The Gatebreaker’s Pulse

Kai Lin was still pressing his hands against a stranger’s bleeding wound when the subway split open—and dragged him through. He woke beneath a red moon with a burning mark in his chest and a blade at his throat. In Mirrorfall, bloodline rules everything, and the rare pulse-mark under Kai’s ribs can turn agony into terrifying strength. To survive, he must impersonate a missing heir beside Vera Crowe, an exiled guard sworn to protect him—even as their contract sparks a dangerous attraction neither can afford. Every fight brings Kai closer to freedom, but also reveals that his vanished father once walked these streets…and the city’s most powerful rulers want Kai dead before he learns why. To return home, will Kai expose the secret behind his mark—or let the entire city carve it out of him?