Now, I've been hungover before. I've experienced the entire earthly spectrum of emotion that comes with the joys of drinking until you can't stand. I've seen, felt, smelt and heard things that upon reflection a sober human being wouldn't necessarily do. There was very little I couldn't chalk up to the consequences of my own actions whilst recovering from a particularly heavy night of partying. But as the stranger in front of me demanded me to stop, his entire appearance morphed into something vile. And I can honestly say that was a first for me. His eyes turned black like ink, his teeth extending to sharp points as dark veins began forming up his neck, crawling to join in a tangled web of visible webbing beneath his skin. The man I'd only a few minutes earlier considered attractive, had now become one of the vilest creatures I'd ever seen. Definitely not a crackhead. "Holy f*cking crap!" --- Danielle Perkins knows more than most about how truly unfair the world can be. After years of training and serving in the military, she is ultimately discharged from duty and settles down for civilian life in the bustling city of New York. A far cry from her terror filled past, it takes some time but she finally begins to get her life back together. That is until she's faced with a world that at no point was she ever trained for, and faced with a man that she was in no way ready for.

The world as we know it ended 209 years ago. From a desert wasteland springs a single kingdom, ruled by a tyrannical King and trapped in an endless war against the shadowy desert warriors. As a desperate bid to save what remains of humanity, society has been split into two distinct classes, nicknamed the Court and the Commons. For an oppressed population on the brink of revolution, a common thief could be the last hope. Up until now, Kay has survived by her wits alone. Reckless and impulsive, wanted by the King's guard, Kay has become known as the Runner. Using the city's rooftops as her personal domain, she manages to keep one step ahead of the King with one hand buried in the purses of the courtiers. Driven by the plight of the commoners and the unjust death of her family, Kay seizes the chance to graduate from small-time thievery to full-scale rebellion. Her opportunity comes in the form of Will, a wealthy ex-soldier with a dark past. Plucked from the streets and thrown into the shimmering palace court, Kay must use her every strength to blend into a world where she doesn't belong, closer to the enemy than she ever thought she would be.

"It is your choice," he said, stepping so close to me that our lips were almost touching. "Either do what I say - or get another job." My heart stood still as I gazed up into his deep, dark, dangerous eyes... In a world where women's only role in life is to sit at home and look pretty, Lilly is determined to fight for her freedom. There's only one problem: a powerful man blocking her way.