Red Skies Falling. Alex London. 2019.

Anyone can be prey. 

Across the expanse of Uztar, twins Kyle and Bryson are seperated for the first time in their lives. Kyle is ensconced in the Sky Castle, training with the leader of the Owl Mothers to master the Hollow Tongue and the deadly ghost eagle. But political intrigue abounds and court drama seeps through the castle’s stones like blood from a broken feather. When Kyle catches the eye of a brooding and handsome young noble, she realises that in politics, anyone can be a predator and anyone can be prey. 

Back in the Six villages, Bryson is preparing for an attack by the Kartami. The Villages have become Uztar’s first line of defense, and refugees are flooding in from the plains. But their arrival lays bare the villagers’ darkest instincts and provokes Bryson’s heroic hopes. As he navigates the turmoil on the ground, he must grapple with a burgeoning crush on a mysterious boy, an unexpected grift from the sky, and a choice: to give life or to take it. In matters of the heart, everyone is a predator and everyone is prey.

The twins will meet again on the battlefield, fighting the same war from different sides, but the ghost eagle has its own plans. In war, we are all prey.