Powerful

Adena and Paedyn have been a lifeline for one another since the beginning. Brought together by chance as children, their bond was forged in the harsh reality of the slums of Loot, where they built a home out of nothing and swore to protect it at any cost. But the foundation of their world is shattered when Paedyn, an Ordinary, is drafted into the lethal Purging Trials, a sentence that almost certainly ends in a death march.

With her best friend ripped away, Adena is forced to navigate the predatory streets of Loot entirely alone. When a desperate attempt to steal goes sideways, she is saved by an enigmatic stranger from the marketplace. Mak is unlike any other low-level Elite she’s encountered, he carries a dark, shadowy past and a secretive power that he keeps closely guarded.

As the two form an unlikely alliance, they embark on a high-stakes journey to reach their loved ones before the Trials officially commence. It is a race against time that will push them to their breaking points, forcing them to question their loyalties, their growing feelings for one another, and exactly what they are willing to sacrifice to survive in a kingdom that wants them gone.