by Kate Golden
Part of Harker Academy
First published 2026
Viv Abbot returns to Harker Academy for Deviant Defense facing her most dangerous semester yet. Someone she cares about needs rescue, and her only ally is Deacon, Reid's violent and unstable older brother. Their fragile partnership offers Viv something she never found with Reid: permission to let her dark side loose. The White Stag leads them into Astera's criminal underworld, but their mission takes a deadly turn when someone puts a price on Viv's head. Now the people she loves become targets. Enemies surround her from every direction while time runs out on her life. Viv must prevent the Half City's destruction and survive a betrayal that cuts to the core of everything she believes in. In this world, monsters look like friends and temptation proves sharper than any weapon. Getting through her second semester will demand more than her training. It will cost Viv everything she has left.
Genres: romance, adventure, fantasy, young-adult, dark-fantasy, dark-academia
Vibes: dangerous, dark, fast-paced, gritty, intense, suspenseful
Tropes: chosen-one, enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, found-family
Setting: Harker Academy, Astera, Half City
528 pages · Paperback · Ace
Content warnings: death, violence