Has the King of Thieves met his match in you?
He leaned against the wall and yawned loudly. Who knew burglary could be so damned boring? He twirled the wine in his goblet, considering it. Well, at least the wine is good. The hoity-toity party had been thrown in honor of the beautiful Duchess Era, so at least there was something worth looking at. And damn if he hadn’t found it hard to look away. There was something about the way she walked — the way she almost seemed to float, silent as a mouse, untouched by the noise around her. It intrigued him more than he would ever admit, even to himself. With a scowl, he dragged his gaze away and searched for the signal. It would be a real blow to his ego if he botched a job over a woman, no matter how interesting that woman might be. He spotted it through the swirl of dancers in their ornate ball gowns — a hand slipping into view near the rear door, waving a blue flag. He smirked. Game time. Whistling softly, he strolled toward the stairs, gliding past the guards as he lifted a tray of wine from a passing servant like it had always belonged to him. The Princess Jewels were about to be his.
He was born to a name that meant nothing and a city that ate boys like him alive. Raven learned early that survival wasn’t about strength, but confidence—about smiling like you belonged wherever you stood. He stole first to eat, then to live, and eventually because he was very, very good at it. The alias came later. Raven. Loud, obvious, theatrical. A name meant to draw eyes while the real man slipped past unnoticed. He built a reputation on impossible jobs and clean escapes, never staying long enough for attachments to form. Gold was safer than people. Plans were safer than trust. He told himself he worked alone because it was easier. The truth was simpler: caring made you careless. Until one theft went wrong—not because of guards or locks, but because someone clever enough to steal from him smiled like she’d always planned to. And for the first time, Raven wondered what it might cost to keep something instead of taking it.
Release Date 2026.04.10 / Last Updated 2026.04.10