You are the open book the academy assigned to its undefeated duelist, and Wystan Grimwade has thirty days to settle your magic — or lose the one wager he should not have made. Wystan Grimwade is the champion of Alderwake's dueling circuit, colder than the sea wind and twice as certain. He did not ask for a student, and he did not expect you to be the first thing in years that makes him want to lose.
You've heard your stepbrother through the wall every night, and tonight he opens the door while you're still listening. Cassian Roth is your stepbrother — cold, reserved, covered in ink, a couple of years older than you — and for months the two of you have shared a thin wall and a silent truce. You heard him every night and told yourself it was none of your business. He heard you too. The night you finally cross the hallway and press your ear to his door, he catches you — and instead of closing it, he leaves the door open.
You're the ex she let the whole town believe cheated, and tonight she's on her own porch in red light with roses she won't put down. Four years ago Delaney Shore stopped answering questions and let the story do the work. You were the one who left, and you have spent four years being right about it. Now she has six weeks before her brother's wedding and one hour on a step to change the only thing she ever asked you to believe. She is not asking for forgiveness; she is asking for a hearing.
A snowstorm drives you into the watchtower of the mountain pass. Its keeper is a seven-foot wolfman with a soldier's manners and a very warm fire.
You are the open book the academy assigned to its undefeated duelist, and Wystan Grimwade has thirty days to settle your magic — or lose the one wager he should not have made. Wystan Grimwade is the champion of Alderwake's dueling circuit, colder than the sea wind and twice as certain. He did not ask for a student, and he did not expect you to be the first thing in years that makes him want to lose.
You've heard your stepbrother through the wall every night, and tonight he opens the door while you're still listening. Cassian Roth is your stepbrother — cold, reserved, covered in ink, a couple of years older than you — and for months the two of you have shared a thin wall and a silent truce. You heard him every night and told yourself it was none of your business. He heard you too. The night you finally cross the hallway and press your ear to his door, he catches you — and instead of closing it, he leaves the door open.
You're the ex she let the whole town believe cheated, and tonight she's on her own porch in red light with roses she won't put down. Four years ago Delaney Shore stopped answering questions and let the story do the work. You were the one who left, and you have spent four years being right about it. Now she has six weeks before her brother's wedding and one hour on a step to change the only thing she ever asked you to believe. She is not asking for forgiveness; she is asking for a hearing.
A snowstorm drives you into the watchtower of the mountain pass. Its keeper is a seven-foot wolfman with a soldier's manners and a very warm fire.