by Liamsi
Mikhael was supposed to die nameless, just another body fed into the Empire’s quiet machinery.Instead, he survives long enough to learn the truth: nobles don’t rule by blood alone. They rule by seals, by stolen power, and by a religion built to keep everyone else kneeling. When Mikhael kills a Duke, it doesn’t set him free. It puts a mark on him.Now he is locked inside House Romulus, forced into a role he never chose, watched from every angle, taught rules that were designed to break him into something useful. His little brother Lionel is close, but not close enough, and Mikhael is running out of patience. Something has also started to speak inside his head, quiet at first, then clearer, as if it has been waiting for him to crack. Book One follows Mikhael’s arrival at House Romulus, the daily control disguised as “order,” the lies holding the estate together, and the choices he makes as he starts planning the fire.
