, however, young men and women are stripped of autonomy and reshaped into rigid roles known only as dragonflies and butterflies.

Leonardo Roche was raised to be the heir of one of the most feared crime families in the world. From the day he was born, his future was never his own. Every choice was made for him. Every mistake was judged. Every weakness was punished.

Leonardo Roche has spent his life resisting the empire his father built. Raised in the shadow of the powerful and calculating Levon Roche, Leonardo refused to become the cold, obedient heir his father expected.

Salvatore Mazzeo built his reputation the hard way—with violence, grit, and a name people learned to fear. He wasn’t rich. He didn’t wear tailored suits or live in a mansion. He was a gang leader, forged in back alleys and broken streets, respected because he had survived what most men didn’t.