Riven Serac is scheduled for euthanasia.

A failed rook who slaughtered her handler, she is dangerous and unstable–a shapeshifting runt not worth saving. Following regulations, the Praetorate sends a powerful Second Accipiter to put her down.

Second Accipiter Asher Nepenthes has spent her life controlling monsters, weapons, and battlefields. She does not hesitate, even if it means killing what she loves.

Until she sees Riven.

The girl who once stood at her side is now the rook she’s meant to kill, and Asher makes a choice that will cost her everything.

Now fugitives, handler and rook are bound together as they flee a system built to hunt them. Riven was never meant to survive without control. Asher was never meant to lose it. Every mile forces them closer, every step blurring the line between command and trust, between what they were trained to be and what they might become.

But the Praetorate does not forget its weapons, and powerful families and factions want their share.

When the past finally closes in, Asher and Riven will be forced to decide not just whether they will survive,
but whether they are willing to burn the system that made them in order to choose each other.

Asher's Rook is a dual POV, character-driven romantasy with action beats. It's a standalone (for now) book with complete arcs. Posting 3x weekly.

This novel is part of the first wave of the Sapphic Summer Launch! If you'd like to meet other authors or browse the other books, join me on their Discord. Make sure to say I sent ya!

Asher's Rook

Performance over time