THE VELVET CAGE

The Undercity believes she's dead.
The Crimson Whisper knows better.
Sera Ashborne-last of the fire-born-has taken refuge inside the Velvet Quarter, masquerading as a pleasure-house entertainer while suppressing the golden fire that could free enslaved minds. Every night she smiles. Every night she burns herself hollow to avoid detection. The bounty on her head grows heavier by the hour.
Kieran Shade was ordered to kill her. Instead, he lied to his syndicate and went rogue. Now hunted by his own shadow-walkers, he enters Crimson territory to retrieve-or destroy-the only woman who makes his fractured conditioning falter. Forced into proximity inside a palace of seduction and surveillance, they uncover a terrifying truth: Crimson is conditioning surface leaders to ignite a war that will feed something older than either syndicate.
To stop it, they must trust each other.
To survive it, they must risk everything.
But love in the Undercity cannot be hypnotized. And if Sera burns too brightly... she won't just free the world. She'll erase herself.