The Stuff of Legend. Ptorix Empire, #5

When history professor Olivia Jhutta learns her parents have disappeared somewhere in space, she steps away from her quiet academic life and into a journey she never expected. To find them, Olivia gathers an unlikely crew. Her family's sharp-eyed business partner, her indomitable grandmother, and Confederacy Admiral Jak Prentiss, injured, on enforced leave, and openly sceptical of what he calls an academic wild goose chase.
Jak expects boredom. What he doesn't expect is Olivia. She's intelligent, stubborn, quietly brave, and determined to see the search through no matter the cost. As they follow a trail shaped by history and legend, shared danger and long days in close quarters strip away formality and mistrust. Respect turns into attraction. Attraction into something neither of them planned. For Olivia, the journey forces her to confront a wider universe than any textbook ever described.
For Jak, it challenges everything he thought he knew about control, duty, and his own guarded heart. The Stuff of Legend is a character-driven space opera filled with adventure, political undercurrents, and a slow-burn romance where connection grows through trust, courage, and choice.