Heir to the Darkmage

She is the granddaughter of the Darkmage. And the Mage Council will never let her forget it.

Lira Astor learned long ago that fear is its own kind of power. Orphaned on the streets and hunted for a name she never chose, she's survived as a thief, a liar, and the best con artist in the business — and now she's talked her way into the Mage Council's most elite apprenticeship with no intention of playing by their rules.

Because Lira isn't there to belong. She's there to play every side against the other: the Council that fears her, the rebels who want to use her, and the ruthless, magnetic crew leader from her past who knows exactly who Lira really is.

But the deeper she burrows into other people's secrets, the harder it gets to tell whose game she's running — and whether the cold, dangerous heir everyone sees is a mask… or the truth.

In a world still scarred by war and stalked by things far worse than mages, Lira must decide what kind of legacy she'll claim. Her grandfather's. Or her own.