Kira Villarreal was just a regular seventeen-year-old, living an ordinary life in a sleepy town-until the night that shattered everything. What was supposed to be a fun party with her three best friends quickly descends into chaos when gunshots ring out, and in the middle of the panic, something unimaginable happens. As a bullet hurtles toward her friend, time slows, and with a surge of raw power, Kira stops the shot in midair.
That night, Kira and her friends' lives change forever. They soon discover they're far from normal teenagers. Each of them harbors a unique, untapped power, and together, they're something far more significant-the "Keys," beings destined to unlock the gateway between the human and magical realms. But with great power comes even greater danger. Hunted by ancient enemies, rogue sorcerers, and forces that want to use-or destroy-them, Kira and her friends are thrust into a world of magic and peril, where every choice they make could tip the balance of two worlds.
As they grow into their powers, they must learn to trust each other and face challenges that will test their bond, their courage, and their very identities. Each revelation uncovers a new layer of the mystery behind their existence, but the deeper they go, the darker it gets. Old loyalties are questioned, secrets are unearthed, and sacrifices will have to be made.
Can Kira keep her friends-and herself-alive as the weight of saving both worlds falls on their shoulders? Or will the darkness close in, forcing them to choose between survival and their humanity? With action, unexpected humor, and devastating twists at every turn, this is Kira's journey, where magic, danger, and friendship collide in ways no one saw coming.
A Steampunk/ Gaslamp Fantasy Romance set in the industrial revolution era of a fictional world.
Magic, mad science, multicultural ambiance, and political intrigue all tightly laced up into one corset and powered by the steam of two romances - one F/M and one M/M.
For mature audiences, 18+.
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All creations carry a trace of the maker's ethereal energy, whether deliberately placed in the magical Artifacts made by the Alchemists, or unwittingly left in the handiwork of ordinary people.
Kazia can feel that energy, in both machines and people. She may not be able to do any of the grand magic other Alchemists can, but give her a damaged machine and she can trace its energy to the problem, and know precisely how to repair it. She does have one other ability. One far more dangerous. One she will never acknowledge, and will never use.
Fleeing her villainous father rather than becoming his pawn, Kazia finds a peaceful life on a farm in a neighboring country, where no one knows that she is the daughter of Prince Gorvan Devratha. But with war looming between her birth country of Valesk and her new home in Caedra, how long can that peaceful life last?
She can be safe in the Caedran capital, among the Queen's Alchemists, but will anyone there trust her - especially the handsome but embittered Lord Kelvaran Meratha, who suspects Kazia's father of murdering his family?
Abrizhen is Kazia's older brother. He does his best to play the role of the Prince's good son and heir, but when tasked with retrieving his wayward sister, he must return to the city he'd called home for many of his youthful years. There he'll have to reckon with his past, and finally choose between the life of a dutiful prince, or the welfare of his sister - and the rekindling of an old flame.
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Please see the introduction for detailed content warnings.