In a fractured future where magic is outlawed and the government hunts the gifted, nineteen -year-old Lyra Valen has spent years hiding in plain sight—unaware that the ancient power she carries is the very key to humanity’s survival… or its destruction.
When a routine scan exposes her abilities, Lyra is forced to flee, rescued by a rebel witch and taken to a secret lab run by two ex-government scientists: the guarded and brilliant Jax, and his sarcastic, heartthrob partner, Theo. Together, they uncover the truth: Lyra isn’t just gifted—she was born with the Strain, a living magic older than the world itself, and long thought extinct.
As they journey from hidden bunkers to ruined cities, Lyra discovers allies and the brutal cost of her legacy. But the deeper her power awakens, the more it changes her—and the more the government fears her. In the shadows, a tyrant king offers peace… for a price. But Lyra knows what peace under control looks like. She’s seen what silence has done to her kind.
With war brewing and a nation rising behind her, Lyra must choose between leading a revolution—or becoming the very weapon they always feared she would be.
Because the Strain didn’t just choose her.
It became her.
