Recreance by H.G. Chambers

Oren had always simply accepted the Ministry’s authoritarian rule, until the day his mother and father were executed. With death on his heels he escapes into the unforgiving wastelands, where his only hope for survival lies with an enigmatic old blademaster who might well be insane.

With Oren gone and her home life in pieces, Clem finds herself stealing to survive…and getting rather good at it. When she agrees to a high stakes Ministry heist, she discovers a secret so dangerous, good people are willing die for it. On the run for her life, she escapes into the wastelands beyond the city walls.

In a desperate flight across the desert and beyond, two young outcasts must deliver their secret to the resistance, or risk the death of everyone they left behind.