Ashes of the Eastern Gate
Rain hammers Lower Kaze when Ward Boss Tessen breathes his last on the steps of a condemned tannery, pulling Kira Ashford into a blood debt she never agreed to repay. The dying crime lord's final act binds her to a hunt for Ryu Volkov , a man branded by a dragon's curse and hunted by forces older than the city itself. As Kira follows the trail through rain-slicked alleys and shadow markets, she finds herself caught between Madame Lien's web of secrets, Sorcerer Vex's appetite for forbidden power, and the Porcelain Mask Assassin whose blades never miss twice. But the debt runs deeper than a fugitive's head. The ghost of a young woman named Sael clings to Kira, whispering warnings of a hollow king rising beneath the Eastern Gate. Old Maro speaks of the River Mother in riddles. Dr. Yua offers knowledge that should cost more than coin. And somewhere in the dark, Dax and Whisper move pieces no one else can see. Every ally is a possible traitor. Every step toward Volkov unravels a truth the ward bosses killed to bury. Kira must choose: collect the debt and survive, or learn what the dragon's flame is really meant to burn , and accept that the answer might be her.