Nineteen-year-old Nessa Thorne expects death when she volunteers for Empire's selection. Instead, she's thrust into Confluence Academy, where students harness elemental magic and bond powerful beasts—from wolves to ancient dragons—forging themselves into the Empire's most lethal weapons. Students are branded by water, air, earth, or fire. But Nessa’s mark is different. A silver spiral—the mark of an unbound. It’s a power so dangerous her kind were hunted to extinction centuries ago—or so the Empire claims. To survive, she must hide what she is in a castle that reeks of blood, where students kill each other for advantage and failing to tether an elemental means death. Nessa’s greatest threat may be the only other volunteer—Raith Hollow, a powerful fire affinity whose scorching gaze follows her every move and whose secrets could topple kingdoms. Alliances are forged in blood, enemies circle like vultures, and forbidden desires close in. Death once seemed like release from her tragic past. Now it's not an option. She'll embrace her terrible potential or watch everything she's fought for burn. At Confluence Academy, students leave as weapons... or they don't leave at all. What to A delicious slow burn romance as dangerous as the magic? Check. A final line readers are saying will haunt you for weeks? Double check. An ending that will leave you desperate for book 2? Absolutely.

Survive. Adapt. Choose. Nessa Thorne survived her first year at Confluence Academy—barely. With an ancient water dragon tethered to her soul and rumors of her power spreading beyond the academy walls, she's no longer just an offering fighting to stay alive. She's a threat. As a second-year student, new responsibilities await, but so do new dangers. The unbound leaders Lorkan and Milena Grace are amassing forces beyond the walls, flying silver spiral banners as they conquer border cities. And they haven't forgotten about Nessa. Meanwhile, Raith has returned from a mysterious legacy mission, carrying secrets of his own. The tether binding them pulses with unspoken truths, and the history between the Aurenciels and the unbound threatens to destroy whatever fragile connection remains between them. With Confluence's brutal training intensifying and her friends caught in the crossfire, Nessa must decide where her true allegiance lies—with the Empire that would use her as a weapon, with the unbound who promise understanding of her true nature, or with herself. Because in her second year at Confluence Academy, the most dangerous enemy might be the one she's bound to her own heart. Full description coming soon. Pre-order today and continue Nessa's journey through the deadliest academy in the Empire.