The Awakening of the Ancients: Book One: Shadows Over Paris

In a Paris where the dead out number the living, one soldier must choose between his mission and his humanity. Three years after the Tearing shattered reality, Silas is a weapon—nothing more. As Eraser-07, he was engineered to hunt the corrupted beings known as Ancients, his body modified to absorb their death agonies through a crystalline Mark carved into his flesh. He doesn’t question orders. He doesn’t feel remorse. He exists only to eliminate threats to humanity’s dwindling survivors. His latest mission: infiltrate the Opera Garnier Sanctuary and terminate its guardian. But Leonie Marsanne is not what he expected. A scholar turned protector, she has transformed Paris’s grandest monument into a living museum—a cathedral of candle light and memory where seven artists-turned-survivors cling to civilization’s last fragments. She feeds the mirrors with songs for the dead. She defends beauty in a world that has forgotten why beauty matters. And when Silas touches her, his Mark doesn’t just transmit agony—it sings. As days become weeks, the weapon begins to crack. Silas finds himself teaching Leonie to dance for a deadly infiltration. Protecting the very people he was sent to kill. Questioning three years of orders, lies, and blood. But his transformation comes at a terrible price: the Mark is consuming him, extending crystalline wings that will either transcend his humanity—or destroy it completely. When a corrupt Prince hosts the Ball of the Flayed—a nightmare market where the elite trade in human suffering—Silas and Leonie must choose: Flee into the ruins and survive another day, or strike at the heart of darkness knowing they may never return. But some choices can’t be unmade. Some bonds can’t be broken. And some weapons refuse to stay silent. Perfect for fans of dystopian romance with Gothic atmosphere, THE AWAKENING OF THE ANCIENTS: SHADOWS OVER PARIS delivers heart-wrenching enemies-to-lovers tension, visceral action, and a Paris transformed into a cathedral of bones where love becomes the most dangerous weapon of all. Content Warning: Contains graphic violence, body horror, and dark themes. Recommended for mature readers 18+.