Federation Planetary Surveyor Mira Calder expects to find another dead world. Instead, she discovers a silent city whose people are alive but unreachable—sleeping in perfect preservation. When her touch awakens an ancient tower, the city stirs, the sleepers rise, and Mira is hailed as the sovereign foretold in their prophecy.

Her crew is captured. Her authority is assumed. The city's systems respond to her with impossible recognition. To save her team and uncover the truth behind Veylan Prime's long silence, Mira must confront a civilization that believes its survival depends on her judgment—and a destiny she never sought.

A gripping science fiction mystery of alien technology, prophecy, and reluctant leadership.