Sophia Hartford

She came to kill a king. Now she can't move thirty paces from the man who serves him. Zora Vance has nothing left. Her sister was harvested. Forty years ripped away in a single night. Her memories burned to ash. Her laugh erased. Zora's only weapon is a silver needle and a power that unravels magic with a touch. She infiltrates the palace as a seamstress. She learns the King's patterns. She waits for the perfect cut.
Then the Grand Tailor catches her. Jude Thorne hasn't blinked in two centuries. Blind. Cold. Bound to the King by threads of stolen years. He has harvested thousands. He has never said no. He should turn her in. Instead, he teaches her to weave. Her assassination attempt fails. The black thread shatters. It lashes out, binding Zora to Jude. One tether. One heartbeat. One rule: stay within thirty paces, or they both die.
Now they share every breath, every fear, every secret. The King's guards hunt them. The Court's masquerades hide new horrors. Whispered plots. Curse needles. A hunger that never dies. Three deadly balls. One chance to cut the binding forever. But the thread between them is tightening into something neither expected. Something that feels like a curse. Something that feels like a choice. They can't run.
They can't hide. They can only survive together. She wanted revenge. He wanted redemption. Neither wanted to fall in love. The Masque of Midnight Silk is a slow burn YA romantasy standalone for readers who love dark magic, forced proximity, and enemies who become something far more dangerous. Some threads are meant to be cut. Others are meant to bind you forever. For fans of The Cruel Prince and Belladonna.