Ivy spends her entire childhood locked inside sterile government laboratories because her bare skin delivers instantaneous death to anyone she touches. Deployed to a cutthroat military academy to be refined into a living weapon, she faces harsh hazing and isolation from cadet squads terrified of her uncontrollable curse.
Xaden, a decorated combat specialist resentful of training his own replacement, tests Ivy through grueling combat drills while refusing to flinch from her reputation. As unspoken affection grows beneath their combat armor, Ivy yearns for genuine human contact, even as one accidental slip could instantly slaughter the instructor she loves.
