A ragtag team with forbidden magic must accomplish a more elaborate heist and stop a civil battle in An Illusion of Thieves, a fantasy experience from Cate Cup.

In Cantagna, being truly a sorcerer is a death sentence.

Romy escapes her hardscrabble upbringing when she becomes courtesan to the Shadow Lord, a revolutionary noble who also brings laws and comforts once reserved for the wealthy to all. When her brother, Neri, is captured thieving using magic, Romy’s aristocratic influence is the only thing that may extra his life-and the purchase price can be her banishment.

Now back Beggar’s Ring, she’s just her wits and her own long-hidden sorcery to help her and Neri survive. But when a storyline to overthrow the Shadow Lord and incite civil battle is uncovered, only Romy knows how exactly to stop it. To do so, she’ll need to rely on newfound allies-a swordmaster, a silversmith, and her own thieving brother. And they’ll need the very thing that could condemn all of them: magic.