On a world where information is curated and exploration prohibited, truth is warped into slander. Humans landed on Vāni so long ago that they’ve forgotten it isn’t their original home. Confined to the planet’s solitary continent and one nearby chain of islands, they know only that the planet’s vast ocean is dangerous and off-limits. Each province vies for power, for a chance to insert one of their own into the ruling line. A long-discredited movement is gathering followers, though, one that claims there are other sentient species, ocean-dwellers, who want to infiltrate human society. The movement calls itself Humans First. Most of their propaganda consists of rumors and blurry photos, but they’ve set their sights on the Pātru’s heir, and on the oldest son of the Archipelago’s governor. They claim these two are half-human Hybrids, proof of the enemy’s incursions and chinks in the political armor of the planet’s too-powerful Pātru.
Ki’ani has been careful her whole life to look and act human, because the Pātru’s enemies want to use rumors about her mother to start a devastating Succession War. Now that she’s leaving the capital to attend university on the Archipelago, Ki’ani wants to learn the truth. She hopes to find an ally in Tālos, the governor’s son. They’ve both been targeted by Humans First, but he’s grown up surrounded by the ocean instead of in the landlocked capital. He may know why they’re being targeted. He may know why she’s always felt out of place. But Ki’ani has to tread carefully, because it’s not just her own future that hangs in the balance. There are a lot of people in the Archipelago who don’t look quite human…and others there willing to kill to ensure that their next ruler is.
The series will follow Ki’ani as she searches for information about her mother and tries to heal the rifts separating the people of Vāni. The second book, Crossing the Reef, is in development with an expected release date in spring of 2025.