Singer Lain: Starbloom Book One

Sister Lain was never meant to survive.

In the catacombed heart of a holy city, Lain is chosen for a sacred task: to deliver a hymn to the Underserpent, the ancient wyrm whose sleep has kept the priesthood in power for generations. She has trained all her life for this role, and will be honored in death as a holy martyr. As a Kelthi-born empath in the cloistered Dagorlind order, Lain is no stranger to obedience or sacrifice. Strange in appearance, with deer-like ears and cloven feet, the Kelthi also experience a shameful Heat three times a year. Her people once celebrated this cycle; Lain suppresses it with herbs and prayer.

But when her song awakens the serpent rather than silencing it, she becomes something far more dangerous than a martyr: a miracle.

Exiled under the guise of a holy mission, Lain is sent into the wilds to retrieve the elusive Starbloom flower, still believing her service is divine. Instead, she finds a world scorched by the very people she once revered, and Mallow, a roguish herbalist with secrets of his own. As the heat of her Kelthi magic flares and her body betrays its sacred cycle, Lain begins to question everything she’s ever been told about purity, loyalty, and love.

But other forces are watching. Among them, the enigmatic Morgan Balthir, a Veinwright whose blood-magic could bind the Underserpent -- and Lain -- to his will forever. As the serpent stirs and the city teeters on the edge of collapse, Lain must choose between the lies that raised her and the fire awakening within.