A scorching forbidden love threatens to tear a rift through the Black Dagger Brotherhood in J. R. Ward’s newest novel in the bestselling series.
Xcor, leader of the Band of Bastards, convicted of treason against the Blind King, is facing a brutal interrogation and torturous death at the hands of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Yet after a life marked by cruelty and evil deeds, he accepts his soldier’s fate, his sole regret the loss of a sacred female who was never his: the Chosen Layla.
Layla alone knows the truth that will save Xcor’s life. But revealing his sacrifice and his hidden heritage will expose them both and destroy everything Layla holds dear—even her role of mother to her precious young. Torn between love and loyalty, she must summon the courage to stand up against the only family she has for the only man she will ever love. Yet even if Xcor is somehow granted a reprieve, he and Layla would have to confront a graver challenge: bridging the chasm that divides their worlds without paving the way for a future of even greater war, desolation, and death.
As a dangerous old enemy returns to Caldwell and the identity of a new deity is revealed, nothing is certain or safe in the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, not even true love—or destinies that have long seemed set in stone.
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“Narrator Jim Frangione raises the stakes in this tense installment in Ward’s epic urban vampire series…Frangione lives the violent arguments between Layla and her baby daddy, Qhuinn, as he spirals into violent retribution that endangers everyone. As several beloved couples fall into disunity, Frangione shuttles between their stories. He makes the multiple narratives equally important and keeps the characters vibrant…A strong performance of a pivotal audiobook in Ward’s series. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
“To die for…I love this series.”
— Suzanne Brockmann, New York Times bestselling author, praise for the seriesUtterly absorbing and deliciously erotic.
— Angela KnightTo die for . . . I love this series!
— Suzanne Brockmann“Utterly absorbing and deliciously erotic.”
— Angela Knight, author of the Talents series, praise for the seriesJ. R. Ward is the author of more than forty novels, including those in her #1 New York Times bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood series. There are more than fifteen million copies of her novels in print worldwide, and they have been published in more than two dozen countries around the world.
Jim Frangione is an actor and audiobook narrator who won AudioFile magazine’s 2011 Best Voice in Mystery and Suspense for his reading of Philip Carter’s The Altar of Bones and Spencer Quinn’s To Fetch a Thief. He has won numerous Earphones Awards and has been was a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award. His theater credits include the off-Broadway production of Scrambled Eggs and the New York premiere of David Mamet’s plays The Old Neighborhood, Romance, and Oleanna, in which he also performed with the national tour. His film and television appearances include Joy, Transamerica, Spartan, Heist, Brotherhood, The Unit, and Law & Order.