Ken McConnell

Empress Nykostra is not just a ruler-she is a clairvoyant force of nature fueled by madness and blood. As a youth, Nykostra secured her destiny by beheading her Soothsayer and drinking the ancient blood of the Kwizera-lonn.  This dark ritual granted her the power to see the future, but it came at a wrenching price: a descent into a visionary insanity. Now, as she leads the Votainion Empire toward a legendary struggle against the Human Alliance, a new prophecy emerges-one that claims Nykostra herself is the one destined to destroy her own Empire.
Betrayed by a new Soothsayer who fears her power and caught in a forbidden romance born of a deadly contest, Nykostra strikes back against those who would dare to stop her war. Leaving her homeworld behind, she ventures to an alien world where the Benzotii people wait for a savior. They have no idea that the woman they welcome as their messiah is actually the leader of their greatest enemy. From the halls of power to the front lines of a galactic conflict, witness the rise of the Blood Empress.
She will lead her people to glory, even if she has to burn the galaxy to do it.