Life near the army base at Fort Benning, Georgia, might be small, but it's safe. That suits Karina Fischer just fine. She knows letting anyone get close to her means she could get hurt, and she's had enough of that in her almost twenty-one years to last a lifetime. The only man she's ever let in, Kael Martin, betrayed her trust before they could find their way together. She can't forgive him for what he's done, but letting go still feels impossible.

Kael Martin's scars run deep, but the mark Karina left on him is deeper. He can't get her out of his mind or his heart. He's ready to start fresh, adjust to civilian life, and build a future outside of the Army--one he hopes could include Karina, because their spark, while it burned, was unforgettable.

Now, just when it seems their world is crumbling and can't be put back together, circumstances force them to confront what they can't deny: the volatile, passionate, all-consuming love they can't live without.

Karina and Kael's unlikely love story, which began in THE FALLING, grows deeper and even more intense in THE BURNING, the second book in the Brightest Stars trilogy.