Even if the Light Forgets

Ys Goldt

She's spent her whole life learning not to need anyone. He's spent his learning he doesn't deserve to be needed. Nefra survives by scavenging ruins and trusting no one. Her uncle Enkin — brilliant, sharp-tongued, and trapped in a doll's body since the experiment he cast to protect her tore his soul from his own flesh — is the only family she has left. They live in the skeleton of the old world, keeping to the edges, staying invisible. Then she meets Aurel. They call him Half-Made. His body is part flesh, part crystal — a transformation that should have killed him. He carries an artefact of unknown origin, and all he asks is not to travel alone. She tells herself it's just an alliance. A matter of survival. But Aurel sees the parts of her she has spent a lifetime burying — the grief, the loneliness, the tenderness she guards like a wound — and the closer they travel, the harder it becomes to pretend she doesn't want him to stay. They are not the only ones who want what he carries. Körperlicht is an order that believes the soul is a lie and the body is a flaw. Their Director has been hunting this artefact for years — and she will break every body in her path to claim it, starting with the ones Nefra loves most. Now Nefra must protect her uncle, outrun an enemy who does not believe in mercy, and decide if she is willing to risk her heart on a man who cannot believe he is worth loving. Some bonds are forged under pressure. Some grow quietly, when you're not looking. And some things are worth staying for, even if the light forgets. This is Volume One of Even if the Light Forgets, an adult fantasy series set in a world of alchemy, ruin, and fragile hope. A character-driven story with a slow-burn romance at its heart — expect emotional intimacy, visceral violence, and hope that survives anyway. No explicit sexual content. Perfect for readers who love slow-burn romance, found family, wounded characters, quiet prose, and fantasy worlds rich in atmosphere and ruin.