THIRSTY GROUND

It's been thirteen decades since Tsimmaon left the Arid Planet in search of water, carrying only 1 percent of the human race in a bid to keep the species alive. There's no one thirstier on that space ark than the young recruits eager to earn their spot on the elite Hydroseeker League and find the next water source. Seventeen-year-old Conway 12-1, the strongest moto-rover rider among his cadre, is just weeks from Hydroseeker initiation. Until one failed mission changes everything. Left for dead on the fabled Arid Planet with a life-altering injury, Conway is taken in by the citizens of Mayanah, a community no one knew had survived the Dry Death. But these people have a secret: Their water is deadly if you don't follow its rules. Mayanah's beautiful young sovereign Selah is the key to safe water and, Conway realizes, to the survival of his spacenation. If he can bring this revelation back home, he might still have a shot at being a Hydroseeker. He just needs to convince himself that betraying Selah is worth it, which gets harder the closer they become . . . and the more he learns about his own people.