The Union holds the stars in silence. But something beneath that silence is waking.

Kryth Varos was once destined for brilliance—until the Guild cast him out. Now he scrapes by on the fringes of civilized space, a fixer taking jobs no one else wants. When his grandfather is murdered, Kryth uncovers a secret buried for centuries: a sentient ship, long forgotten, with memories the Union tried to erase. And a planet—long believed destroyed—that still lives.

To honor his grandfather and stop history from repeating, Kryth must act—to save a world he’s never known, for a cause he never chose, but one he can no longer ignore.

Veloria Selyin, an Illyrian ecologist bound to her planet’s living energy, the Ophex, can feel the weight of every life the Union has broken. She will act with courage in the face of fear—because this time, she won't stand by.

Others join them: an Ophex-infused machine bound to Okaris, a smuggler with ties to the underworld, a man freed from oppression now working in its shadows, and a loyalist agent forced to question everything she was raised to believe. Together, they uncover a genocide long denied, a rebellion long extinguished—and a future that refuses to be silenced.

As annihilation looms, they must rally fractured worlds and force the complicit to choose a side. A planet is at stake. Time is running out.

Perfect for fans of:

• The Expanse by James S. A. Corey
• Mass Effect (Bioware Universe)
• Foundation by Isaac Asimov
• Dune by Frank Herbert
• Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
• The Culture Series by Iain M. Banks
• Hyperion by Dan Simmons