Bright Star: The Apprentice Volume 2 (The Twelve Systems Chronicles)

Lilian survived her first season of Trial by Ordeal.

Two and a half years remain. Eight Seasons.
When every day is a trial by ordeal, eight seasons are an eternity.

Though her discoveries have earned her a place among the analysts and strategists shaping Serengeti’s future, Lilian remains exactly what she has always been: a disgraced apprentice serving at the pleasure of Monsignor Lucius Mercio. Every day is a minefield. Every success breeds new enemies. And far too many people would celebrate her failure.

Especially those determined to stop Bright Star.

A bold initiative to explore beyond the known systems, Bright Star promises wealth, power, and influence beyond imagining. It also threatens the ambitions of some of the most powerful warriors in the galaxy. As rival cartouches maneuver for advantage and hidden enemies work from within, Lilian’s extraordinary ability to uncover patterns and connections exposes dangers no one else can see.

Including a betrayal at the heart of Serengeti itself.

Lucius Mercio did not build his empire through mercy. Ruthless, brilliant, and feared throughout the Twelve Systems, he has spent years rebuilding Serengeti from crisis and defeat. Yet the more indispensable Lilian becomes, the harder it is to remember she is only an apprentice.

And the harder it becomes to keep his distance.

As political intrigue turns deadly and old enemies strike from the shadows, Lilian and Lucius find themselves caught between ambition and loyalty, power and devotion, duty and desire.

Because in the Twelve Systems, survival is only the first victory.
Keeping what you have won is the real battle

"Bright Star" is a science fiction diorama brilliantly crafted to meet the ever growing science fiction enthusiasts...The cadence of the story takes time to adapt to, but fully makes sense as the reader becomes accustomed to the hierarchy of the cartouches and cartel. Start to finish it makes one stop and think numerous times about society and what the future could possibly hold. 

~Penelope Anne Bartotto, InD'Tale Magazine, June 2015