Book excerpt: Azalea of Ashwood has finally made her peace with being forced to enroll at Serpent's Order Academy for Intelligence and Sorcery. As a woman falsely accused of witchcraft, and branded as an outcast in the kingdom of Xanthera, she knows she can never return to her former life again. Her only goal was to graduate as soon as possible and earn her freedom. But her ambitions seem to have taken her elsewhere. Impressed by her flawless grades, the headmaster of the Academy sends Azalea on a mission to infiltrate Xanthera castle by impersonating a new recruit of the king's most dangerous mercenaries. Never would Azalea have imagined that she would have to face the leader of the Black Knights again - the same man who had put her into this mess to begin with. Magical, dark and thrilling. For anyone who yearns for an adventurous fantasy story.