Lacian eased the door open, a fraction of cold light flooding in, illuminating the solemn faces of the Temple elders, Workshop officers, and the Royal Court representatives, their eyes fixed on the dark red… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity

Mico stared at the sudden burst of metal sheeting as it tore into the room, its far wall shattered. A figure, Ilaewyn, emerged with a silver-white object at his shoulder, and moved swiftly to stand between… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity

Samothes inclined his head once, giving Aureia nothing at all, then turned to address the viewing seats, saying, "You have all heard, the White Witness has exercised her right of adjudication, procedurally, in… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity

Lacian crouched to gather the tablets, his fingers brushing the cold stone as he carefully lifted the slab. The crack ran through the word return, splitting it into two unequal halves. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity

Silas met Lacian's gaze without flinching. The weariness on his face lay there like dust that no washing could remove. Because the whole truth kills, he said. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity

Aureia watched Karion, his expression locked for an instant before resuming its natural calm, a subtle betrayal of a deeper pain. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWW1XCD2 #SunkenCity

Lacian took the case, the metal cold and heavy in his hands, before dawn in the dimly lit chamber. Silas returned to the table, pen in hand, and scribbled coordinates on a slip of paper, folded it, and handed… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity

Aurelia lifted her hand and let her fingertips brush the final stroke in the word refuse. Her shoulders had gone rigid. This was the original office, she said, her voice barely above a whisper, as she gazed… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity

Lacian braced himself against the edge of the table, his eyes fixed on the metal device in his hand. Eleven at night, Eastern quarter of the main city, the Deepwater Workshop loomed before them, its pale gray… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWW1XCD2 #SunkenCity

Lacian crouched beside the stele, brushing away dust from a smaller, nearly worn line of text: "If the Witness forgets this duty, the gate will open, and what lies beyond it will not be borne by man." https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity

Lacians hand closed into a fist as he remembered the broken warning in the descent cage: The Second Gate must never be opened. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity

Asteron stared at Samothes, his eyes narrowing as the royal advisor proposed a new stabilization protocol, one that would abandon traditional royal-blood anchoring and instead carry core memory and functional… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity

Lacian stood roughly three paces from the vessel, eyes fixed on Samothes as he examined the transparent tubes feeding into the container. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWW1XCD2 #SunkenCity

Aurelia climbed faster, her breath caught in her chest, as they emerged into the circular chamber again. The examination tables stood in the dark like silent tombstones, their steel plates rippling like waves… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity

Asteron stared at Samothes, his eyes narrowing as he grasped the implications of the proposed project: to turn living people into instrument stores, preserving only fragments of their being. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity

Lacian held his breath as two figures in dark robes stood over the covered well, their faces hidden by hoods. One held a luminous device, casting a cold white light. Lacian's heart nearly stopped as one of… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWW1XCD2 #SunkenCity

Lacian pushed the weeds aside and ducked into the abandoned brick kiln, its mouth half-hidden by weeds, at the end of a dead-end lane. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity

Samothes spoke, his words distinct as he pronounced a regulation into force. Asteron stared at him, his eyes narrowing in disapproval, as the hum of the light columns deepened outside. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity

Lacian's hand locked on the railing as the ground beneath his feet began to crack and shudder. The white pillar continued to rise, its radiance illuminating the darkening sky. Cracks spread outward from the… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity

Lacian's face darkened as he stared at Ilaewyn, who stood between them and the purge team, his silver-white shoulder creature radiating a cold light. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWYF91RR #SunkenCity