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.

Fear the dark. Bar the doors. Don't breathe a word. Wait for the Hooded Men to save you. The people of Nictaven live in fear of the night; governed by magic no one save a few can control, in a land plagued by demons and cannibal tribes, and isolated from all other worlds for centuries, they're right to. Only the Unspoken, a secretive guild of warriors linked with the land and its magic, provide any safety when darkness falls. For centuries, it has stayed like this. But in an abandoned crypt worlds away, Jordan Haverford is about to change that. It wasn't quite the holiday he had been hoping for. Plunged into a world where who you are and what you believe can kill you, a world of demons and knives in the dark and wars fought from behind the doors of the rich, Jordan's gentle Oxford upbringing isn't quite sufficient preparation. Instantly a pawn in a deadly game, separated from his sister and watched from the shadows by an assassin with a vendetta, he finds himself in the company of an Unspoken who has an uncanny knack for finding the Gifted - and Jordan can't seem to get rid of him. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © SEHarrison/Elinor Harrison *This book has previously been partly stolen and published on Amazon without my permission. I only post my work on Wattpad - please notify me if you find it anywhere else! Thank you.* The gorgeous cover is by Acacia H. - Caysaaaa on Wattpad!