PRE-ORDER Claw: Shadow’s Lament Book Three · Ryan Aussie Smith

Coming soon to Authortunities Press!

Thorn has become a monster in the stories. Now he has to become one in truth.

After tearing through Pang Shoo City as the blood-soaked figure known as the Green Man, Thorn wakes battered, hunted, and no closer to saving Milia. The Viridio children are still being bought, sold, and broken across the empire, and the girl he crossed death itself to find has vanished deeper into the hands of powerful men.

To find her, Thorn needs Ned Savage: bounty hunter, knife thrower, drunk, liar, survivor—and the only man dangerous enough to track what the world wants hidden.

Their search leads them into the mountain fortress of Sultan Runja, a palace of wealth, cruelty, loyal guards, secret passages, and enslaved “Infinity Sprites.” Thorn is stronger than ever, but his powers are changing. He can steal the memories of the dying. He can conjure weapons from silver sand. He can call shadows into killing shape.

But every gift has a price.

As Thorn follows Milia’s trail from palace prisons to the salt mines of Seahorse Basin, he discovers the Viridio’s suffering is not random. Behind the Sultans, the slavers, and the broken kingdoms stands something far worse: an Eternal Emperor with a voice that can bend minds, erase loyalty, and turn men into puppets.

And the Right Hand Inquisitor is still waiting.

Milia is alive. She is not unchanged. And if Thorn wants to save her, he may have to face the truth of what he is becoming.

Dark, brutal, strange, and viciously funny, Claw continues the Shadow’s Lament series with savage rescue missions, dangerous magic, impossible bargains, shadow powers, hard-won loyalty, and a hero learning that vengeance may be easier than healing.

You’ll love Claw if you enjoy:

• Dark fantasy with vicious action, strange magic, and emotional stakes
• Rescue missions that cut through palaces, prisons, salt mines, and pleasure houses
• Heroes who are powerful, traumatized, sarcastic, and terrifying when pushed too far
• Found-family dynamics with sharp banter, unlikely loyalty, and morally messy allies
• Magic that feels dangerous, costly, and hard to control
• Memory theft, silver-sand weapons, shadow tendrils, and mythic power with consequences
• Villains with political power, supernatural influence, and deeply personal stakes
• Fantasy stories where saving someone does not mean they come back unchanged
• Brutal combat balanced with humor, heart, and moments of strange tenderness
• Continuing series that expand from personal vengeance into empire-level danger