The Living Core

The royal train explodes beneath Nora Venn’s hands—and the forbidden power core tears awake inside her blood. Before she can escape, the city’s merciless inspector catches her wrist and brands her a thief. Samuel Grey is ordered to drag the lowborn mechanic to her execution, but Nora repairs a mechanical heart no one else can touch. Hunted by nobles, sorcerers, and monstrous automata, they’re forced to flee together—while every dangerous touch makes Samuel question his orders and Nora fear the truth buried in her erased memories. Because Nora isn’t carrying the key to Veyra’s dying engine—she is the key. When the city begins sinking into the sea, will she restart the magic that enslaved millions… or destroy the core inside her and let the entire world drown?