On her sixteenth birthday, Maggie Bennett's life changed forever—and not just because her parents disappeared exactly one year ago.
Alone and on the run from foster care, Maggie finds herself in Thieves, a mysterious small town where the diner owner takes her in and an old librarian rides a glowing hyena through the rain. When the line cook she's been working with transforms into a powerful warrior wielding a battle hammer and a living bloodhound made of light, Maggie discovers the truth: she's not human. She's Kindred—a guardian destined to protect all sentient life in the galaxy.
Swept through a shimmering portal into the Kindred Academy hidden within the Veil, Maggie must bond with her totem—a mystical animal companion—and join one of the five elemental Clans. But her arrival awakens ancient powers tied to the legendary Pentagem, a weapon of unimaginable magic that once belonged to Avior, one of the First Five who created the Kindred.
The Dark Queen Okeaous and her army of Fallen warriors seek the Pentagem to enslave humanity and conquer the galaxy. As battles rage and allies fall, Maggie learns she carries the blood of the Ancients—making her the only one who can wield the Stone. But touching it comes with a terrible price: an addiction to its intoxicating power that could corrupt her soul.
With her totem, Elliot—a sapphire hummingbird—at her side and the fate of countless worlds hanging in the balance, Maggie must venture into Okeaous' nightmarish fortress to stop the Dark Queen before everything she's come to love is destroyed. But defeating evil may require the ultimate sacrifice—and even victory cannot guarantee peace when Lieutenant Ara emerges to carry out Okeaous' dark vision.
Shadow of Okeaous is Book One of The Fallen Trilogy—an epic fantasy adventure born from bedtime stories told to three imaginative daughters. Perfect for fans of elemental magic systems, animal companions with personality, and reluctant heroes discovering their destiny, this is a tale of courage and the light that pierces the deepest darkness.
