Joanne Taylor

Queen Isadora reigns with secrets and lies and will do whatever it takes to keep her throne, including killing the rightful heir. Hunted by the queen, Kenna is thrust into the center of a rebellion that seeks to end her tyranny. Now, she must learn what it means to rise up and rule, but does she have what it takes? Or will the cost of the rebellion be more than she can give? As the stirrings of war threaten to tear the country apart, Kenna must fight to hold her Chosen together before they too become another causality.

Blackbriar Academy is an enchanted school on a magical island, and everyone wants in. It’s a home away from home for the most advanced mages in the world - and only the absolute best of the best are given an invitation. By some freak accident, I managed to get one. If I pass the trials, I get to stay. With nowhere else to go, Blackbriar is my one shot at having a real life, and I won’t let anyone take this from me. But there’s a catch. It turns out the people on this island are being trained to hunt the darkness - basically, they’re being trained to hunt me.

I never wanted to rule. I never wanted to have men follow me. Die for me. But now, they do it anyway. The power in me is growing. If I’m not careful, it will consume me. It will consume everything. And the gods want it back. They come to me in a vision. Through the smoke and the screams of dying men, they give me a choice. Bow before them or die. My choice is easy; I defend what’s mine. It’s easier said than done, of course. I have to build an army unlike anything the Bosses have ever seen.