From critically acclaimed, bestselling author M.K. Lobb comes a noir romantic fantasy set in a world in which sin is a fatal disease, and the rich hire the poor to carry out their basest instincts—until the forbidden romance between a sinner and a mysterious figure threatens to destroy everything. Nothing is sacred for those willing to pay the price… In Valestadt, everything has a price. Sin leaves its mark in the form of the Bloodrot, a slow-creeping disease that leads to madness, then death. The rich outsource their violence. The poor sell theirs and suffer the cost. Talin Keller is a sinner. Employed by the holiest man in the city, the Prophet, she stains her hands so his can stay clean. But with her Bloodrot rapidly advancing, Talin knows her next job could be her last. Then a new assignment puts Talin on a collision course with the Warden, a shadowy figure whose name is spoken like a warning. If she can get close, she can trade his life for her own freedom—and escape the death her sins have promised. That is, if she can stay steady on the knife’s edge. Because Talin is dangerously drawn to the Warden. He is sharp, cruel, and whatever blazes in him sparks against every dark part of her. If she isn’t careful, her plans will burn. As savior and sinner tangle, Talin uncovers a conspiracy tied to the past she thought dead. And in Valestadt, where sin is currency, she’ll have to decide what she’s willing to pay to survive.
