It's never easy taking a life, no matter how tainted their soul had been.

But what if it was against your will?

With winter's approach comes longer nights, and in the dark of night, Cassie's horrors come to life. Sleep evades her, and when rest finally comes, she finds herself trapped, forced to face the death of the one person she thought she'd wanted to kill. Though it was by her hand that he died, it was not her will.

The threat of war with the darklings drives Cassie to grow stronger, and while losing herself in the training and companionship of her friends may help avoid the reality of what she'd done, it isn't a cure. With every step, she finds herself shadowed by a strange presence, a voice filling her mind with corruption... and she struggles to separate its desires from her own.

Watching the one you love suffer is worse than suffering yourself, and while Damien fights to protect his people from the darklings, he struggles to help Cassie fight her own demons. Winter Solstice nears, and he and the brothers work together to help Cassie through therapy, celebrations, and traditions, in hopes that they might pull her from the darkness holding her and help her find her place in their world and her new home.

But can a human truly find a place amongst immortals?