Deighton Academy was never a sanctuary to Astrid Pearson, but she’d never expected it to be a recruiting ground.

Just when she thought she’d found her footing, and friends she can trust, Astrid is pulled into the inner sanctum of the Vita Mors; a secret society hiding in the shadows of the arcane world.

Still not willing to trust the world her mother ran away from, Astrid sees only one path; to play along with the dark task she has been assigned, so that she can complete her own mission: breaking the generational curse that has already claimed Silas's family and is now closing in on him.

But the path to salvation is paved with betrayal. To finally end her mother’s harrowing legacy, Astrid must distance herself from the light of Cordelia and Seraphina, turning instead to the one person who truly understands the darkness: Selena.

With her confusing connection to the shadow realm deepening, Astrid is led towards a secret destiny that the woods have been guarding for centuries, and as the veil between her old life and her new one begins to tear, Astrid is about to find her true place within the arcane world—a role that neither the headmistress, the Arcane Council, nor Astrid herself ever expected to play.

Hiding her true power is no longer a possibility. To save her future, Astrid prepares to let the arcane world crack wide open.