Beats of Love

In the vast expanse of the Galactic Empire, where noble houses vie for influence and the capital city of Zafirah blazes like a jewel among the stars, a young woman dares to prove herself by her own merits. Valeria is the coming-of-age heir of a prestigious noble house, but she has no patience for the gilded rituals of court. She wants to fly.

Her debut solo flight to Zafirah should have been a triumph. Instead, it nearly becomes her last act. A disastrous encounter with rebellious native tribes leaves Valeria stranded, breathless, and on the edge of oblivion, until a steady hand pulls her back. That hand belongs to Geoffrey, an empire soldier carrying secrets of his own, whose carefully maintained identity is as fragile as hers.

Valeria and Geoffrey are young people caught between who they are and who the empire demands them to be. Their meeting in the chaos of rebellion is equal parts fate and accident, a suspension bridge effect that neither of them asked for, yet neither can resist.

Beats of Love is the prequel novella to the Starlight Sonata trilogy, introducing the empire and the first spark of a love that will eventually reshape the galaxy.