Last updated on May 7, 2026
A glowing imperial ship has sailed into Nirsuathu carrying someone drawn by a professor’s newly created magic.
Tyatavar feels change coming to her city, even if her own life remains stagnant—she’s stuck running the family bakery while her sister studies the mysterious new magic.
Only now, she has a stolen vial, one can carry her through the world’s waters—if only she could control it.
If only she hadn’t almost died using it.
But with obligation pressing in around her, Tyatavar turns to the vial as an escape, night after night.
As the secret weighs on her, she edges closer to telling the glass merchant who visits the bakery each morning—and who knows what it is to fail.
But Tyatavar has grown used to keeping secrets, and this one is tangled up in the unwanted marriage looming before her.
Using the vial strains her daily life and raises risky questions. But even through its mysteries, it offers something she didn’
If you enjoy…
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Cozy fantasy—with sharper edges
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Character-driven stories with rich worldbuilding
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Misfits, mayhem, and magical worlds
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Banter, baked goods, and bad decisions
…the story continues.
Also available as direct download from the author’s website.
Content warning
Low amount of mild sexual content and some profanity. References to birth control use.
Authorship statement
This is a human-created work of fiction. The world, characters, story and wording are the author’s own.
The cover has been created with stock photos by a human designer.
Bonus content
Set in the same world as the Stars Fall Out series, The Bookburner’s Tale is available for free to newsletter subscribers.
A rebellion written in ash…Skirouinta Palace has been gutted and burnt, a thousand-year history destroyed under imperial occupation. Within the walls, an uneasy truce exists between figurehead monarchs and their imperial governor. Unhappy keeping up appearances, Branya, a powerless royal, wages her own quiet rebellion against the occupying power. As Branya takes flame to paper, she discovers new losses and confronts the limits of her situation.
About the author
Kris Bowser lives and adventures in the rocky hills and forests of New England, where they learned to sneak into the other worlds tucked between shadows and around bends. Currently, they work for the same college where they earned their degree in creative writing, and spend their time crafting an ever-growing steampunk fantasy series about a failed printmaker and a mysterious, newly engineered magic. They now live in an old mill town haunted by the spirits of machines and industry, but can also be found at krisbowser.com.
Their short fiction has appeared in Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores and Etherea Magazine.
Where to buy:
https://books2read.com/stars2against