The Masque of Crimson Shadow

Esmeralda is fire…

And now, I’m smoke, possessing magic so volatile that I am trusted by no one, least of all myself. With obsidian poison now pouring from my fingertips at the slightest hint of emotion, the only solution is to lock myself away, to isolate myself even—and especially—from the woman I love.

But if the Palais Garnier has taught me anything, it’s that the show must go on. When a deadly plague begins ravaging the mages of Paris, that becomes truer than ever, as does Erik’s determination to keep the mages of the opera house safe at any cost. His scramble for a cure is as obsessive as it is unsettling… and so is his sudden interest in Esmeralda.

Unhinged as the Phantom of the Opera may be, it is for that reason I see myself in him. Erik’s violent heart calls to mine, he is perhaps the only one who understands the ever growing darkness within me, and much as I am loath to admit it, our goals are one and the same.

Because I, too, will kill to protect what I love.

I already have.

Please note: while Claude and Esmeralda remain the main characters of every book, they will add partners of various genders to their consensually polyamorous relationship over the course of the series.