In 2096 BCE, Earth became uninhabitable. In 2168, the last survivors of Earth cling to survival on three hastily-built ark ships: NightPiercer, LightBearer, and Ark .
Young werewolf Lachesis of Ark is chosen out of the Creche Pool to produce a child. She expects the usual no-fuss, no-muss artificial breeding using frozen semen from a werewolf she'll never meet.
Instead, she's transferred to NightPiercer for things to be done the old-fashioned way. Her new husband makes it clear he doesn't believe in permission or forgiveness, barely humors the chain of command, and has zero intentions of siring another generation destined to drift in the cold dark.
In the close quarters they share, Rainer's true nature, and his ultimate plan for both Lachesis and NightPiercer, are impossible to hide. If the rest of NightPiercer finds out, they'll both be killed.
That is, if they don't kill each other first.
The weight of stars may not bind us, but the weight of our lies will.
Relationships aren’t supposed to be this complicated. That’s why Creche exists, and romance is in cryostorage.
Lachesis has always played by the rules, but the officer’s deck is where the rules get made. That also means it’s where they get bent, broken, and rewritten. That which is not forbidden is allowed, and that which is forbidden is negotiable.
With forty percent of civilization at stake, she must decide between being Rainer's pet guppy... or everything that comes with being his wife.
Lachesis has no time for the guilt and doubt that plague her nightmares. Her ship is shattered, her crew is broken, and Rainer is increasingly unstable… and he’s pulling her into madness with him.
If Rainer has to rebuild NightPiercer from bones and skin, he’ll skin the crew, starting with Bennett. LightBearer’s destruction unlocked horrifying nightmares that consume his mind, and a deep, primal drive he can’t control.
If civilization is to survive, Lachesis will have to face her deepest fears, Rainer’s nightmares, and the horrific reality that she and Rainer may be civilization’s last hope for survival… or the instruments of its final destruction.
Gaia’s most brutal game has begun.
November 2022