"When love is not enough to save a soul-or a society."

Finalist in Cross-genre category, 2026 American Legacy Book Awards

One of eight finalist placements across titles

Juliet of the House of Apelles moves easily through every stratum of the mighty Nepa Republic. She dines with patricians who chase pleasure, power, and knowledge; she walks among plebeians who work hard, are committed to their community and their faith, and she is family to slaves who dream of freedom and equality. She is part of a grand procession: a brilliant cavalcade of ambitions, ideals, and wounds, all marching toward an unseen destination which each faction claims to understand. But in all of them she senses the same restless void -and privately believes love could fill it.

When a long-kept secret begins to stir beneath the polished surface of her life, she finds herself drawn toward the outcast Atmos with their mysterious powers and strange beliefs. There, she must confront the haunting truth that even love, if merely human, does not seem to be enough.

**This epic fantasy is set in a world echoing the grandeur of ancient Rome, exploring the futility of human pursuits, the limits of human love, and the soul's restless hunger for something more.