In this thrilling and sensuous dark academia fantasy, an ambitious graduate student and her advisor dive into studying a taboo branch of magic, igniting a dangerous passion between them.

“Saltburn meets Babel . . . Dark academia, romance, and fantasy join forces in a gripping new book.”—People

Tucked within an idyllic corner of New England, Newlyn University stands as a bastion for the academic elites. Inside its hallowed halls, students can pursue degrees in medicine, history, technology . . . or the Arcane Arts—the esoteric study of powerful magical forces. Enter Ellsbeth Storer: long determined to pursue a graduate degree in arcane mechanicals at Newlyn. Headstrong and driven, she convinces Thaddeus Rawlins, one of the field’s most celebrated professors, to take her on as a student. Against his better judgment, Rawlins allows her to pursue a thesis on writ magic, the long-forbidden power to control and compel others.

While student and teacher both profess academic interest in the topic, each wants it for their own secret purpose. But they soon discover that Newlyn itself may be hiding the darkest secret of all. . . .

As Rawlins and Ellsbeth undertake their clandestine research, their flirtation crosses into uncontrollable desire, which threatens to bloom into something even more troubling: love. But when their project begins to spin out of control, entangling them in a destructive web of lust and power, the question remains: can two people who are masters of manipulation ever trust each other?

In this thrilling and sexy dark romance, a graduate student and her adviser dive into a taboo branch of magic, igniting a dangerous passion.

“Dark academia, romance, and fantasy join forces in a gripping new book.”—People

Ambitious and driven, Ellsbeth Storer has long been determined to study the arcane arts, even before the mysterious death of a loved one draws her to prestigious Newlyn University.

Professor Thaddeus Rawlins was once the wunderkind of the field, but in the wake of a horrific tragedy that nearly ended his career, he has resigned himself to the boredom of tenure.

Yet when the magnetic Ellsbeth enters his orbit, he finds her impossible to resist. He agrees to oversee her pursuit of a taboo thesis topic: the study of writ magic, the illegal power to control and compel others—and a secret obsession of Rawlins’s.

As student and professor undertake their illicit research, harmless flirtation crosses into uncontrollable desire, which threatens to bloom into something even more dangerous: love.

But can two people who are masters of manipulation ever trust each other?