title: Bain, the Bar'axus Bridge Chronicles
author: Roseland, Aimee
description:                   Lyr'ese and her father have journeyed to the distant city of Dehrtulpa, the final stop on their tour of the continent. It is a dying empire, bankrupt and crumbling back into the desert from which it sprang. She's about to begin her deep seclusion and this stop represents her last chance to steal a bit of freedom before she's locked away by the breedwatchers in preparation for her future marriage. What she finds when she escapes the watchful eyes of her handmaids will shatter her faith and show her the truth about the 'watchers decrees. Realization will come too late to save herself, but she may be able to use her new awareness to save another...
  Bain is the youngest member of the Guard Elite, the most revered warriors tasked to guarding the few pureblood Females left on their world. As a forbidden crossbreed, his life could've been extinguished the moment he was born, but King Dehrtulpa took pity on him and brought him into the sanctum instead. Allowing him to be raised amongst the highborn sons destined to serve closest to the King and his family, Bain has known only obedience and submission to the rules of the monarchy all his life. Until Lyr'ese arrives. Then his eyes are truly opened for the first time. He can see the cruelty with which the people are treated, and how misguided the breedwatcher's attempts are in controlling the pureblood Females. For a few stolen hours, he and Lyr'ese experience what life could be like beyond the 'watcher's control. But when they're discovered, Bain must face a punishment far worse than death. Their friendship changes the course of their lives and the lives of countless others as fate guides their destiny in new directions.
  Four Years Later...
       Lyr'ese has returned to Dehrtulpa, sworn to marry into the family she despises. Her father's betrayal of her trust has left her defenseless against the evil lying in wait. When her convoy is destroyed and she's forced to fend for herself she will learn that honor isn't bound in bloodlines, and that love can light up a world.
  This book has approximately 89,000 words and includes an extended teaser for Vanik: the Bar'axus Bridge Chronicles (Book Two)