About this book:

In "The Eternal Conservator," Lila Everett, a dedicated art historian at the struggling Marrowbone Museum, stumbles upon a forgotten painting in the sub-basement—a portrait of a veiled woman with impossibly vital eyes. This discovery thrusts her into a secret world where art and alchemy intertwine. As Lila delves into the painting's veiled provenance, she uncovers the existence of "The Conservators," an ancient order of artist-alchemists capable of binding human souls into their masterpieces, granting a form of terrifying immortality. The painting, named "The Ever-Veiled," reveals its tragic secret: it contains the quiescent consciousness of a woman named Eleonora, trapped for centuries.

Lila's investigation leads her to Cassian Thorne, an immortal Conservator and the last guardian of their ancient lineage, who reveals the perilous nature of their craft and the existence of "The Aethelgard," a shadowy organization seeking to exploit the Conservators' secrets for their own malevolent ends. Armed with the "Codex Aethel"—a silver-bound tome detailing Conservator rituals and a list of their "sacred artifacts"—Lila and Cassian embark on a desperate quest to find other Conservator works, particularly "unfinished portraits" that hold souls in agonizing limbo. Their journey takes them from the hidden archives of the British Library to a tumultuous confrontation in a Tuscan villa, where they rescue an "unfinished portrait" from a treacherous collector and the insidious Aethelgard.

The heart of their mission culminates in Toledo, where Lila and Cassian discover a hidden "Standing Gallery," a vast repository of bound souls. Here, they confront the formidable "Elias Thorne"—a twisted, Aethelgard leader—and learn of "The Unseen Hand," the true architect of the Aethelgard's ambition to pervert immortality. Lila, discovering her own lineage as a Conservator, is faced with a profound moral dilemma: uphold the ancient oath of preservation, or sacrifice eternal art for the freedom of suffering souls. In a climactic battle at the Marrowbone Museum, Lila makes her choice, freeing Eleonora and shattering The Unseen Hand's influence. This victory ushers in a new era for The Conservators, who, under Lila's leadership, redefine their purpose from preserving art to liberating souls, becoming the true Eternal Conservators, dedicated to rectifying past mistakes and safeguarding the future of life and freedom.