PART ONE:Only the mightiest stars are born from the densest darkness.
   A malfunctioning, planet-regulating artificial intelligence.
   Six interconnected planets teetering on the brink of collapse.
   An impending extraterrestrial invasion.
   Who could possibly save an entire solar system?
   Naturally, the task falls to Veyla, a newly-awakened clone of an extinct Primordial species. If she fails, AION, a holographic AI owl with a flawed mission to preserve planetary balance, will succeed in her latest pursuit: wiping out every magick user with her army of nightmare-fuel bots.
   On top of that, there are interplanetary tensions and cute girls with questionable agendas to contend with. Typical teenage problems.
   No pressure, right? At least she has an unreasonable amount of optimism to work with!
   Armed with ancient magick (that she’s still kind of winging) and cutting-edge tech (mostly under control, give or take a few explosions) Veyla and her friends might just be the only ones capable of uniting people, planets, and the slightly-unhinged AI who was supposed to protect them in the first place. And if enthusiasm, stubborn hope, and the occasional wildly-improvised plan can save a system, then they’ve got a real shot.
   The only question is: can they do it all in time?
Just another day in the life of a relic from a lost age: wildly overwhelmed, running on fumes, and improvising my way through this whole hero-in-progress thing!
PART TWO:
We burn, and maybe that’s the cost, to hold something beautiful long enough to feel the loss.
   The pressure’s mounting for Veyla, the teenage clone of an ancient, extinct alien species. Alongside her ragtag team, Veyla races across the system with one impossible goal: restore a corrupted planetary AI owl with a goddess complex before magick disappears forever...along with all the people who wield it.
   Of course, nothing ever goes smoothly. Magick is not accessible on most planets, and a botched portal jump scatters the group. Oh, and then there’s Ash, heartbreak incarnate, clad in leather and smoldering with the sharp, electric tension of lightning before it strikes, who only grows more questionable by the second.
   Their path winds through volcanic wastelands, singing caverns, and territories bristling with secrets and betrayal. Along the way, Veyla uncovers fragments of knowledge hidden in her DNA while also wrestling with feelings she’d rather keep buried under a mountain. There’s no room for detours and no time for grief or awkward confessions. Certainly not at the Solstice Starlight Ball, where music, masks, and one unguarded dance threaten to unravel everything.
   But duty doesn’t wait. To stop AION from purging Elysia of all sentient life, Veyla must secure the last AI cores. And naturally, the final stop is Ash’s homeworld where the core is locked behind the most heavily-guarded defenses yet, and survival might require teaming up with the one person Veyla swore she couldn’t trust.
   What could possibly go wrong?
Her voice is smoke and starlight, smooth yet marked by gentle ruin and burnished with rasp, with hidden barbs that catch in all the places I wish they wouldn’t. She pours herself into the haunting, aching vocals, every note vulnerable and laid bare. It’s beautiful but raw as an open wound, as if she cracked herself apart just enough to let the song bleed out.
