The tenuous peace on Hanar shatters when a coalition of Gelt hardliners and human separatists stages a violent coup, assassinating key officials and forcing Tishla into exile. With Hanar’s fragile experiment in human–Gelt coexistence on the brink of collapse, Suicide is dispatched to find her—and she brings backup: JT Austin, still recovering from his injuries on Aphrodite, and a reluctant coalition of old allies.
As JT and Tishla reconnect under the shadow of war, they must navigate old wounds, personal sacrifice, and the political machinery of the Realm, where even love becomes a strategic move. With the Sovereign Himself poised to intervene, JT is forced into the role of diplomat, warrior, and—unexpectedly—husband. Meanwhile, Suicide operates with ruthless clarity, keeping the mission on course even as secrets, history, and loss threaten to undo them all.
What begins as a rescue turns into a battle for legitimacy, as the trio must outmaneuver insurgents, pacify wary allies, and confront the question at the heart of the Hanar experiment: Can peace be forged from the wreckage of invasion? Or will old loyalties, and deeper resentments, burn everything down again?
Suicide Gambit is a turning point in the Suicide Arc—an explosive mix of politics, intimacy, and war, where even survival is a negotiation.
Preceded by Another Way to Die
Followed by Breaking Liberty