PROLOGUE

The church bells are too gentle for what today really is.

People call it a wedding. A union. A celebration.

But when she walks toward me — white dress, steady steps, eyes soft in a way that once brought me to my knees — I know this is not a beginning.

It’s a surrender.

Not hers. Mine.

Because the man the world thinks I am would never beg for forever. Never fall to ruin over a woman. Never choose love over the empire he was raised to protect.

But for her — I already have.

Every brick of my power was built on coldness, on calculation, on control.

Then Seraphina Vale walked into my life and saw through it all — through the armor, through the rage, through the man I swore I would never let exist again.

She read me like I was something human.

And that was the beginning of the end.

Our story didn’t start with love. It started with suspicion. With misunderstandings. With a photograph that should have never been taken and a threat that should have never involved her.

I tried to hate her. Tried to stay away. Tried to bury what she ignited in me.

But storms don’t wait for permission.

They destroy.

They remake.

They claim.

And so did she.

Now, standing at the altar, watching her come closer with every heartbeat, I understand the one truth I spent my entire life denying —

I was never in control.

She had my soul before she ever touched my hands.

The world will say this wedding is power. That the Volkov empire grows today. That I won.

But the only victory I care about is already walking straight toward me — eyes full of trust I’ll never deserve, love fierce enough to terrify gods.

Today isn’t the day a king gains a queen.

Today is the day a man discovers he cannot live without his woman — and swears to spend forever proving it.

And if the world tries to take her again?

Let them.

I know exactly how far I’ll go now.

As far as fire can burn.

As far as love can kill.

As far as she needs.

Because Seraphina Vale is the only crown I’ll ever bow to.

And I’d destroy the kingdom, the world, and myself

before I ever lose her again.

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CROWN OF SIN

Damian Hale was raised in violence and forged into a weapon for the Volkov empire. As Adrian Volkov’s most feared enforcer, he lives by one rule—feel nothing, need nothing, love no one. Then there’s Alina Volkov. Brilliant. Untouchable. The Volkov princess who refuses to be caged. Damian has spent years protecting her from the shadows, keeping his distance from the only light he has ever known. Because men like him are born for sin, not salvation. But Alina has never followed rules—especially his. When a dangerous enemy resurfaces from Damian’s past, targeting Alina to destroy the Volkov family, distance is no longer an option. Forced into close quarters, the tension between them ignites into something far more dangerous than attraction. She sees the nightmares he hides. He sees the fear she refuses to show. And the deeper they fall, the more impossible it becomes to pretend this is only protection. Because Damian isn’t just fighting enemies anymore—he’s fighting the truth. He would burn the world to keep her safe. Even if the only thing that might destroy her… is loving him.

VERSES OF THE VICES

We were told that power is a shield, but I’ve found it’s more of a glass house—transparent, fragile, and freezing at night. We’ve watched the "Kings" move through marble halls, seen the way they wear their sins like custom tailoring, and whispered about the women who finally brought them to their knees. But what happens in the stillness between the pages? Verses of the Vices is a descent. It is a collection of seven autopsies performed on the hearts of men who thought they were untouchable. These poems are for the ones who look at a throne and see a cage. For the ones who know that wrath is just a mask for grief, and that gluttony is just a hunger for a home that doesn't exist. From the suffocating luxury of Smoke in Suit to the raw, quiet surrender of What the Fire Forgot, this collection maps the distance between who these men are and who they become when the lights go out. They say money can’t buy a soul, but it can certainly build a beautiful place to lose one. Welcome to the wreckage. It’s more beautiful than you were led to believe. Even the gods bleed when they love. — A.V.

CROWN OF RUINS

Five years ago, Elena told Luca she loved him. He walked away — not because he didn’t love her, but because loving him put her in danger. Now she’s a lawyer hired to protect the Volkov family empire. He has no choice but to work with her. She has no intention of forgiving him. The tension between them is unmanageable — jealousy, denial, old memories, suppressed desire. When an enemy begins targeting Elena, Luca’s restraint collapses. He becomes ruthless — the version of him he swore she would never see. To protect her, he betrays her again. She leaves. He breaks. Truth comes out. The world tries to own them. They choose each other anyway.

03

PROLOGUE

Ana Vespera

I’m Ana Vespera. I write novels, poetry, songs, and everything in between—exploring love, emotion, and the moments that linger long after they pass.

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CROWN OF SIN

Ana Vespera

VERSES OF THE VICES

Ana Vespera

CROWN OF RUINS

Ana Vespera