\Solo Medalist Winner of the New Apple Book Awards\ One ordinary teenager. One extraordinary mission. And a destiny she never expected. Like every other teenager on Providence Island, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Cross is so ready to party her summer away—until her father disappears. And rumors fly that he’s a traitor. Plucked from her ordinary life to journey to an alternate world to retrieve a priceless relic, Van bends—okay, breaks—the rules to sneak her best friend along to help with a quest of her own. Find her father. Prove his innocence. What she finds will test her heart, her wits, and her courage, and push her along a stumbling path toward a destiny she never expected or wanted. Failure to rise to the challenge could destroy her friends. What’s left of her family. And the people she was born to protect.

🏆 Readers' Favorite 5 Star Award Her light protects her world. But to defeat an unspeakable evil, she’ll have to embrace her darkness… Sixteen-year-old Vanessa Cross’s first clue that summer break will be anything but fun? She wipes out on her surfboard and envisions monsters. Back on land, life is its own kind of nightmare. Her hypocritical stepmother—the only family she has left—has a secret boyfriend. She can’t find the necklace her father left her. Her spirit guide talks in riddles. Her team isn’t taking Junior Grigori training seriously, except Brux, the love of her life who can never be hers. Fearing that emotions could lead her down the dark path of her cursed ancestors, Van hardens her heart and focuses on her becoming the great warrior and protector of her people. She’s ready. She’s sure of it…until she gets an assignment that shakes her resolve. Van and her team race to repair a cracked seal separating the Living and Earth worlds, but clawing at the barrier is no ordinary demonic horde. This enemy is darker, stronger, hungrier. It falls squarely on Van—ready or not—to fulfill her mission for her friends. For her people. And for all humanity.

Deep in enemy territory, a sudden change of mission could seal their fate. At seventeen, Van knows her life is somewhat charmed, rarely feeling the deep bite of injustice, but this is ridiculous. The Jaychund Games—a vital part of senior exams—should’ve been an effortless victory. Instead, the last-minute addition of an off-islander tripped her up. So, losing her temper? Completely justifiable. Her ex-boyfriend and her best friend are flirting right under her nose, while she hasn’t heard from her crush, Ferox, the Balish crown prince, in ages. And now Van’s leading her team on a mission deep into Balish-occupied territory—enemy territory—to check the third seal with her powers on the fritz. Then she breaks one tiny Balish rule, and as punishment she’s tossed headlong into another round of games. See? Totally unfair. Old enemies, a deadly virus, royal intrigues, cloaked assassins—and the sudden realization that someone has sent her there for an entirely different reason—threaten to send her life plan up in flames. If she fails, only the Creator knows if Van and her team will get out of this mess alive.