TalusTalus has struggled his entire life to become something worthy of the Elites, and the Academy, with its mandatory program, has promised to turn him into something powerful. Something unstoppable. Whether he likes it or not. But after Talus completes his first mission, a mission where he meets Wick—a murderous Normal who is inexplicably becoming an Elite through no power but her own—he realizes the world is not all that it seems to be. The Academy has no evidence that its program works, and the students keep disappearing. Every graduate, every friend Talus has ever known, has been wiped clean from the Academy’s registries, and Talus is determined to find out where they’ve gone. But as Talus starts to unravel the mystery surrounding the Academy, he finds himself losing everything. His memories, his friends, even his mind. And he can’t help but wonder how long it will be until he disappears, too. WickAs a Normal, Wick has spent her life in captivity to the Elites, but after she kills her Elite captor and draws the attention of the ever-watchful Academy, Wick discovers she is not as normal as she believed. Elites aren’t supposed to be able to die, after all, and Normals aren’t supposed to be anything but normal. And yet Wick finds herself turning into something more… something Elite. But even Elites can be captured, and Wick soon finds herself trapped in a prison masquerading as a school, one that promises to turn its students into strong, capable citizens; a pretty lie that her new Guardian, Talus, fervently believes. A lie that Wick fully intends to reveal, whether Talus wants to believe it or not. Bonds are formed and dreams are shattered, and as everything dissolves around them, Wick and Talus search for ways to save their friends and their lives, only to discover that the lies they’ve been told are nothing compared to the hideous truths of their world.