Healing is his calling. Love is his curse. And this is just the beginning.
Cael knows the rules: healing magic is for the privileged, and par-linea like him exist only to serve. But when his forbidden spellbooks vanish and his father arranges his marriage to settle a debt, he flees into the royal woods, where he stumbles upon dying soldiers and a poisoned noble.
Using illegal medius magic, he saves the noble’s life, only to entangle himself in a dangerous game of politics. Now hunted for magic he shouldn’t possess, his only escape is to secretly compete in the mage examinations and prove himself a true vitalian.
But the capital is a den of vipers, and two men stand in his way: Silvius, the secretive fugitive who saved his life and kissed him like a promise, and Quintus, the sharp-tongued merchant who challenges him at every turn.
Both dangerous.
Both holding secrets.
Both about to change his life forever.
