Alien queen Kora has a problem as vast as the endless crimson deserts. Sheâs the first female ruler of her territory in generations, but her people are rioting and call for her violent younger twin brother to take the throne. Despite assassination attempts, a mounting uprising of nomadic human rebels, and pressure to find a mate to help her rule, sheâs determined to protect her people from her brotherâs would-be tyrannical rule.
Eros is a rebel soldier hated by aliens and human alike for being a half-blood. Yet that doesnât stop him from defending his people, at least until Koraâs soldiers raze his camp and take him captive. Heâs given an ultimatum: be an enslaved bodyguard to Kora, or be executed for his true identityâa secret kept even from him.
When Kora and Eros are framed for the attempted assassination of her betrothed, they flee. Their only chance of survival is to turn themselves in to the high court, where revealing Erosâs secret could mean a swift public execution. But when they uncover a violent plot to end the human insurgency, they must find a way to work together to prevent genocide.