Lavinia Ardelean had protocols for everything. She didn't expect a human vlogger to be the one variable she couldn't calculate.
Rhett Jenson returned to the Crimson Rose as a liability. A six-week problem to contain. He was chaotic, charming, and the only person who saw her rules as poetry rather than restrictions.
Her walls had held for two centuries.
But when he listened instead of performing, when he defended her castle without seeking credit, she realized he wasn't breaking her defenses. He was earning his way through them.
Now enemies are circling everything she built, and Rhett is the only one standing with her.
Lavinia faces a terrifying calculation: execute the protocol to save her world, or make the one exception that could burn it all down? †
†This was produced using author-directed AI tools.
