Rina Kent’s dark romance novel God of Pain, first published in 2022, is the second installment in the bestselling Legacy of Gods series, though it functions as a standalone story. The plot follows Annika Volkov, a sheltered Mafia princess studying at Royal Elite University, whose life is upended by a dangerous attraction to Creighton King, a silent, enigmatic student from the rival King’s University. Their relationship becomes a volatile exploration of dominance and submission, complicated by their families’ secret, violent history and Creighton’s own deep-seated trauma. The novel examines themes of The Struggle for Autonomy in Controlling Relationships, The Interplay of Pain, Pleasure, and Emotional Intimacy, and Consent as a Continuous Negotiation of Power.

Rina Kent is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author known for writing antiheroes and exploring morally ambiguous relationships. God of Pain is a characteristic example of her work and the dark romance subgenre, which has seen a surge in popularity through online communities like TikTok’s #BookTok. Such novels often feature intense psychological dynamics, explicit content, and taboo themes to examine the characters’ deepest fears and desires. The narrative uses BDSM elements as a framework for exploring control, psychological release, and the complex connection between its two protagonists.

This guide is based on the 2024 Sourcebooks Bloom Books edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain depictions of child abuse, suicidal ideation, death by suicide, graphic violence, sexual content, sexual assault, death, and cursing.

Plot Summary

Annika Volkov, the 17-year-old daughter of a New York City Mafia leader, is in her secure room at her brother Jeremy’s mansion near King’s University. That night, a masked intruder breaks in through the balcony. Dressed in black and masked, the man is imposing, but Annika recognizes him as Creighton King, a quiet, 20-year-old student from her university to whom she is attracted. When a security breach is announced, a guard comes to Annika’s door. To protect the intruder, she lies, claiming she is naked so the guard will not enter. After the guard leaves, Creighton warns Annika before he slips back out the balcony door.

The next day, Jeremy, Annika’s overprotective older brother and president of the Heathens club at King’s University, questions her about the intrusion. He reveals there was an arson attempt in the mansion’s annex. Brighton Island is home to two rival universities, King’s U and Royal Elite University (REU), where Annika studies. The universities and their respective clubs, including the Heathens, the rival Serpents at King’s U, and REU’s Elites, are in constant conflict. As such, Jeremy keeps her at his mansion rather than in the REU dorms as much as possible. Annika maintains her lie and later discusses the fire with her friends at REU: Ava, Cecily, Brandon, and Remington. She finds Creighton alone in a gazebo and confronts him about the break-in and arson.

Annika tries to blackmail Creighton into spending an hour with her every day in exchange for her silence, but he coldly refuses to date her, warning her of his “deviant tastes and violent tendencies” (30). Later, during a video call, Annika’s mother, Lia Volkov, suggests that her father, Adrian Volkov, considers an arranged marriage for her to an approved suitor; however, he would not force an arranged marriage if Annika were already in love. This gives Annika the idea to find a fake boyfriend.

The narrative shifts to Creighton’s perspective, revealing he has traumatic memories from age three. His biological father was murdered, and his grief-stricken mother died by suicide and attempted to kill him in the process. He miraculously survived. He was adopted by Aiden and Elsa King and raised in England, but the memories still haunt him. His cousin, Landon King, provides clues about his past in exchange for Creighton’s help in creating chaos, such as the arson at the Heathens’ mansion. When Landon takes him to a BDSM club, Creighton is disturbed when he hallucinates Annika’s face on a submissive woman and leaves. He later texts Annika, who asks about his “deviant tastes,” and he warns her to stay away.

At a Heathens party, Annika and her friends discuss potential candidates for her fake boyfriend plan, settling on Brandon King, Creighton’s kind and charismatic cousin, as an ideal choice. Creighton confronts her at the animal shelter where she volunteers, demanding she not ask Brandon to be her fake boyfriend and threatening her with pain if she disobeys. During a later gathering at Annika’s dorm apartment, Creighton overhears the plan and, feeling possessive, offers himself for the role. Stung by his earlier rejection, Annika defies him and formally chooses Brandon. Enraged, Creighton leaves abruptly, intent on punishing Annika and making her his.

In retaliation, Creighton corners her in a storage room at the shelter. He pins her against a shelf and spanks her for her defiance, discovering in the process that she is aroused by the pain. Later, a massive fire breaks out at the Heathens’ mansion while Annika is staying there. She discovers Jeremy is trapped in his room and tries to rescue him but is overcome by smoke. Creighton arrives and saves Annika, then, with the help of Jeremy’s friend Nikolai Sokolov, rescues an unconscious Jeremy. Outside, Nikolai, believing Creighton started the fire, knocks him out with a baseball bat.

The Heathens take Creighton to a torture room, but Annika intervenes, lying that Creighton was with her all night as her secret lover. She suggests the rival Serpents club is responsible, creating enough doubt for the Heathens to release him. As punishment, Jeremy places Annika under strict house arrest, forcing her to avoid Creighton. Frustrated by her avoidance, Creighton confronts her, and they have their first “date” on the shelter roof, where they share a passionate kiss. Their relationship intensifies, and on Annika’s 18th birthday, Creighton takes her virginity in an intense BDSM scene involving ropes and a crop. He gifts her a rare pink-purple diamond necklace. At an underground fight club, Creighton, an accomplished fighter, wins a match against Nikolai, then becomes jealous seeing his older brother, Eli King, talking to Annika. He drags her away, asserting to her that she should avoid Eli.

As the two begin to fall in love, she learns the story about his parents, as well as his quest for vengeance against whoever killed his father. He doesn’t believe his parents were good people, but he hates whoever inadvertently put him at risk by driving his mother to her crime. When he and Annika are out at a grocery store, Jeremy spots them, and Annika leaves with him to convince him that Creighton can be trusted as her boyfriend. Jeremy is disbelieving and agrees only to accept it if she can convince their father to agree to their relationship. They return to New York, where—after her mother sees a picture of Creighton—she learns that her own father killed Creighton’s father after the man sexually assaulted Annika’s mother. At the same time, a guard working with Creighton’s cousin Landon relays the same information. Consumed by rage, he plans revenge, starting with having Landon kidnap Nikolai to lure Jeremy into a trap.

Annika goes back to the UK to stop Creighton and Landon. The conflict culminates in a violent confrontation. Annika arrives to find Creighton holding Jeremy at knifepoint. Believing she will always choose her family over him, Creighton stabs Jeremy in the arm, provoking Annika. To save her brother, she shoots Creighton in the chest. Annika is traumatized and guilt-ridden as Creighton falls into a coma. After a tense visit to the hospital where his family threatens her, her father takes her back to the US indefinitely. On the plane, she receives a text from Remington that Creighton has woken up.

A month later, Annika is living miserably in New York when her friend Cecily tricks her into boarding a private jet, where she is drugged. She wakes up on a remote private island with Creighton, who declares she is his captive as part of his revenge. She tries to escape by running into the ocean and nearly drowns. He saves her, and they have angry, passionate sex in the water. Determined to change his mind and let them move beyond their pasts, she accepts a couple weeks of living peacefully on the island.

However, when Creighton makes clear he won’t let Annika return to society, as he doesn’t want her to choose her family over him again, Annika gives Creighton the silent treatment for days. Fearing she will harm herself, Creighton finds her on a cliff edge and agrees to take her home and forget his revenge. As they reconcile, Adrian Volkov and his men arrive and threaten Creighton’s life. Adrian reveals he was the one who saved three-year-old Creighton and arranged his adoption. Caught between her father and her lover, Annika holds a gun to her own head, forcing a truce. Realizing he cannot live without her, Creighton gives up his revenge and confesses his love. Adrian reluctantly allows Creighton to return with them.

One month later, Creighton is slowly integrating into the Volkov family, though Adrian remains wary. A year later, Creighton and Annika attend a King family dinner. He reflects on how she has won over his family, and after they sneak away for sex, he tells her she will marry him one day.