We Who Will Die

A vampire blackmails a bodyguard into assassination for healing

Arvelle Dacien scrapes by as a bodyguard in the Thorn—Senthara's poorest district—earning just enough to buy lung tonics for her fourteen-year-old brother Evren, whose lungs were scarred in a mine explosion.

A vampire blackmails a bodyguard into assassination for healing

Arvelle Dacien scrapes by as a bodyguard in the Thorn—Senthara's poorest district—earning just enough to buy lung tonics for her fourteen-year-old brother Evren, whose lungs were scarred in a mine explosion. When every apothecary runs dry, a vampire named Bran appears at her door with two vials and a proposition: survive the emperor's gladiatorial trials, then kill Emperor Vallius Corvus, and Bran will send Evren to healers in the north. Arvelle refuses. The next day, Evren collapses, turning blue. Bran shatters one vial on the ground and holds up the last. She agrees. He bites her neck, sealing a vampire bond that compels obedience and prevents her from revealing the plot. Her twin brothers are handed to Bran's associate, and Arvelle leaves everything behind—including Leon, the grieving father of her dead best friend, whom she manipulates into training her one last time.

Rorrik disembowels a man to welcome his father's gladians

The ludus sprawls beneath the emperor's arena—windowless corridors built for vampire comfort, where sigilmarked become prey the moment the lights die. Arvelle meets Maeva, a cheerful bronze sigilmarked who becomes her first guide through the barracks and rivalries. She also stumbles upon Jorah, a sweet-natured caretaker who reveals the ludus's hidden tunnels. But kindness is rare here. Baldric and his sister Hester corner Arvelle: their cousin was killed in the Sands six years ago by Kassia—Arvelle's dead best friend—and they want blood. Then the gladians are assembled for their real welcome. Rorrik, the emperor's eldest son, drags a bound spy forward and shoves a clawed hand through his stomach, licking blood from his fingers. The message reaches Arvelle's bones: this is what happens to spies. And she is one.

Arvelle turns her weakness into a blade at Maximus's throat Leon pushes Arvelle through weeks of brutal training—shield drills, rope climbs, endless sprints—while other gladians showcase skills honed over lifetimes. She's slow, weak, and fighting a bad ankle never properly healed after the Sands. The Primus, the emperor's armored and helmeted guard captain, forces her to train with his elite imperius each morning and sit at their table for meals, all while insisting she should leave. Her first challenge arrives: a fight against Maximus, a skilled fighter who taunts her about Kassia's death. Flashbacks nearly kill her—she freezes on the sand where her friend bled out. But Leon's roar snaps her back. She exaggerates her limp, lures Maximus into overcommitting, then…