Born a Bear

Anastasia Saifmai and Hannah Korsa have managed to do the impossible. They escaped the awful Fernfall Institute and the bleak futures their parents left them to.
But freedom isn't so easily obtained.
Life on the run has shown itself to be different, not easier, and both girls struggle toward a singular goal: reaching Rougal, where Hannah's connection to the Sunrise Academy will grant them amnesty from the Institute.
To do that, they've taken temporary cover as sisters Anastasia and Hannah Salim, servers at a teahouse in Tekild, capital of Takar. But Tekild is a foreign city, full of strange customs and suspicious citizens, and every day is a performance on a tightrope: fit in, or fall off.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the continent, Sofia carries a festering wound that she is desperate to hide. Is it possible that her magic isn't what she thought? As she struggles to balance her powers and her fear, the world around her ticks closer and closer to conflict. Delegations from Farskar have arrived at the Golden Isles, and they're not asking permission for entry; they're demanding it.
Sonya can't shake the feeling that her sister is hiding something from her, and Émile feels much the same about his dad.
Secrets, betrayals, making and breaking alliances, strange voices in dreams, connections that can't be severed no matter how hard one tries - and the Fernfall Institute, always looming in the background.
One thing is for sure. Anastasia will get answers to questions that were left unanswered in FERN YEAR. But knowledge can be its own kind of burden, and that which was given can be taken away.
Get reacquainted with Anastasia, and follow her and the other runners as their worlds turn upside-down in BORN A BEAR - Part 1.