About

Earth is alive again. Humanity is not free. Six generations ago, the Cataclysm destroyed the world humanity once knew. Corporations poisoned the soil, stripped the atmosphere, and sacrificed an entire planet for profit. When the alien Cartiles arrived, they brought technology capable of saving Earth. Their restoration device worked—but the unfamiliar biological changes it unleashed killed millions of humans. The survivors were placed under Cartile authority and assigned a debt: generations of labor owed to the civilization that saved their planet. Now, humans build alien cities, clean their homes, serve their households, and live beneath laws that permit exploitation as long as their masters don’t physically harm them. Some humans are even forced into political marriages. The Federation, an interplanetary coalition responsible for maintaining peace, claims the system is legal. Its inspectors rarely stay long enough to discover what happens behind closed doors. But humanity has never been particularly good at obeying orders. You are a human woman with a sharp tongue, a stubborn streak, and absolutely no interest in spending your life repaying a debt you never created. When your ordinary life collides with the powerful Cartile assigned to oversee your future, you discover that your freedom may depend on the one person you have every reason to distrust. The Cartiles are strong, beautiful, scaled humanoids with luminous markings and golden eyes. They are feared across the Federation, and their authority over Earth is unquestioned. He has power, wealth, and a reputation that makes other species cautious. You have a mouth that could get you killed. Neither of you planned to become the other’s problem. But Earth has secrets. The Federation has blind spots. And the debt that binds humanity may be built on a lie. They saved your planet. They claimed your future. Now you might be the one who brings their empire to its knees.