How far would you go to be free—to make your own choices without being subjected to punishment for doing what you felt was right? Could you kill for it?

After being abandoned by her father as a child, Aster spent ten years of her life as a servant for the Leader’s House in the broken city of New Bethel. She’d known, even as a child, that the cities of her world were corrupt places with human monsters—assassins—running rampant between their high walls.

Thinking everything will remain the same as it always has there, Aster is startled to discover that one day... the cycle breaks. As a young new leader takes a strange and—at times—horrifying interest in her, will she be capable of discovering the reasons behind his actions and orders?

In a world where nothing is as it seems and all things are never anywhere near as simple as they appear at first glance, will she be capable of making the distinction between what is real and what is not? Will she find anyone at all she can trust? More importantly...

Does she have the strength to do what is necessary to survive in a world filled with evil?

Escaping is hard.

Surviving is harder.

Aster has lived a life of servitude for ten years, but now she is determined to be free. Countless Reapers stand between her and the gate to New Bethel, and more await just past the walls. She’s spent her life being invisible, but in a world full of assassins, becoming close to any of them only makes you a target for the rest. Every step she takes puts her in more danger, closer to Reapers with unknown intentions. Unexpected friendships develop, but can she really trust any Reaper when they’ve all been trained to deceive? Aster knows what awaits her outside the city, but can she get past it?

In Aster’s journey for freedom, she learns there are some things in life you can’t ever truly escape from and that some steps can’t ever be taken back.

Sometimes, the most beautiful dreams can cause the most torment.

Jarsil is a magnificent city, filled with happy, smiling people. To most, it would seem like a dream. The stone walls offer safety and comfort to citizen and Reaper alike.
For Aster, it’s a nightmare she cannot wake from. After settling in to what life is and must be, something happens that changes everything. When truth reveals itself, some doors close while others open.
Though facing reality can be one of the most difficult things to do, it can—at times—offer more comfort than we believe ourselves able to find.

Decisions and convictions have repercussions.

Aster could never have anticipated being anything but invisible in life. With her new role, she finds herself in a position of visibility and significance, where action and inaction both have consequences that stretch farther than her own hands could reach.
Being determined to do what she must leads Aster down a path of both expected and not, where she learns that even the things we know with certainty are far larger than we could ever imagine them to be.