Ashes between us.

In a world that ended decades ago, two walled settlements-Haven and Blackridge-have survived by distrust, old hatreds, and carefully guarded lies. Rowan Vale is a Haven scout who has spent her life protecting her home, even if it means venturing beyond the walls into a world overrun by mutated horrors. Kael Ashcroft is a Blackridge commander bound by duty, shaped by loss, and carrying secrets that could destroy them both. When Rowan's scouting mission collides with Kael's, they uncover an ancient Genesis facility buried beneath the ruins. What they find inside changes everything: the infection was never an accident. The creatures are adapting. And in just over seventy hours, Stage Three will begin-when something decides what survives. To stop it, Rowan and Kael must set aside their pasts and navigate a deadly path through monsters, betrayals, and the truths their leaders tried to bury. But as the line between enemy and ally blurs, and as attraction sparks between them, one question remains: when the world decides what lives...will they choose each other?