A warrior rescues a child who may change the outcome of the war against their imperialist masters in this gripping dark fantasy debut from illustrator Elaine Ho.

In a broken system, do you save yourself or fight for the people you love?

With the godspower waning, the queen of Ashvi must find another way to bolster her fight against her imperialist oppressors. The solution: wrenching children of other cultures from their homes and conscripting them into service.

Hammer was one of those children. Now, she’s a jaded soldier waging Ashvi’s perpetual war, thinking only of her own survival. But when she accidentally rescues Viridian, a child with rare and potentially devastating powers, her priorities shift. The girl appears to be the answer to the queen’s prayers—the perfect weapon to restore her kingdom’s ancient borders, even if the colonized cities they reconquer don’t want her version of liberation. Can Hammer protect Viridian from the system that broke her... before the girl’s power is unleashed on the world?