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Childhood, upbringing, family background, social relations, traumatic experiences… We keep reviewing and seeking out the motives of criminals, exploring the subtlest emotions driving them. It’s not to put ourselves in their shoes and sympathize, or even forgive them; it’s not to find some reasons to exculpate their crimes; it’s not to kneel down before the so-called “complexity of human nature”; nor to introspect social conflicts, much less to alienate ourselves into monsters. We just want to have a fair trial – for ourselves and for those who still have hope for the world.

Khalani is a Prisoner. Takeshi is a Guard. Both are slaves to the Underground. Khalani Kanes has never stood on the surface of the earth. In the underground city of Apollo, faith and dreams are as absent as the sun. She longed to visit Genesis, the infamous Domed City and the final place where humanity lives aboveground. But when Khalani is given a life sentence and thrown into prison for a theft she didn't commit, those wishes shatter into oblivion. In Braderhelm Prison, murderers are neighbors, ruthless and cold-blooded guards live to punish, and every second is a battle to survive. She thought the danger lay in befriending criminals and avoiding Takeshi Steele, the nefarious Captain who runs her cell block. But darker traps and secrets await her within the shadows of imprisonment. Khalani's blood will coat the walls in flaming silk before her enemies let her escape to the surface, a feat no one has successfully achieved. If the reclusive and callous Takeshi Steele won't kill Khalani, then the merciless prisoners and her fractured mind will. Enter Braderhelm Prison, where only the Wicked remain.

He had everything he could’ve wanted…except her. Dangerous. Powerful. Reclusive. Vuk Markovic is notorious for shunning human interactions. The scarred billionaire rarely talks, and he has no interest in relationships outside his small but trusted circle. His only exception? Her . The beauty to his beast, the object of his obsession. He saw her first. He wanted her first. But now, she’s engaged to his oldest friend—and the closer the wedding looms, the more he’s torn between loyalty and desire. She should be his…and he might just risk it all to have her. \\\* Beautiful. Successful. Glamorous. To the world, supermodel Ayana Kidane leads the perfect life. Her career has skyrocketed, and she’s engaged to one of New York’s most eligible bachelors. What people don't know is that the engagement is only a business arrangement. He gets his inheritance when they marry; she gets the money she needs to leave her abusive agency. Pretending to be in love should be easy—until she finds herself increasingly drawn to her fiancé’s enigmatic best man. Vuk thrills and terrifies her in equal measure. She knows she should stay away, but when her wedding is thrown into chaos, he’s the only person she finds comfort in… Until his past catches up with them and threatens everything they love.

In the mystical Taihang Mountains, where magic flows and powerful yao roam, Hongjun has grown up sheltered from the human world. A half-yao himself, he’s never had reason to leave—until the mountain’s ruler sends him on a dangerous mission: hide his true nature and join the Great Tang Department of Demonic Exorcism in Chang’an. Upon arriving in the bustling capital, Hongjun meets Li Jinglong, a luckless soldier with no spiritual power tasked with leading a team of extraordinary exorcists. Together, they and their enigmatic companions must face the dark forces threatening the city. But as a bond begins to bloom between Hongjun and Li Jinglong, Hongjun wonders: Can he trust Li Jinglong with the truth of who—and what—he is?