It’s springtime in Monfort, and unrest is stirring everywhere. Shops are closing, trust in the Crown is faltering, and support for Pon Lanali’s anti-magic rhetoric is growing by the day. But for Kaedrich Mannly, it’s all background noise: between classes at the academy of arms, work, independent studies, and a new batch of friends, there’s little time for such concerns—or, mercifully, for thoughts of Praxis Fellows to creep back in. The last thing that Kaedrich needs is an extra complication.

So of course it’s now, with the Academy Trials coming up, that Praxis appears unexpectedly. Alongside her comes news of mysterious disappearances sweeping the city, and soon the two of them are once again caught up in a tangle of secrets and danger. It has to be Lanali’s doing, but can they prove that before it’s too late? And more importantly, will it ever be the right time for the truth of Kaedrich’s feelings to come out?