It’s been rumored about in bedtime stories for decades. Nova has seen it in her visions. It’s too dangerous to get within a league of. But those aboard Deliverance have arrived at Glorra Quin Lune, the planet Cyrillius stole Nova from.Everything is uncertain. How will they land on a planet entirely engulfed in Neron? How could anyone survive that blast? What will they find if they make their way to the surface? And will it change everything Nova knows about herself? It’s time for her to confront the past she was too young to remember, and try to save the family she can’t recall.Cyrillius has now lost two Nero and he made the mistake of telling Nova his plan. He’s on his way to the Frozen Kingdom to come claim a new child. It’s time to take care of him once and for all. Justice is going to taste sweet.
Chapter 1 1
Every single one of us holds our breath as our ship drifts closer and closer to the glowing planet.
Glorra Quin Lune lies before us, a brilliant, terrifying nightmare miracle. Its entire surface is engulfed in Neron, glowing vivid blue and white. Arcs of power jut from the surface of the planet to every one of its five moons, ensnaring them as well.
The amount of power trapped around that planet could obliterate this entire solar system if it blew.
Slowly, slowly, Deliverance drifts toward the planet.
My palms sweat as I look at the holoscreen and check the readings.
They’re high, but we aren’t in the danger zone yet.
“This is far closer than I was ever able to get,” my father says in a low voice as he, too, looks at the readings. “Back then, I couldn’t get closer than a league before my ship started shutting down.”
I nod, though I’m barely hearing him. My heart is thundering in my ears.
I never plan things well enough. I barrel in without thinking. I could have thought about this for two minutes before I dragged us all across the galaxy to a planet that is too dangerous, swarmed by too much power, to even approach.
But here we are.
“This is Valen Nero aboard the vessel Deliverance,” he says into his com. “If anyone is out there, if anyone can hear me, please respond.”
We all hold our breath as we listen, pausing for an entire two minutes.
No response comes through.
They’re dead, they’re dead, my brain screams at me. No one could survive that blast of power.
They called to you for help, my heart counters. You heard them. You saw yourself here in the future. There has to be a way this is possible.
Information flies across the holoscreen as our systems try to get a reading on the impossible system before us.
“What about that moon?” my father asks as he stares at the information with furrowed brows. He points at the smallest one. “Its reading as the least amount of Neron. What if we just try to get to one of the moons for now?”
The readings are going insane, trying to measure something that’s beyond any scale we ever conceived of.
We can’t get a dependable reading on the planet itself, but each of the moons are somewhat stable.
The fifth, smallest moon has the lowest reading and shows as the most stable.
“It could be possible for Deliverance to make it to the surface there,” Valen says, looking over at me with his Neron eyes. “With the two of us stabilizing, if Torin or Edan helps pilot the ship, we could possibly make it to the surface of that smallest moon.”
This is a risk, no matter our slagging numbers. We’re…I’m…taking their lives into my hands.
We could die trying to do this.
These are the most important people in my whole world.
I don’t want to be the reason they die.
But what other choice do we have right now?
Even though my palms sweat, because the danger is so real, I nod my head. I look over to Valen. “Let’s head for that small moon.”
He nods in agreement, and I wrap my hands tightly around the helm as he directs us toward the smallest moon.
The first alarm starts sounding when we get within half a league of it. Edan continues monitoring the readings, and Torin steps to the controls, having past experience as a pilot…twenty solars ago—and Valen moves to the front of the ship.
I feel the Neron as we descend closer and closer. I feel its power. It’s like a song and a whisper. It says my name but it doesn’t sound the same. I swear it feels like a warm embrace instead of a searing blast of power.
“How are we looking?” Valen asks as he stands square in the viewport.
“Amazingly stable,” Edan reports, a trace of mischievous awe in his voice.
Bigger and bigger the moon grows.
Every hair on my arms stands on end. I feel a prickle of excitement and fear stand along the back of my neck. I feel something in my blood wake up. It starts in my fingers and toes, zinging as it laces its way through my veins. It climbs farther, faster, searching and racing toward the core—my heart.
Faintly, I hear my father swear. Edan breathes harder.
Everyone feels amazing when they hold Neron. It can be addictive.
We’re already breathing it in. I can feel it finding its way into the ship, flooding it with mass amounts.
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