Rise of the Iliri

Sal Luxx is desperate to prove her kind are more than beasts. Born a second-class citizen in a world ruled by humans, the hardheaded pure-bred iliri has had subservience beaten into her veins. But her waning hope for freedom surges when she is given a pass to the trials for an elite military unit… and unleashes her inner predator.

For the first time in her life, Sal has a place to belong, and it feels so right. The iliri live in packs. The Black Blades is hers. But humans see them only as a military unit, and one with a little too much influence. To keep the "scrubbers" from gaining an advantage, humans will do anything - and none of it good. The only people they can trust are themselves.

The leaders of her own country despise her kind. They assume that Salryc Luxx and every iliri crossbred are nothing more than expendable. But, if they can do the job, then the Conglomerate of Free Citizens is happy to use them. They win either way. So they sent Sal to Anglia without pack. She can no longer hear their thoughts and can't smell her brothers. It's just her and Cyno killing their way across unending expanses of snow-covered mountains. Her mission is to assassinate the current king and replace him with someone sympathetic to the Conglomerate, but Sal wants more.

The meeting of allied nations should have been something to celebrate. Instead, Sal dreads what will happen when Dominik Jens, the King of Anglia, arrives. If her court martial isn't over, he'll hear every last detail about how she betrayed him. From her own lips, she'll have to tell him that she was the assassin who put him on his throne. And that will destroy the only ally the iliri have—unless the Blades can find a way to stop this. The Conglomerate only cares about their political aspirations, but for the Black Blades, this is worth fighting for.