No individual in Rune Winters’ life ever occupied so sacred or tender a place in her heart as her grandmother—the formidable witch who not only nurtured but shaped her entire existence. This woman, who balanced wisdom with warmth, had been Rune’s anchor, mentor, and only true family. Yet that profound affection, once as open as sunlight, became something Rune was forced to conceal in the deepest recesses of her soul. Ever since the moment when the ruling witches of her once-prosperous kingdom were violently dethroned, and her beloved grandmother condemned and executed by fearful human factions two years prior, love itself had become dangerous currency—something to be hidden, not celebrated.
In the aftermath of such devastation, Rune has constructed an entirely new facade: a perfect illusion designed for survival. To the world that watches her, she appears to be nothing more than a radiant socialite, a young woman delighting in the glittering excesses of high society and professing unwavering dedication to the new human order. Yet beneath the fine fabrics and polished smiles, Rune conceals a perilous truth. By moonlight and secrecy, she becomes the Crimson Moth—a renegade witch who dares to defy the regime’s cruelty by rescuing others of her kind who find themselves on the brink of discovery, imprisonment, or execution. Every clandestine operation she undertakes carries the weight of mortal danger; every success risks revealing her hidden identity.
Driven by the necessity of intelligence and leverage, Rune sets her strategic gaze upon Gideon Sharpe—a man infamous not only for his cunning but for his unrelenting devotion to rooting out witchkind. A formidable witch hunter, Gideon had played a decisive role in the uprising that shattered the witches’ dominion. To him, Rune’s outward persona of frivolity—her obsession with banquets, gowns, and the superficial chase of status—embodies everything he disdains. Ordinarily, he would dismiss such a woman without hesitation or courtesy. But when whispers reach him that the elusive Crimson Moth may have some mysterious link to Rune Winters, Gideon’s calculation shifts. He resolves to draw closer, believing proximity to her may unravel the truth he seeks.
Thus begins a perilous masquerade—a volatile interplay of deception, attraction, and suspicion. Rune and Gideon each adopt the guise of passionate infatuation, concealing behind gestures of desire their true, conflicting purposes. Their every glance becomes a negotiation, their every conversation a delicate battlefield laced with subtext and risk. As they navigate this fragile equilibrium, neither dares to reveal the vulnerabilities beneath their masks. Yet as their fates intertwine, the intensity between them begins to ignite into something neither expected nor fully controls. The fire that flares between witch and witch hunter might one day consume the lies separating them—but perhaps it will also illuminate the chasm of secrets standing in their way.
Kristen Ciccarelli’s *Heartless Hunter*, the first breathtaking installment of *The Crimson Moth* duology, unfolds as a tale woven from equal parts mystery, peril, and electric tension—a story where forbidden love smolders beneath revolution’s shadow and where truth itself is the most dangerous magic of all.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/enemies-to-lovers-romance-book-recommendations
