"Friends are like condoms. They protect you when things get hard." That's what my five drool-worthy best-friends-turned-boyfriends-turned-fated said when we were younger. We lived by it. But I don't know if there's a condom out there that's strong enough to protect us from what's coming...pun intended. Five men? Yeah, it gets a little hectic around here. They're lucky I love them - because patience sure as hell isn't a virtue of mine. Add in natural disasters laying havoc to our world, and learning we have magic from the goddess Gaia.

A reject—that’s the best way to describe how I’m treated. All because I’m a hybrid. The monarchs of hell revere pure bloodlines and perfection above all else, and in their eyes, I’m a mutt. Good thing dear old Dad, the Grim Reaper, has never once looked at me as anything other than his favorite child. Well, I’m his only child, but semantics. Suddenly, he has tasked me with the job of going to the council summit in his place. An event that happens once every century to determine which royal house will be voted into the supreme position. A position people would kill for.

The days have blurred together ever since he forced his blood down my throat. This is supposed to be illegal in society, but the laws don’t apply to the Vampyre King. It doesn’t matter how much I fight him off and refuse to bend to his will despite his blood running through my veins—it only makes him want me more. Apparently, I’m an anomaly. No one has ever refused the call of a Vampyre’s blood. I try to keep my hope alive that someone will step in and right the wrongs of my injustice…. But no one does.

Six years ago, I awoke in a cage with no knowledge of who I was or where I’d come from. Six years ago, I was spared the flesh markets and instead thrown in with a group of savages, where I learned it was fight or die. Now, eight Orders of Assassins are converging on the only home I’ve ever known. All in hopes of purchasing new blade slaves for their ranks. I’m for sale, yet all I want is a life far from death and ownership. Then I meet them, the Order of Scorpions. Their allure is a threat to the freedom I crave, but I won’t fall victim to their sting, no matter how tempting it might be.

It was supposed to be a fresh start. A completely blank slate in a place where no one knew about the tragedy that ripped her family apart six months ago. A tragedy Rowan can't help but blame herself for. Now the only thing she wants is to blend in. To escape the house that has become more like a prison. Her new school is her only hope. Somewhere she can pretend she's just like everyone else. Only Rowan doesn't realize how unique she is. Holden is the first to recognize it, but he's not the last.