Nonmagical people are being demonized and falsely blamed for Magnifico’s economic problems after Queen Vivian’s bloody rise to power. But politics very quickly become more than abstract views to argue about when secret police wolves are deployed throughout the country to kill those born without magical abilities.<br><br>Seventeen-year-old Maximillian’s best friend Katherine is one such nonmagical person. In a bid to keep her safe, Maximillian turns to the queen’s estranged younger brother, a man thought to be dead until recently.<br><br>Prince Stefan is nineteen years old and has been in hiding from his family for years. He has no desire to resurface in the political world. Can Maximillian convince him the country needs him before it’s too late?

In the Name of Magic

I opened the stall door and walked over to the sink. Water spat out from the faucet after I pressed the soap dispenser and mixed the soap against my hands. The splashing water hit my hands, and I continued washing them.


“What have you been up to?” Stefan asked.


“I’m sorry. I witnessed an unpleasant conversation with Sirch and someone.”


He furrowed his eyebrows. “Do you want to discuss it?”


Sure. Telling Stefan about the conversation was a definite, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the dire implications. Not tonight. I needed one evening of denial. One evening where I could be a teenage guy hanging out with my boyfriend. One evening when deciding when to sleep with Stefan was my biggest problem. One evening when I didn’t have to question how Magnifico changed from an incompetent monarchy to a monarchy of murders.


“Soon. But not right now.” I walked over to the dryer and I rubbed my hands under its warm blast of air.


Chapter 43