In the mist-shrouded port city of Vellmarch, humans and vampires coexist under the fragile Treaty of Glass. Brynn Holloway, the city’s strongest Pyre-ranked Wick, has spent her life protecting that fragile peace. So when she takes temporary custody of Emrys Vale, a sickly half-vampire with nowhere else to go, she expects a troublesome but straightforward assignment—not a mystery that could shake the entire city.
Emrys can barely climb a flight of stairs without collapsing, yet strange things happen whenever he loses control. Vampires instinctively obey his voice. Nobles recognize him as someone far more important than he appears. And the more Brynn investigates the Grey Hours disappearances surrounding him, the more she realizes that Emrys's weakness is not natural.
When an Elder is attacked and Brynn's gift to Emrys is found shattered at the crime scene, the pair become suspects. With only seven days to prove his innocence, Brynn follows a trail of hidden experiments, forbidden bloodlines, and a conspiracy buried within the very organization she serves.
Emrys carries the sealed power of the Primacy—the original blood of all vampires—and someone intends to turn him into a weapon capable of commanding every Nocturne in Vellmarch.
As the mystery deepens, Brynn must decide whether to protect the fragile boy everyone dismisses as helpless—or trust the terrifying power awakening inside him.
Because the weakest person she has ever protected may soon become the Vampire Progenitor.
