"Hits like a punch to the face." —Kate Elliott

Nearly ten years after Inez Kato sustained a career-ending injury during a military exercise gone awry, she lies, cheats, and seduces her way to the very top, to destroy the fleet that she was once a part of, even at the cost of her own life.

Ennis Rezál, Third Daughter of the Rule, has six months left to live. She is desperate to end the twenty-year war she was birthed to fight. But when she brings Inez aboard the mothership, a chess game of manipulation and double-crossing begins to unfold, and the Rule doesn't stand a chance.

Part of the Neon Hemlock Novella Series.

A.D. Sui is a Ukrainian-born, queer, and disabled speculative fiction writer. A failed academic and retired fencer, she spends her days wrangling her two dogs and hundreds of tropical plants. Her writing has appeared in Dark Matter Magazine, Augur, HavenSpec, and others.

"The Dragonfly Gambit doesn't hold back—it hits like a punch to the face. Sui's novella unrelentingly explores loving what you most hate, even when you need to destroy it." - Kate Elliott, author of Unconquerable Sun

"The Dragonfly Gambit is phenomenal. Queer, dark, twisted, tragic and deliciously sexy—it's got it all. Nez is a razor-sharp, fiendishly complex unreliable narrator and I'm obsessed with her and the way she loves, hates, plots, and schemes. I devoured this novella and would gladly gulp down ten more helpings of Sui's poetic, merciless prose." - Hana Lee, author of Road to Ruin

"The Dragonfly Gambit is intense, seductive, and commands your attention! Inez and Ennis are Revenge's Emily Thorne and Victoria Grayson trapped in space; it's a true pleasure watching them claw pieces out of each other." - Brent Lambert, author of A Necessary Chaos

"The Dragonfly Gambit is a visceral and brilliant page-turner that deftly meshes thrilling space opera action, political mind games, and toxic romance. Sui paints an intergalactic war that is as devastating and complex as the characters embroiled in it." - Angela Liu, author of Beautiful Ways We Break Each Other Open

"A magnificent space opera with all the cruel, sensual charm and action of Killing Eve combined with an unflinching dive into empire, and what it means to dismantle it." - Avra Margariti, author of The Saint of Witches

"A gut-wrenching tale of revenge with a cast of delightfully messed up characters and heartfelt portrayals of disability. A.D. Sui shows us the true evil of Empire—nobody is spared, not even its cogs." - Francesca Tacchi, author of Let The Mountains Be My Grave

"I highly recommend checking this out if you enjoy the combination of sapphic sci-fi with overreaching military rule and characters that are in it to end it." - Jessica

"This was a great novella. I was engrossed in the story with all the twists and turns; I thought the book was going to end a certain way and was completely shocked during the last chapter. The characters were interesting and the dialogue was engaging. I specifically enjoyed Nez and the Third Daughter. I would recommend this book highly." - Amanda Ehnis