Zylen

mossy soil—his heart torn between wonder and dread. Xylos, his dying world, has sent a strike team to scout for survival. Above, the Eidolon of Xylos, a living bioluminescent starship, hovers cloaked in orbit, its consciousness echoing in his mind. But Zylen isn’t a warrior. Shy and empathic, he was brought to Earth in secret by his father, Commander Xyree Zydun, in a desperate act of protection. Now, everything has unraveled. An energy surge shattered their stealth field. A drone crash sparked a wildfire. The team is scattered. Alone in the wilds of West Virginia, surrounded by Earth’s alien sounds and smells, Zylen is terrified—until he meets Lilly, a teenage hiker. She doesn’t run. She sees not a monster, but fear. Loneliness. A connection forms. As government agents close in and his people debate evacuation or conquest, Zylen faces an impossible choice: obey orders and erase all trace of contact… or trust Lilly, and risk everything to forge a new future—for both their worlds. Can empathy survive first contact? Or will fear destroy them all?