For twenty years, Sciona has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic.

When she finally achieves her ambition to become the first woman admitted to the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry, she finds herself undermined at every turn. Instead of a lab assistant, she’s paired with a janitor, putting her crucial research at risk. But Thomil wasn’t always a janitor.

Once a nomadic hunter from the wild plains outside the city, he now sees a chance to understand the forces that decimated his tribe and drove him from his homeland. Together they will uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever – if it doesn’t get them killed first.