Between Shadow and Truth

Seventeen-year-old Mara Ward has spent her life trapped in a town she can't leave, a place where magic is only a rumour and asking questions is forbidden.

But when she touches a shimmering parchment hidden inside her mother's journal, Mara is whisked away to Okercrest Academy, a school where wizards channel magic from the Pleach-the natural force that fuels their spellwork.

Mara, however, can't master the Pleach. The volatile magic inside her is dangerous and unpredictable, threatening to destroy anyone who gets too close.

Enter Helm Greymalt. Guarded and dangerous in his own right, he is the only person capable of enduring her power when it surges. Mara holds a firm line between them, refusing to compromise her integrity even as students continue to vanish and her mother's secrets unravel. But staying anchored means relying on a boy built to withstand the worst of it. She has no choice, and Helm is only beginning to learn how to make his own.

Because the truth about who Mara is was never meant to be uncovered, and trust is the most dangerous risk of all.

Between Shadow & Truth is a mystery-forward YA fantasy featuring a unique magic system, slow-burn romantic tension, and a resilient heroine fighting for answers.