Doka and Seske must work closely together to sway the other Zenzee worlds to stop their cycles of destruction. He has fallen for the one woman he is forbidden to his wife, Seske. For Doka, the stakes are bigger and more personal than ever before-and could cost him his reign and his heart. When a cataclysmic event on another Zenzee world forces Doka and his people to accept thousands of refugees, a culture clash erupts, revealing secrets from the past that could endanger their future.

Despite vocal opposition and blatant attacks on his authority, Doka has continued to handle his position with grace and intelligence he knows a single misstep means disaster. The Senate allowed Doka to lead their people believing he’d fail spectacularly-a disaster that would cement the legitimacy of their long-standing matriarchy. Thanks to careful oversight and sacrifice by all of its crew, they are now on the brink of utopia, and yet Doka’s rivals feel threatened by that success.

Abused and exploited by humans for generations, these majestic animals nearly went extinct, but under the command of its newly minted ruler, Doka Kaleigh, life in the Parados I has flourished. Nearly a thousand years removed from Earth, the remnants of humanity cling to existence inside giant, space faring creatures known as the Zenzee. The Compton Crook Award-winning author weaves her trademark blend of science fiction and dark humor in this dazzling story that continues the imaginative saga begun in Escaping Exodus, in which a society lives in the belly of a beast-and an entire civilization's survival depends on a pair of uneasy allies who must come together for one epic battle.

Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden