Chapter 1

Thalia stood at the edge of the observation deck, watching the boys play below in the yard. From this height, they looked small and harmless, their laughter carried by the wind. The space they were confined to was bordered by the tall, impenetrable walls of Edenhold, and beyond those walls lay the wild world—one filled with dangers she had only ever heard about in stories.

The confined yard was deceptively peaceful. The boys, ranging in age from 10 to 18, were the future of Edenhold, but they were also its greatest threat. At 18, they would be eligible to breed, but only if they passed the rigorous tests of control, gentleness, and temperament. At age 10, they were kept under strict surveillance, away from one another as much as possible. Edenhold believed that collaboration among men bred violence. Thalia knew this was true.

But today, something gnawed at her. A feeling, a seed of doubt, that had been growing for weeks. Her gaze settled on Kai, standing near the perimeter of the yard, away from the others, his fists clenched at his sides.

At 15, Kai was close to the critical age where decisions would be made about his future. Thalia had been one of the women responsible for raising and training him. She had watched him grow from a quiet boy into an intelligent, strong young man. But in recent months, something had shifted. He had become distant, his temper shorter, his outbursts more frequent.

She could see it in his posture now—the coiled tension, the frustration simmering just beneath the surface. A boy like Kai, if he couldn't control himself, wouldn't be allowed to stay in the enclave. He would be exiled. And out there, in the world beyond the walls, there was no protection, no guidance—only violence.

"Thalia," a voice broke her thoughts. She turned to see Mara, one of the senior councilwomen, standing beside her, hands clasped in front of her. "You've been watching Kai for hours."

Thalia nodded. "He's... struggling. I can see it." She hesitated, unsure how much to reveal of her growing concern. "He hasn't been himself lately."

Mara's sharp eyes followed Thalia's gaze to Kai. "We've noticed," she said. "His recent evaluations were... troubling."

Thalia's heart sank. "He just needs more time."

Mara turned to face her fully, her expression as unreadable as ever. "Time is not something we can give him indefinitely. You know that as well as I do. If he doesn't show improvement soon, the council will have no choice."

The unspoken word—exile—hung between them, heavy and cold.

Thalia swallowed hard. "He's one of the best we've had. He's strong, smart—he can be everything Edenhold needs him to be."

Mara's eyes softened slightly, but her voice remained firm. "Strength and intelligence aren't enough, Thalia."

Thalia looked back at Kai. He had moved to the far side of the yard, where another boy had accidentally kicked a ball toward him. Thalia tensed as Kai picked up the ball and stared at the boy with an intensity that made her stomach drop.

Without warning, Kai threw the ball back—too hard, too fast. It struck the boy in the chest, knocking him to the ground. For a moment, the yard was silent, the other boys frozen in place. Then, as if realizing what he had done, Kai turned his back and walked away.

Thalia's breath caught in her throat. She had seen this before—a flash of violence, a surge of anger. It was always brief, but it was enough. Enough to endanger him. Enough to make the council question whether he could ever be trusted to stay in Edenhold and breed.

"That's what I mean," Mara said quietly. "He's losing control."

Thalia's voice came out softer than she intended. "I'll talk to him."

Mara gave a small nod. "Do that. But know that the council is meeting soon. They will expect answers."

Thalia remained on the deck long after Mara had left. The wind blew cool against her face, but it did nothing to ease the tightness in her chest. She had always believed in Edenhold's system—its necessity, its logic. It was designed to create a better world, one without male violence. The women here were the gatekeepers of the future, selecting mates carefully, ensuring that only the most docile and gentle men were allowed to reproduce. Thalia herself had yet to choose a mate, though she was 26, the age when most women started to think about contributing to the future.

She had been patient, knowing she would choose when she was ready. That was the privilege of being a woman in Edenhold. The men had no such luxury—their lives were dictated by strict rules and control. And yet, watching Kai, Thalia wondered if the system that had protected them all for so long was starting to fail them.

The boys of Edenhold were raised with great care, surrounded by women and encouraged to spend time with girls their age. The hope was that by spending their formative years in the company of girls, they would pick up empathy, gentleness, and patience—traits Edenhold believed were more inherent to women. This practice had worked to some extent. As children, the boys seemed to mirror the calmer behaviors of their female peers, adopting a degree of emotional softness.

But as soon as the boys were separated from the girls and placed together—isolated from the influence of female presence—something began to shift. The council's strict rules about quarantining boys at age 10, preventing them from spending extended time with each other in groups, had always been seen as necessary. Edenhold believed that collaboration between males would lead to aggression.

Thalia watched Kai now, standing alone at the edge of the quarantine yard, she saw the truth she had long tried to ignore. Despite their careful upbringing, the boys' violent tendencies emerged the moment they were placed together. Like the others, Kai had been calm when raised among the girls, but once confined to the boys' quarters, his temper had begun to flare. His patience frayed faster, his outbursts more frequent.

When Thalia descended to the lower levels of the compound, she found Kai sitting in one of the small, isolated rooms where the boys were kept when not in the yard. His posture was slouched, his head down, eyes fixed on the floor.

"Kai," she said softly, closing the door behind her. He didn't look up. "What happened out there?"

"Nothing," he muttered. His voice was low, edged with frustration.

She stepped closer, crouching down to meet his gaze. "It wasn't nothing. You hurt him."

Kai's jaw tightened. "He was being an idiot. It was an accident."

"An accident you could have prevented," Thalia said. "You can't keep letting your anger get the better of you. The council is watching."

At that, he finally looked up, his dark eyes burning with something she couldn't quite name. "The council is always watching. Everyone's always watching. Waiting for me to slip up. Waiting for me to fail."

"No one wants you to fail," Thalia said, but the words felt hollow.

Kai let out a bitter laugh. "You think I don't know what happens to the boys who get exiled? They don't come back. They die out there, or worse." His voice dropped. "I'm going to be one of them."

His words chilled her. She reached out, placing a hand on his arm. "You're not going to be exiled. Not if you can show them that you're in control of yourself."

"Control?" He shook his head. "How can I control something that they won't even let me understand?"

His words struck a chord in her. He wasn't wrong. Edenhold's strict separation of the boys, the isolation, was meant to prevent violence. But it had also created a sense of alienation, a festering resentment that seemed to be growing stronger with every passing day.

"Kai," she began, her voice quiet but firm. "I need you to trust me. I'm going to help you, but you need to show them that you can be calm, that you can control your emotions."

Kai looked at her for a long moment, the anger in his eyes slowly dimming, replaced by something that looked like exhaustion. "And what if I can't? What if it's just... in me?"

The question hung between them, heavy and terrifying.

Thalia swallowed, trying to steady her voice. "Then we'll find a way to change that. Together."

But even as she said it, doubt crept into her mind. Could violence ever truly be bred out? Or was it something deeper, something that could never be fully controlled?

As she left Ka, the weight of the decision that loomed over him—and over her—pressed down hard. Edenhold believed that control was the key to a peaceful future. But watching Kai, seeing the anger bubbling just beneath the surface, Thalia wasn't so sure anymore.

Back in her quarters, Thalia sat by the window, staring out at the distant walls that surrounded the enclave. Beyond those walls, men roamed free, violent and unchecked. The enclave had been built to protect them from that world, to create a new generation of men who were gentle, calm, and docile.

But tonight, as the wind whispered through the trees and the darkness deepened, Thalia couldn't help but wonder if the violence they feared was a permanent fixture.