St. Augusta College presents an immaculate union of art, theology, and devotion, but the order behind its iron gates begins to fracture when a troubled artist encounters the campus’s new priest. In Sacred Salvation, Casia Pickering brings religious conviction, creative compulsion, paranormal danger, and forbidden attraction into the same shadowed space. Father Sebastian Hardwicke may be the one person capable of quieting what is growing inside Emilia Trent, yet helping her could require him to confront the parts of St. Augusta—and himself—that piety has kept concealed.
Sacred Salvation
Part of Sins of the Sacred
Author: Casia Pickering
Genre: Dark Priest Romance
Father Sebastian has found a home in St. Augusta College.
But when that home is threatened by a student, questions arise in his own beliefs.
St. Augusta College is known for weaving the Arts with Theology. Within its iron gates lies a prestigious education that can drive a person mad.
Father Sebastian Hardwicke is new to the position. Not once has his religious fervor been tested until he is sent to the cathedral on St. Augusta's campus. The school is not what he expected. Hymns and prayers echo within the cathedral, and the faculty are pious and helpful. Even the students held a reverence he had only experienced in seminary. On the outside, it is perfect.
But a mask is still a mask, no matter how enticing.
Emilia Trent has two goals in life: to convey true emotion into her art and to quiet the voices. But the voices have gotten louder, screaming and demanding that she keep painting. There is no freedom in her expression. With the new priest coming to campus, her urges grow to a point where she no longer knows who she is. There is an almost paranormal force growing inside her.
There is only one person capable of holding the demon at bay- Father Sebastian Hardwicke. But will he choose to face the evil head-on or fall into the deep embrace of temptation?
Part of Sins of the Sacred, a dark priest romance shared world series featuring eleven amazing authors.
St. Augusta’s polished religious culture gives the story a setting where appearances carry as much danger as the supernatural force troubling Emilia. Her paintings are not simply an artistic ambition; they are tied to voices that erode her sense of control, making creativity both refuge and threat. Sebastian’s role adds a second pressure point because the person best positioned to help her must weigh compassion against doctrine, suspicion, and temptation. That tension between belief and lived experience gives the romance a psychological and spiritual conflict that extends beyond forbidden attraction.
“I don't think there is a demon inside you,” Sebastian sighed, “that wasn't my intention-”
“My father died when I was starting high school,” Emilia said. "He used to drive freight trucks at night. During one night, a nasty storm happened, and, well, it crashed. He was in the hospital for weeks until we couldn't keep him on life support.”
“I'm so sorry,” Sebastian said. He looked off into the distance, as if heweres lost in his own thoughts.
Emilia shrugged. “I've had depression ever since. My painting helps with it and so did a therapist when I had one, but it isn't because of my depression that I struggle.”
“What is?” Sebastian asked.
Emilia thought quietly. She glanced at Sebastian. Without the white collar pinned into his polo shirt, he'd look like any other well-dressed man. It was that and the type of shirt that seemed out of place with his jeans and glasses that he was constantly pushing back up the bridge of his nose. She wondered what made him choose the life he chose.
Was he a believer, or was it pushed onto him by people around him? She remembered an argument she had with her mother about maybe joining the military to help pay for college. That was before the art contest and scholarship that got her into St. Augusta. As much as she stressed about being at the school, she wouldn't change her choices if she had the chance. But her knowledge about Father Arthur, Sister Rebecca, and Miranda would be for Sebastian. It may not be her responsibility, but it was something Emilia didn't want on her conscience.
“I'd rather not talk about it,” she finally decided, shaking her head, “no offense, but I doubt you'd take my life experiences into consideration if I told you.”
“What do you mean?” Sebastian's eyes furrowed in confusion.
“Imagine being abused or having a bad relationship with a friend or something,” Emilia said, “can you do that?”
Sebastian’s expression went still. It was as if he were seeing something from his past. A pang of guilt hit Emilia’s chest. If she had known he might’ve experienced something like what she was suggesting, she might not have said that.
“Okay,” Sebastian whispered, “go on.”
Emilia nodded. “Let’s say you told someone about that experience, but that person you told didn’t believe you because the person who abused you or the friend who was awful hasn’t shown that side of themselves to that person. Can you imagine how that feels?”
“I can.” Sebastian’s voice was raspy and hard. He worked his jaw and rolled his head from side to side.
A squirrel jumped from headstone to headstone as birds twittered. His cheeks were bulging from the collection of nuts. The leaves rustled as another autumn breeze brushed past. Emilia looked around at the quiet beauty of it all.
Even the voices weren’t around. Emilia looked around, this time paying attention to every small detail. There was no fog or shadows. The only brightness that held her attention, aside from the slowly dying sun, was Sebastian. It was as if the cemetery was an oasis away from whatever plagued the campus.
“That’s why I’m not ready to say anything,” Emilia said. "I don’t know if you’d believe me or not, but it’s not worth saying if we end up arguing.”
The Sins of the Sacred dark romance shared world series brings together standalone stories by multiple authors, each exploring the collision of faith and forbidden desire within religious settings. From medieval abbeys and dissolution-era monasteries to modern churches and theological colleges, priests, nuns, exorcists, and other religious figures face temptations that challenge their sacred vows. The series spans various time periods, incorporating paranormal elements including demon possession, angelic intervention, and exorcism that intensify conflicts between duty and desire.
With diverse pairings including M/F, MM, F/F/F, and MFM configurations, each book delivers explicit romantic content while exploring themes of religious trauma, repression, and the struggle between devotion and forbidden longing. The series features omegaverse dynamics, second chance romance, and enemies-to-lovers tropes alongside darker explorations of possession, crisis of faith, and the psychological impact of religious structures. Designed for readers seeking taboo romance that examines the tension between sacred vows and human desire in emotionally complex narratives.
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Sacred Salvation is aimed at dark-romance readers comfortable with taboo relationships, religious conflict, explicit content, and paranormal menace. Its theological-college setting will particularly suit those who enjoy institutional secrets and communities whose polished surfaces conceal coercion or corruption. Emilia’s struggle with grief, depression, artistic compulsion, and the fear of not being believed also gives the story an emotional intensity likely to resonate with readers who prefer vulnerable characters confronting both supernatural and human threats.
Even though she claims she can write anything, the biography remains to be Casia’s arch-nemesis. Despite this, Casia has used her Writing degree to craft stories in over ten anthologies, maintained a book blog for more than a decade, and has begun to write novels. A multi-genre author, Casia Pickering, is incapable of keeping to one thing. Every story has a piece of her personality that she treasures and shares with her readers. She currently lives in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia with her biggest supporter and helper, her son, affectionately known as Bug. Previous works are under the name, Casia Courtier.
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The central danger in Sacred Salvation is not limited to a possible demon or a forbidden relationship. Emilia needs someone willing to believe what St. Augusta’s respectable exterior makes easy to dismiss, while Sebastian must decide how much of his faith depends on obedience and how much demands that he act. Their connection forms at the point where testimony, temptation, and spiritual authority collide, giving this dark romance a conflict rooted in trust as much as desire.
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