When a starling of living light marks her palm, thirteen-year-old Nora Howell’s ordinary life fractures in an instant. One moment she’s shelving books in her mother’s cozy shop; the next, she’s bound to a sentient starling and drawn into a hidden tapestry of nations born of an ancient realm. For years, Nora has lived with unanswered questions, especially the mysterious disappearance of her father. Now, as whispers of her lineage awaken, danger begins to stir. A neighbor who watches too closely. A mentor whose words cut like glass. And shadows that seem to know more about Nora’s past than she does. Whisked away to Concordia Sanctum, a secret academy buried beneath a Pyramid, Nora must uncover what it truly means to be Aethrin—one who can cross between realms—and whether her father’s fate is bound to the magic now burning in her veins. Alongside her joyful younger sister Elie, a band of unlikely friends, and a starling whose wings answer to her heart, Nora is drawn into rivalries, riddles, and long-buried truths. Every step forward brings her closer to answers—and to a choice that could fracture worlds and cost her everything she holds dear. Fast-paced, atmospheric, and rich with wonder, Born of Two Realms launches the Kindled by Magic series—a luminous coming-of-age fantasy about legacy and courage, the light we inherit, and the shadows we dare to face.