Secrets of Urthis

Irwin spent nineteen years hiding who he was to survive his father. Now that he's finally escaped, he has to figure out who he is.

Metal sings to him—in walls, in weapons, in the iron of blood—and bends to his will whether he touches it or simply thinks it into submission. But his real power isn't the metal. It's the determination to find a life that's finally his own, and he doesn't expect to find it with Yace—a telepath running from a past she wants to forget—or Kipp, a shapeshifter whose loyalty and laughter make Irwin feel safe for the first time in his life.

Together, they're an unlikely family. Yace teaches Irwin to shield his mind from the dark specters that haunt him. Kipp teaches him what friendship without fear looks like. And slowly, carefully, Irwin learns to stop hiding the parts of himself his father spent nineteen years trying to destroy.

But when the father Yace never knew—a dying man with power and secrets—summons her to his home, everything changes. Old secrets surface. New threats emerge. And Irwin discovers that escaping his past was only the beginning.

By the time Yace vanishes, Irwin realizes the most terrifying truth of all: he's not the same person who left those mines. And he'll do anything to protect the family he's found—even if it means facing dangers he never knew existed.

Secrets of Urthis, book 1 in the Metalist's Journey, is a progression fantasy featuring a gay protagonist's journey of self-acceptance, found family that feels like home, and a unique metal-magic system. For readers who love character-driven fantasy where the greatest power is learning who you are.