STATIC AND STEELA Fantasy-Romance of Forbidden Magic, Dangerous Secrets, and a Love That Could Destroy the WorldIn the kingdom of Asterra, magic is not a gift.It is a weapon.For centuries, the people of Asterra have lived beneath the protection of the Crown, a powerful empire that has transformed magic into something that can be controlled, harvested, and forged into weapons. The kingdom's cities glow with enchanted lights. Trains powered by Aether crystals race between towering districts. Soldiers wear armor reinforced with magical steel. Weapons are forged with spells capable of destroying entire buildings.Asterra has convinced its people that magic is the foundation of civilization.But there is one kind of magic the Crown fears more than anything else.Static.An ancient form of storm magic carried in the blood of the Stormborn.Stormborn are people capable of commanding electricity, lightning, storms, and the invisible energy that flows through the world. Their power cannot be manufactured, controlled, or easily destroyed. It responds to emotion, instinct, and the human soul.For generations, the Crown has hunted them.The official history says the Stormborn were dangerous sorcerers who nearly destroyed Asterra centuries ago.The truth is much worse.The Stormborn were never the enemy.They were the ones who protected the world from something buried beneath it.And now that something is waking.---LYRA VEYNELyra Veyne has spent most of her life running from the truth about herself.At twenty-three years old, she has learned how to survive by becoming invisible.She lives in the lower districts of Asterra, far from the wealth of the royal city. She works quietly, keeps her head down, and avoids the attention of the Steelguard. She has no family, no friends she completely trusts, and no desire to become involved with the politics of the Crown.Most importantly, she never uses magic.Because Lyra is Stormborn.She discovered her ability when she was eleven.It happened during a terrible storm.Her mother had been standing beside her when the first lightning bolt struck their home. Instead of killing Lyra, the lightning traveled through her body. The electricity moved across her skin without burning her. The lamps around the house exploded. Metal objects began floating. Windows shattered.And Lyra's eyes turned silver.Her mother knew immediately what she was.She also knew what would happen if anyone else found out.So she made Lyra a promise.Never use the magic.Never tell anyone.Never allow the Steelguard to discover what you are.For years, Lyra obeyed.She learned to suppress the electricity beneath her skin. She learned how to control her emotions so that anger would not cause lightning to erupt from her hands. She learned to hide whenever storms approached.But the magic never disappeared.It waited.Inside her.Growing stronger.Then, one night, everything changes.A mysterious Stormborn woman is murdered in the middle of Asterra's city.Before she dies, the woman looks directly at Lyra and tells her one word."Run."Lyra doesn't understand why.Until the Steelguard arrives.The soldiers recognize her power.And suddenly, the secret she has protected for twelve years is no longer a secret.Lyra runs.But she doesn't get far.Because waiting for her at the end of an alley is the most feared soldier in Asterra.Kael Draven.---THE IRON WOLFKael Draven is everything Lyra has been taught to fear.He is the youngest commander in the history of the Steelguard.Known throughout the kingdom as the Iron Wolf, Kael is feared by criminals, rebels, and enemy armies alike. He has never lost a major battle. He has survived wounds that should have killed him. He has defeated mages powerful enough to destroy entire fortresses.But the stories don't tell the whole truth.Kael is dying.Years earlier, during the Northern War, Kael was nearly killed while protecting the Crown.His body was destroyed.His heart stopped.His lungs collapsed.His bones were shattered.The royal artificers saved him using forbidden enchanted steel.They replaced parts of his body with magical metal.At first, the procedure was considered a miracle.Kael could move again.He became stronger than he had ever been.His reflexes became almost supernatural.He could survive wounds that would kill an ordinary human.The Crown turned him into its perfect weapon.But the steel was never meant to be placed inside a human body.It is slowly consuming him.Every year, more of Kael's body becomes metal.Every year, the steel spreads farther.And every year, he feels less human.Kael hides his condition from the kingdom.Only a handful of people know the truth.‎‎He has accepted his fate.‎‎Until he encounters Lyra.‎‎When her lightning touches his steel, something impossible happens.‎‎The transformation stops.‎‎For the first time in years. His steel heart.