Alex's first breath in the new world tasted of blood and bergamot.
Cold steel pressed against his throat.
"Your pupils dilated," whispered a voice like poisoned honey.
"Leo's never done that."
In the vanity mirror, a stranger's face stared back—high cheekbones, silver hair tousled from sleep, a scar cutting through one eyebrow.
Duke Leo von Eldric.
The empire's most hated noble.
Alicia Voldern Rubia loomed over him, her nightgown pooling like spilled ink across the bedsheets.
Moonlight caught the ruby pendant between her collarbones—the same one from the novel's cover art, where she stood atop a mountain of corpses.
Alex's mind erupted with schematics:
[EW-Library Activated: Survival Options]
Hidden blade compartment (bedpost)
Acid vial (nightstand drawer)
Truth
He chose the third.
"Because I'm not him."
The dagger twitched.
A thin line of warmth trickled down his neck.
Alicia's smile was a scythe.
"Prove it."