Dark magic is evil. The Crown executes all dark mages.Every Itothian child grows up hearing stories of their wicked spells, demonic rituals and human sacrifices. But what do you do when you are told you are the monster from the very stories used to frighten you?After the attack on his home village, Thaleon makes the unfortunate discovery he is a valekyn - a dark mage. Facing the threat of execution with his entire family gone, he places his trust in the kind strangers who whisk him away to Allesdale, the Crown's training facility for young mages. As he navigates the dangers of a world plagued with fear and persecution of his kind, Thaleon begins to question everything he had been taught about the evils of dark magic. But he must keep his magic a secret - for the simplest of mistakes will demand his life.Meanwhile, Dawyn is captured by hostile raiders and taken to Scyrta - a thriving merchant port of magic and secrets. As he adjusts to his new life in the strange and foreign isle far from home, Dawyn experiences firsthand the terrifying power of dark magic and its wielders. The darkness of Scyrta craves to take every part of him and it is only a matter of time before it swallows him whole.
