Beauty was never meant to be a curse.

For centuries, the Vaelis family has carried the blood of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty. Their bloodline is said to possess a beauty beyond that of ordinary mortals—faces too perfect, eyes too captivating, and a presence impossible to forget.

But every blessing has a price.

Those who see a Vaelis's uncovered face and meet their eyes become consumed by an unnatural obsession. What begins as fascination slowly turns into madness, until the person is left with nothing but their desire for the one they can never have.

Because of this, the Vaelis family lives behind towering walls, protected from the outside world and feared by those who know their secret.

Eryx Vaelis has spent nineteen years living inside those walls.

He has never walked through a crowded market. Never wandered through another city. Never watched the world beyond his family's estate with his own eyes. While his parents and siblings are free to come and go as they please, Eryx is forced to remain hidden, his face concealed beneath veils whenever someone outside his family is near.

He knows the rules.

Never reveal your face.

Never remove the veil.

Never let anyone see your eyes.

But Eryx is tired of being treated like something that needs to be hidden.

He wants to know what exists beyond the walls that have confined him his entire life. He wants to see the world his family refuses to let him explore.

So one night, Eryx decides to break the rules.

He expects danger.

He expects fear.

What he doesn't expect is to meet someone who can look directly at him...

and remain completely unaffected.

For the first time in generations, the curse has encountered something it shouldn't have.

And Eryx is about to discover that the secret behind his family's bloodline may be far more complicated than anyone ever told him.