Bonds of Brass

Bonds of Brass opens the Bloodright Trilogy with Ettian Nassun, a pilot cadet at the Umber Empire's military academy who has spent years quietly protecting his roommate and closest friend, Gal Veres. When an assassination attempt at the academy exposes Gal as the hidden heir to the Umber throne, Ettian is forced to flee with him, torn between loyalty to a friend he may love and his own history as a conquered subject of the empire Gal is set to inherit.

As the two make their way toward a fleet still loyal to Gal's bloodline, they're joined by Wen Iffan, a resourceful scavenger with her own reasons for getting involved. Along the way, Ettian has to weigh whether putting Gal on the throne could actually change the empire that broke his world, or whether the rebellion building against Umber rule is the only path worth backing.

Emily Skrutskie's series opener is a fast-moving, character-focused space opera about loyalty, empire, and the cost of protecting someone with more power than you.