Alien queen Kora has a problem as vast as the endless crimson deserts. Shes the first female ruler of her territory in generations, but her people are rioting and call for her violent younger twin brother to take the throne. Despite assassination attempts, a mounting uprising of nomadic human rebels, and pressure to find a mate to help her rule, shes determined to protect her people from her brothers would-be tyrannical rule.
Eros is a rebel soldier hated by aliens and human alike for being a half-blood. Yet that doesnt stop him from defending his people, at least until Koras soldiers raze his camp and take him captive. Hes given an ultimatum: be an enslaved bodyguard to Kora, or be executed for his true identitya secret kept even from him.
When Kora and Eros are framed for the attempted assassination of her betrothed, they flee. Their only chance of survival is to turn themselves in to the high court, where revealing Eross secret could mean a swift public execution. But when they uncover a violent plot to end the human insurgency, they must find a way to work together to prevent genocide.
