A thousand years ago, cataclysmic storms besieged Ahilya’s jungle planet. Ahilya is a second-class citizen in the floating city of Nakshar, born without magic with a troubled marriage to Iravan, one of the Architects whose magic is responsible for sculpting her people’s home and keeping them safe above the Earth rages below. During an expedition to the surface everything goes wrong, and the investigation reveals truths too horrific to believe about their privileged society and the origin of the storms. Now Ahilya faces a choice. Stay silent or speak up? The consequences will ripple not only across her heart, but her entire civilization.

Kritika H. Rao is a science-fiction and fantasy writer, who has lived in India, Australia, Canada, and The Sultanate of Oman. Kritika’s stories are influenced by her lived experiences, and often explore themes of consciousness, self vs. the world, and identity.