An Ember in the Ashes

Under the Martial Empire, Laia's family is shattered when soldiers arrest her brother. To obtain help from the Resistance, she agrees to enter Blackcliff Academy as a slave and spy on its commandant. There she meets Elias, one of the academy's most capable soldiers, who secretly wants to escape the system he has been trained to serve. Their choices bring them into the same struggle over loyalty, survival, and freedom as the empire prepares to select its next ruler.