Cruel Vice

<p><strong>ARIANA</strong></p><p>Freedom isn't what I thought it would be.<br>Outside his walls the world is colder sharper.<br>Every choice tastes of guilt; every breath carries his ghost.<br>But when he finds me again the rules change.<br>What we were is gone. What we are now is dangerous.<br><strong>Because loving him was my sin once-</strong><br><strong>and this time it might be my vice.</strong></p><p><strong>ALESSANDRO</strong></p><p>I let her go once. I won't do it again.<br>The empire's burning around me but she's still the only thing I can't destroy.<br>She thinks she's escaped the monster.<br>She doesn't see that I built the darkness to keep her safe.<br><strong>I'll make her remember who she belongs to-</strong><br><strong>even if it damns us both.</strong></p><p><em>This is the second book in the Blood Promise Series. Reading Order: </em><br><br><em>Silent Heart Cruel Vice Sinful Crave.</em></p><p> </p>