Cesare is well on his way to fulfilling his dark destiny, with the help of his newfound power. Seizing control of the French army, he begins the murderous rampage that would be his downfall…but for his loyal friend Chiaro, who can hear the last remaining vestige of Cesare’s soul crying out for release…

Driven apart despite their desperate efforts to stay together, Chiaro and Lucrezia continue to love each other from afar. Balancing Cesare’s dark scheming and Lucrezia’s second forced marriage are a deep secret, a surprising ally and the faintest glimmers of hope for the future. Will Chiaro return to Italy to save his love – even if it means killing Cesare?

On the run together, Lucrezia and Chiaro endure terrible hardships, only to find an unlikey ally — who may do them more harm than good! Fighting to stay together, and to stay alive, the lovers are about to face their greatest challenge — Cesare Borgia, revered and feared throughout Italy, has given in to his dark destiny. With his power and ruthlessness spiraling out of control, will the only people he ever loved escape his wrath?

As the demons within Cesare grow stronger, so do the feelings between Lucrezia and Chiaro. Furious and betrayed by the growing bond between them, Cesare insists that Lucrezia be married off at once – and forces Chiaro to examine his feelings in a way that neither could have predicted.

When a pair of seductive eyes comes between Cesare and his brother Juan, the escalating tension between the two finally explodes in a frenzy of rage. Will Juan’s sword glisten with Cesare’s blood, or will Cesare’s spiraling descent into madness lead to a much more gruesome end for his dear brother? Caught between the two blades is Cesare’s loyal companion, Chiaro, whose concern for his friend may soon be overwhelmed by his horror at Cesare’s ruthlessness…

Italy is once again at the mercy of Cesare Borgia’s ambitious scheming. But Cesare’s soul is being tortured by an unholy apparition that has returned from the dead to haunt him. Will he be too deep in torment to notice the dangerous turn his innocent sister’s marriage has taken — or will Lucrezia be left defenseless against a husband set on raping every last fiber of her soul?

Cesare Borgia’s grand schemes are threatened when he’s taken prisoner by a woman who has sworn to have him for herself, even if it means killing him! To add agony to treachery, Cesare learns that his dearly beloved adopted mother is in danger from a marauding band of soldiers! Can Cesare escape in time to save the one woman capable of banishing the ever-growing darkness in his heart? Chiaro rushes to the rescue — but even the legendary assassin may not be able to help in time!

Faced with the dark truth surrounding his accursed birth, Cesare is driven over the edge of sanity, straight into the arms of Hell. Will his otherworldly transformation tear from him the last shred of humanity and leave only the ruthless conqueror in its stead? When his sister is threatened with a cruel marriage, Cesare himself may be the one who destroys the slender threads of loyalty and love that hold his family together. Cesare’s only hope of salvation may lie in the mercy offered by the assassin Michelotto!

From his birth, Cesare Borgia is surrounded by shadows. Damned by his own father, hated by his closest brother, separated from the sister who loves him, and drive by the demons of Hell itself, his quest for power threatens to set the world of Renaissance Italy ablaze — unless one innocent person can drive away the poisonous shadows ravaging him!