The Lone City

Violet, born and raised in the Marsh, has been trained as a surrogate for the royalty - because in the Jewel the only thing more important than opulence is offspring. Purchased at the surrogacy auction by the Duchess of the Lake and greeted with a slap to the face, Violet (now known only as #197) quickly learns of the brutal truths that lie beneath the Jewel's glittering facade.

Violet Lasting is no longer a human being. Tomorrow she becomes Lot 197, auctioned to the highest royal bidder in the jewel of the Lone City. Tomorrow she becomes the surrogate of the House of the Lake, her sole purpose to produce a healthy heir for the duchess, imprisoned in the opulent cage of the palace, where the royal women compete to secure their bloodline and the surrogates are treated as disposable commodities…

Violet, Ash and Raven have escaped the palace, but Regimentals are hunting for them across the city. If they can reach the safety of the White Rose then Violet may be able to help Lucien in his plan to rescue more surrogates. For one surrogate, however, it is already too late. Violet's best friend, Raven, is pregnant. And in the Jewel, surrogates cannot survive giving birth.

Violet is on the run - away from the Jewel, away from a lifetime of servitude, away from the Duchess of the Lake, who bought her at auction. With Ash and Raven traveling with her, Violet will need all of her powers to get her friends and herself out of the Jewel alive.

For too long, Violet and the people of the outer circles of the Lone City have lived in service of the royalty of the Jewel. But now, the secret society known as the Black Key is preparing to seize power. Now, after fighting so hard to escape the Jewel, Violet must do everything in her power to return - not only to save her sister Hazel, who has been taken by the Duchess of the Lake, but the future of the Lone City....

For too long Violet and the people of the outer circles of the Lone City have lived in service of the royalty of the Jewel. But now the secret society known as the Black Key is preparing to seize power. While Violet knows she is at the center of this rebellion, she has a more personal stake in it - for her sister, Hazel, has been taken by the Duchess of the Lake. Now, after fighting so hard to escape the Jewel, Violet must do everything in her power to return to save not only Hazel but the future of the Lone City.