He answers to blood, wears a crown of gold, and speaks her name like a sin. When Elara opens the veil for power, the King of the Forgotten steps through—and claims far more than her magic. A summoner raised in a crumbling estate, Elara binds a ghost-king named Darian and awakens a hunger that turns her body into a battleground and a shrine. Their pact sears; their chemistry ruins. Each touch thins the veil, drawing jealous spirits and ancient rivals who want what Darian has taken—Elara, and the perilous spark now kindling inside her. As whispers crawl the walls and mirrors breathe, Elara becomes the anchor that keeps a sovereign of death in flesh…and the lock that keeps the dead from spilling into the living. But the more Darian roots in her, the more the house—and the creatures beyond it—press to break her. If she can't master the bond before the challengers force the gate, the veil will unmake itself and crown her in ruin. If she can, she'll forge a throne of chains and desire with the only monster who ever looked at her like she was alive. Dark romantasy meets haunted-house obsession—feral, atmospheric, and very high heat. For readers of possessive, morally gray immortals, occult pacts, corrupt-priestess energy, and love that tastes like power.