Mission successful. Hero status is within reach. But…
Zera cannot turn over the energy cells — a.k.a. firebird eggs — to her tyrannical father after realizing he plans to hold her people hostage inside the City of Reflections.Instead, she returns with her closest companions in secrecy, her first priority to reach the Lower Domiciles, where the poorest of her people reside, and warn them of her father’s genocidal plans.
Reaching the level where she once practiced violin with a friend, Zera is intercepted by the resistance and brought before Spider, their mysterious leader.
His not-so-subtle warning that she isn’t safe here, or anywhere in the city, is both enlightening and chilling, and it is from Spider that Zera learns her father, the king, is dead and that Clara’s father — his chief advisor — is now regent.
Zera’s concern shifts instantly to her four-year-old brother, now heir to the throne, for whom she’d give her life to protect. Arriving at the royal nursery, she faces a sight that will cut her to the core.
Spider was right. Someone wants to end the sovereignty. And Zera is next.
Note, as part of an epic series, this story ends with a cliff-hanger.
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Used availability for Alex Hayes's Behind the White City