Polaris Black was born into a name that carried weight - a family that worshipped tradition and feared nothing more than disobedience. He was taught what to believe before he was ever taught how to think. Blood is everything. Love is control. Power is survival. The youngest star in a cursed constellation. This is the story of a boy raised in silence and expectation - who could have become anything but first had to decide what he believed. A boy taught to serve a name, who begins to question what that name truly means. A boy torn between the world that made him and the one he dreams might be possible. A boy who begins to ask: what does it really mean to be a Black? And what might it cost to become something else? It's about choosing - not perfectly, not easily - to fight for something better, even if "better" isn't always good. Of the friends he makes - and loses. Of those who see him, and those who never try. Of how love can be offered in quiet ways and misunderstood in quieter ones. A slow, character-driven coming-of-age - more about inner battles than grand ones. About doubt, legacy, and the aching courage it takes to become more than what you were told to be.

This is the sequel of The Art of Dying. The Black family is back to fight, but they've taken on a new reputation. Breaking the pure bloodline and ideals, Meredith and Regulus make a name for themselves as the most notorious members of the Order. They would do anything for each other, but this time they've got a family to protect, and family comes before everything else. July 1995-May 1998 #2 in mckinnon - 9.23.22