Welcome to Lyr’n’dell Academy.
Expect magic.
Expect trials. Expect fire.
I didn’t ask to be the Heir. I didn’t ask for the panic that curls in my chest every time my own magic threatens to burn me from the inside out. And I definitely didn’t ask to be bound, soul and blood, to the most dangerous male at Lyr’n’dell Academy.
I’m Ava Pyreson — last daughter of House Ignis, keeper of a fire that’s slowly killing me, and sister to a brother the crown insists died of an overdose. I don’t believe them. Then Asher Maddox happens. Shadow-wielder. Umbra’s most lethal export.
The male my father decides to chain to my soul through an ancient blood oath, whether either of us wants it or not.
Now I can feel him. His rage. His hunger. His secrets.
And gods help me — he can feel everything I try to hide.
Between a betrothal I never chose, a bond I can’t escape, and a brother’s disappearance I refuse to let go of, all I have to do is survive the Aegos Trials without losing my magic, my heart, or my life. Easy. Right?
Except the deeper I dig, the darker the truth becomes. And Asher? He might be the one who buries me in it.