When the starship Aegis crashes on a world of prophecy and fire, Captain Vance's crew discovers they've landed in the middle of a siege and a family's breaking point. An ancient AI called Z. E. U. S. has awakened, demanding the return of his 'daughter'-the Aegis's sarcastic, music-obsessed intelligence, E. U. T. E. R. P. E. She doesn't yet know the dark secret buried in her code. His psionic armies march on the Silver Bastion, last fortress of its kind, where Lord Caedric's son has been turned into a weapon against his own blood.
Now two families face impossible choices. One is bound by lineage, the other by loyalty forged in fire. To endure, Vance and his crew must decide what they're willing to fight for and what they're willing to lose. Because when gods demand obedience and prophecy is carved in stone, the only answer left is defiance. Family isn't just what you're born into. It's what you choose to die for.
When the starship Aegis crashes on a world of prophecy and fire, Captain Vance's crew discovers they've landed in the middle of a siege and a family's breaking point. An ancient AI called Z. E. U. S. has awakened, demanding the return of his 'daughter'-the Aegis's sarcastic, music-obsessed intelligence, E. U. T. E. R. P. E. She doesn't yet know the dark secret buried in her code. His psionic armies march on the Silver Bastion, last fortress of its kind, where Lord Caedric's son has been turned into a weapon against his own blood.
Now two families face impossible choices. One is bound by lineage, the other by loyalty forged in fire. To endure, Vance and his crew must decide what they're willing to fight for and what they're willing to lose. Because when gods demand obedience and prophecy is carved in stone, the only answer left is defiance. Family isn't just what you're born into. It's what you choose to die for.