Above the Earth, nothing survives. Centuries after a biochemical war turned the surface into a wasteland, the last remnants of humanity live deep underground in a system called the Cradle-a place where worth is measured, obedience is mandatory, and failure is punished by exile to the poisoned world above. Sophia Vale has always followed the rules. Until the rules turn on her. Branded expendable and sent on a so-called "mission" beyond the Gate, Sophia is forced to navigate a crumbling world with only one ally: Hayden Ledger. Her rival. The boy trained to break her before the surface ever had a chance. Out here, nothing is what it seems. The air is deadly. The creatures worse. But it's the secrets they uncover-and the growing pull between them-that threatens to destabilize everything they've ever believed in. Because survival isn't just about escaping what hunts them. It's about facing the truth they were never meant to find. For fans of Fourth Wing, The 100 and The Maze Runner this slow-burn enemies-to-lovers dystopian romance simmers with forbidden tension, set in a fractured world where survival is earned and rebellion brews beneath every heartbeat.