The Belle and The Bird
(2025)(The first book in the Belle and The Bird series)
A novel by Celaena Cuico
One trained to kill. One trained to dance. Neither is prepared for the fire between them.
Raven doesn’t do emotions—she does contracts, guns, and control. As the founder of The Nest, an elite mercenary group, she’s built a reputation for being ruthless and unbreakable. But when a powerful Senator—at the suggestion of her infuriating ex-husband—hires her to protect his daughter, Raven finds herself facing a new kind of threat.
Xyla is a ballerina with a sharp tongue and a body carved from discipline and desire. Fierce, untouchable, and preparing to perform the Black Swan, she's more than a spoiled politician’s daughter—she's a walking contradiction. And she seems to delight in making Raven's life a living hell.
But when a faceless terrorist organization sets its sights on Xyla, the danger becomes more than just bullets and blades. Kidnappings, torture, and assassination attempts blur into sleepless nights and breathless moments. And somewhere in the chaos, the tension between Raven and Xyla ignites—a slow burn turning into a raging inferno neither of them can control.
The line between protector and temptation has never been thinner.
With every brush of skin and every whispered threat, Raven and Xyla must fight not just for their lives—but for the tangled desire threatening to consume them both. Because in this deadly game of cat and mouse, surrender might be the most dangerous move of all.
Genre: Thriller
Raven doesn’t do emotions—she does contracts, guns, and control. As the founder of The Nest, an elite mercenary group, she’s built a reputation for being ruthless and unbreakable. But when a powerful Senator—at the suggestion of her infuriating ex-husband—hires her to protect his daughter, Raven finds herself facing a new kind of threat.
Xyla is a ballerina with a sharp tongue and a body carved from discipline and desire. Fierce, untouchable, and preparing to perform the Black Swan, she's more than a spoiled politician’s daughter—she's a walking contradiction. And she seems to delight in making Raven's life a living hell.
But when a faceless terrorist organization sets its sights on Xyla, the danger becomes more than just bullets and blades. Kidnappings, torture, and assassination attempts blur into sleepless nights and breathless moments. And somewhere in the chaos, the tension between Raven and Xyla ignites—a slow burn turning into a raging inferno neither of them can control.
The line between protector and temptation has never been thinner.
With every brush of skin and every whispered threat, Raven and Xyla must fight not just for their lives—but for the tangled desire threatening to consume them both. Because in this deadly game of cat and mouse, surrender might be the most dangerous move of all.
Genre: Thriller
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