First published 2023
Ren Monroe has earned top marks at Balmerick University through four years of hard work. She needs recruitment into a major house to secure her future. The day before holidays, she encounters Theo Brood at the public waxway portal. Theo comes from wealth and faces punishment for a party trick gone wrong. He must travel home with the scholarship students. A fight erupts between the groups. The portal spell breaks during the chaos. All six students get transported to an unknown wilderness location. One student dies immediately upon arrival. Ren possesses the survival skills needed to guide them home with their magical reserves running low. She has lived in survival mode her whole life. The other students hide dangerous secrets from each other. Something tracks them through the dark forest. Ren must navigate both the physical dangers of their situation and the web of lies her companions have woven.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, mystery, fantasy
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Balmerick University, Dark Forest
Period: Holidays
368 pages · Hardcover · Margaret K. McElderry Books
Content warnings: death, violence