Royal blood is the key. And Zera’s is on the line. Disposable in the eyes of her father, Zera must undertake a mission to unlock a tower on the other side of their poisoned kingdom and collect two urgently needed energy cells. Zera’s only value is that of a biological “key.” Until her father gives her a life or death deadline. She must return before her twenty-first birthday, or he’ll shut down life support to the lower levels of the city, threatening thousands, including friends she can’t bear to lose. Master Nikolai doesn’t relish teaching Zera self-defense, but her bodyguard, Wills, and best friend, Clara, treat her like she’s made of glass. Unlike them, Nik will be relentless because he has skin in this game and plans of his own. A disastrous start to the mission and the appearance of Nik and Clara leave Zera wondering who she can trust. When her hatred for the man who abused her on the training floor turns to passion, Zera must blaze new trails through the dangerous world beyond the Red Forest, a land fraught with love, friendship and betrayal. Note, as the first in an epic series, this book ends with a cliff-hanger.