The Firebird's Gift Series by Alex Hayes

Royal blood is the key to saving their city. And Zera’s blood has been chosen. Disposable in the eyes of her father, the king, Zera is assigned the dangerous task of unlocking a remote tower on the other side of their poisoned kingdom. There, she will find replacement energy cells urgently needed to power their biospheric home, the City of Reflections. But Zera knows her only value to the mission is that of a biological “key. ”... moreRoyal blood is the key to saving their city. And Zera’s blood has been chosen. Disposable in the eyes of her father, the king, Zera is assigned the dangerous task of unlocking a remote tower on the other side of their poisoned kingdom. There, she will find replacement energy cells urgently needed to power their biospheric home, the City of Reflections. But Zera knows her only value to the mission is that of a biological “key. ”. Master Nikolai doesn’t relish teaching Zera self-defense to prepare her for the mission. It frustrates him that her bodyguard, Wills, and best friend, Clara, treat her like she’s made of glass. Unlike them, Nik will be relentless until Zera fends for herself…because he has skin in this game and a plan of his own to protect. When her father gives Zera a life or death deadline and full responsibility for the mission’s success, everything changes. If she fails to return with the energy cells before her twenty-first birthday, the king will shut down life support to the lower levels of the city to conserve power. His decision threatens the lives of thousands, including the surrogate family she can’t contemplate losing. A disastrous start to her mission and the unexpected appearance of Nik and Clara leave Zera wondering who she can trust. And when her hatred for the man who abused her on the training floor turns to passion, Zera finds herself blazing trails through the dangerous world beyond the Red Forest, a land fraught with love, friendship and betrayal. Note, as the first in an epic series, this book ends with a cliff-hanger. less

She’d give her life for her people. But first, she must bury her heart. The moment Zera learned about her mission to collect the energy cells needed to save her people, all she wanted was to do her part — and finally earn her father’s respect. Until her father set a deadline. She must return with the energy cells by her twenty-first birthday, or he will shut down life support to the lower levels of their biospheric city, sacrificing the many to save the few... moreShe’d give her life for her people. But first, she must bury her heart. The moment Zera learned about her mission to collect the energy cells needed to save her people, all she wanted was to do her part — and finally earn her father’s respect. Until her father set a deadline. She must return with the energy cells by her twenty-first birthday, or he will shut down life support to the lower levels of their biospheric city, sacrificing the many to save the few. Already on her quest, Zera has discovered the outside world isn’t the nuclear wasteland she thought, but rather, a place of revolutionary change, spiritual connection and physical awakening. And it is there that she surrenders to a love that can only lead to heartbreak. Now, she stands on a canal boat headed for an ancient city on the far side of her father’s kingdom, where a black tower stands. That tower holds the only hope for her people, but what lies within is far more deadly than Zera ever imagined. Lives will be lost, and Zera soon discovers that she will have to sacrifice her heart and her freedom to save her people. Enter a paradoxical world where the boundaries between science and mysticism no longer exist. less

Mission successful. Hero status is within reach. But…. Zera cannot turn over the energy cells — a. k. a. Firebird eggs — to her tyrannical father after realizing he plans to hold her people hostage inside the City of Reflections. Instead, she returns with her closest companions in secrecy, her first priority to reach the Lower Domiciles, where the poorest of her people reside, and warn them of her father’s genocidal plans... moreMission successful. Hero status is within reach. But…. Zera cannot turn over the energy cells — a. k. a. Firebird eggs — to her tyrannical father after realizing he plans to hold her people hostage inside the City of Reflections. Instead, she returns with her closest companions in secrecy, her first priority to reach the Lower Domiciles, where the poorest of her people reside, and warn them of her father’s genocidal plans. Reaching the level where she once practiced violin with a friend, Zera is intercepted by the resistance and taken to Spider, their mysterious leader. His not-so-subtle warning that she isn’t safe here, or anywhere in the city, is both enlightening and chilling. And it is from Spider that Zera learns her father, the king, is dead and that Clara’s father — his chief advisor — is now regent. Zera’s concern shifts instantly to her four-year-old brother — now heir to the throne — for whom she’d willingly die to protect. Arriving at the royal nursery, she faces a sight that will cut her to the core. Spider was right. Someone wants to end the sovereignty. And Zera is next. less