In the fog-choked streets of Nocturne's Reach, innocence is a currency more dangerous than sin.
Elara Wynn, a quiet seamstress and apothecary courier, has survived by keeping her head down and her gaze lowered. But one wrong turn in the mist leads her into the wealthiest-and most forbidden-district in the city. Fleeing a pair of ominous footsteps, she ducks into the nearest doorway.
And steps into The Midnight Court, a secret Victorian-goth club ruled by masks, ritual, and the iron will of the city's most feared mafia lord.
They call him The Sovereign.
To his enemies, he is executed in a tailored coat.
To his followers, he is law, elegance, and unbreakable command.
To Elara... he becomes something far more dangerous.
Her trembling innocence draws every eye in the club, but only one gaze pins her in place-cold, assessing, darkly intrigued. When the Sovereign approaches, the crowd parts like shadow and breath. He studies her as though she's a secret meant for him alone.
And with one gloved touch beneath her chin, he quietly claims her fate.
Elara is told she cannot leave without repaying a "debt" he has yet to name.
Protection becomes possession.
Curiosity becomes surrender.
And the soft-spoken girl who walked in by accident becomes the one woman the ruthless Sovereign refuses to release.
But Nocturne's Reach has rules.
The innocent don't survive long.
And the moment Cassian Vale shows he wants her, every rival syndicate decides they want her too.
Caught between velvet seduction and blood-stained power, Elara must decide whether to escape the darkness-or let it swallow her and become his.
A gothic mafia romance of domination, danger, whispered commands, and the slow burn of a soft heart claimed by a brutal king.