Magic. Romance. Rivals. Perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, Falling Kingdoms, and Tamora Pierce.

Before the age of seventeen, the young men and women of Jerar are given a choice --pursue a trade or enroll in a trial year in one of the realm's three war schools to study as a soldier, knight, or mage...

For fifteen-year-old Ryiah, the choice has always been easy. Become a mage and train in Combat, the most prestigious faction of magic.

Yet when she arrives, Ry finds herself competing against friend and foe for one of the exalted...

She survived a trial year at the Academy of Magic, but that was the easy part...

Now sixteen-year-old Ryiah is an apprentice of Combat, her school's most notorious faction. When she finishes, she will be a war mage, but in order to do so, she has to survive four years traveling across Jerar, training with a master she hates, her old nemesis, Priscilla, and Prince Darren, her sometimes-rival sometimes... more?

Ry's new apprenticeship is nothing like what she prepared for. War is on the horizon and her lessons aren't just for practice anymore.

It's time to...

Welcome to the Candidacy. Where dreams go to die.

Twenty-year-old Ryiah is a black mage of Combat, but she's not the Black Mage. Yet. She's had her eyes on the legendary robe for as long as she can remember, and in just one year, she will have a chance at her country's prestigious--and only--tourney for war mages... Too bad she is going up against a certain prince--the one person she has yet to beat.

The Candidacy finally arrives and a winner is robed, but something dark is lurking in her kingdom's midst. Rival nations are closing in, and it's time to make an...

Magic. Romance. Rivals. Perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, Falling Kingdoms, and Tamora Pierce.

Before the age of seventeen, the young men and women of Jerar are given a choice --pursue a trade or enroll in a trial year in one of the realm's three war schools to study as a soldier, knight, or mage...

For fifteen-year-old Ryiah, the choice has always been easy. Become a mage and train in Combat, the most prestigious faction of magic.

Yet when she arrives, Ry finds herself competing against friend and foe for one of the exalted...

She survived a trial year at the Academy of Magic, but that was the easy part...

Now sixteen-year-old Ryiah is an apprentice of Combat, her school's most notorious faction. When she finishes, she will be a war mage, but in order to do so, she has to survive four years traveling across Jerar, training with a master she hates, her old nemesis, Priscilla, and Prince Darren, her sometimes-rival sometimes... more?

Ry's new apprenticeship is nothing like what she prepared for. War is on the horizon and her lessons aren't just for practice anymore.

It's time to...

Welcome to the Candidacy. Where dreams go to die.

Twenty-year-old Ryiah is a black mage of Combat, but she's not the Black Mage. Yet. She's had her eyes on the legendary robe for as long as she can remember, and in just one year, she will have a chance at her country's prestigious--and only--tourney for war mages... Too bad she is going up against a certain prince--the one person she has yet to beat.

The Candidacy finally arrives and a winner is robed, but something dark is lurking in her kingdom's midst. Rival nations are closing in, and it's time to make an...

He's the Black Mage and she's the traitor to the Crown.

Ryiah's world was shattered the night she discovered King Blayne's nefarious plans. Now, she has to betray the one she loves most in order to save the realm from war. Torn between love and duty, Ry finds herself on a perilous mission to help the rebels and convince the kingdom of Pythus not to honor its pact with the corrupt king of Jerar--all the while deceiving the most powerful mage in the realm, the very man sworn to protect the Crown and hunt the rebels at all costs: her husband.

She's one step ahead, but...