First published 2025
Seventeen-year-old Malik walks back onto the campus of Caiman University, the HBCU for young Black magic users, carrying the weight of a devastating summer. He wants nothing more than typical freshman experiences: parties, choosing classes, meeting girls, expanding his magical abilities. Instead, he grapples with recent discoveries about his powerful magical heritage and a family now broken beyond repair. The mother he searched for and found may pose the greatest threat to his future. Malik struggles to establish himself at the university while intertribal conflicts escalate and the dangerous Bokors gain strength. He must decide how to wield his inherited powers to defend a magical community where he still feels like an outsider. As he navigates the treacherous politics of the magical world, Malik confronts both external enemies and the shadows within himself, fighting to protect the life he's trying to build.
Genres: african-american, fantasy, magic, young-adult, new-adult, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Caiman University, HBCU
Period: Seventeen
544 pages · Hardcover · Labyrinth Road
Content warnings: anxiety, depression