Crimson Blood Oath

Rain silvered the iron gates of Blackgate Manor, but Mara Voss barely felt it. The coded invitation had gone soft in her gloved hand, its ink bleeding into the shape of a black thorn. She wanted one thing: entry. Not safety. Not shelter. The missing heir’s trail had led her through three dead informants, a burned ledger, and a name no living person in the city would speak above a whisper. Blackgate was the last place anyone had seen him. If the manor swallowed secrets, Mara intended to reach inside its throat and pull one free.