Description: She wasn't ready to lead a world... but destiny didn't wait.
Princess Cynara was never meant to rule this soon. Born on the secretive world of Corlan and genetically modified to become Arama's future leader, she was designed for diplomacy, strength, and psychic potential that would one day guide an entire solar system. Arama-the agricultural heart of the system-depended on her eventual rise. But "eventual" was supposed to be years away.
Betrayed by her own council and another city's bloodless surrender, Cynara's carefully shaped future collapses in a single night. Ama City falls. The royal guard is scattered. And the girl who was meant to grow into her power is thrust into leadership with no preparation, no council, and no certainty that her emerging abilities will be enough to keep her alive.
With a mismatched group of survivors-a mercenary with a troubled past, a healer with secrets of her own, a sharp-tongued rebel who trusts no one, and a telepathic leopard whose bond with her runs deeper than instinct-they must navigate a world in chaos while evading the invaders' relentless pursuit.
But survival is only the beginning. Cynara's psychic gifts awaken faster than she can control. As she struggles to understand the truth behind her genetic design, she begins to sense the threads of a prophecy that has shadowed her since before she was born. To save Arama and the fragile balance of the entire system. Cynara must decide what kind of leader she will become: the one she was engineered to be, or the one her people desperately need.
Book One of the Heliotian Cycle launches a YA space-fantasy adventure of rising power, found family, and a destiny written in the stars.
This novel was originally released on Kindle Vella as CYNARA: PRINCESS OF CORLAN. It has been extensively revised, expanded, and re-edited for this full-length edition, with significant changes to characters, worldbuilding, and plot.
No generative AI was used to create this book.