Staying Dead - Lillith Sterling

Dying was supposed to be the end. For twenty-three year old Arden, it was just the beginning of a new hell. In the gritty afterlife of Second, her only purpose is finding Perry, the friend who vanished without a trace. But survival comes at a price. After a brutal attack, she falls into the grasp of Bayne, a lethal man with secrets who sees her as a pawn in his war against the soul-devouring monsters. He offers a bargain she can't refuse: her service for saving her best friend's life. Trapped in his hidden castle, Arden is forced to hone her skills for a man she despises. Yet with every clash of blades and heated glance, the line between hatred and desire blurs into a dangerous obsession. But the monsters are closer than she knows, and the truth is a web of a betrayal that will cost Arden her very soul.