The thing under the hill has never once lied.

The priests who call it a god have never done anything else.

Fifteen year old Rian has heard voices in dead machines all his life. In the flood districts, that makes him a curse. So when the ruthless House of Echoes summons him, he climbs the hill desperate to prove the voices are only in his head, and to earn his way back home.

Instead, something ancient beneath the stone notices him. It has been waiting a hundred years for an ear like his.

In the House of Echoes, children listen to dead technology while priests turn their whispers into holy scripture. But Rian quickly uncovers the horrifying math behind their miracles:

• One district is evacuated to cheering and a feast.
• Another is left unwarned to drown in the dark.
• One warning buys faith. Two buy a riot.
• On the hill, mercy comes in strictly rationed portions.

Determined to expose the rot, Rian and three friends begin writing the most dangerous book in the city: a secret ledger of every warning the House swallowed, and every life it cost. In this dark, morally complex post-apocalyptic fantasy, truth is the ultimate heresy, and the ancient power beneath the hill is not done with its listener.

Now the thing the city worships keeps asking Rian a terrifying question:

What is a person worth?

The House means to bind Rian and make him their puppet. The god beneath has other plans for its listener. And far across the dead water, a century old threat has begun to sing.

Perfect for readers who love:

• Dark, morally complex post-apocalyptic fantasy.
• Ancient powers, dangerous secrets, and impossible choices.
• Fast pacing, high tension, and a single sitting read.