When Mercy Cries

Five years ago, Julia Bennett was the girl chosen to save the world.She failed.At sixteen, she was Astraea, the radiant Star-Maiden. Her magic shattered, Aurelith's defenses broke, and the city learned to survive among the ruins. Now twenty-one, Julia repairs broken machines in a salvage market and keeps the two halves of her wand hidden.Then a routine recovery mission forces her back into contaminated territory. Julia's old light barely answers. Something black and silver does.Drawn into a war she abandoned, Julia must stand beside soldiers who never got to quit, face the friend she left behind, and question the heroic legacy that shaped her life. Every use of her returning power tears deeper into her body. Every answer makes her survival harder to understand.The world once believed a magical girl could save it.This time, Julia may have to become something else.