Cinder-Szule Reinholz has no intention of marrying his kingdom's rake of a prince. His place in the world is to keep his incompetent, destitute household afloat. It's the only respectable thing he's managed since his mother wasted her dying breath tasking him to do good, and the sins he's stacked against that duty grow by the day—along with the bastards he's stabbed and left for dead. But while slinking through the royal matchmaker ball, Cin stumbles onto the prince mid-conquest. He's whisked into a thrilling affair, as secretive as the magic that conceals his status and the feathers he leaves in his victim's wounds. As Cin learns more of the prince's familial burdens and perceived failures, his yearning delves beyond the prince's striking physique to his tender and attentive heart.

Cin's nightly escapades are not going unnoticed by his family, though—not his time with the prince, nor his vigilante missions. Just as the King and Queen are presenting their own son's hand in marriage like a trophy for the taking, they've offered a prize for whoever identifies the killer roaming their streets. Caught between duty, desire, and something far darker, Cin fights for a future that doesn't leave him trapped in someone else's world—or their dungeons.

Contains mature themes.