The Black Mage

This prequel novella is set before the events of First Year (The Black Mage Book 1), following Prince Darren as a child through adolescence and his first run-in with Ryiah at the Academy of Magic. Listeners discover the dark backstory between the two princes and their father, as well as the ensuing events that shaped Darren into the Academy's most prodigal mage.

For 15-year-old Ryiah the choice has always been easy. Become a warrior and leave the boring confines of her lowborn life behind. Set to enroll in the School of Knighthood on the eve of her next birthday, plans suddenly shift when her twin brother discovers powers. Hoping that hers will soon follow, she enrolls with Alex at the Academy instead - the realm's most notorious war school for those with magic.

She survived a trial year at the Academy, but that was just the easy part. Now 16-year-old Ryiah is an apprentice of Combat, her school's most notorious faction of magic. When she finishes she will be a mage, but in order to do so she has to survive four years with a training master she hates and her old nemesis, Priscilla. To make matters worse the unwanted attraction Ry feels for her sometimes-friend-sometimes-rival Prince Darren is at an all-time high.

Twenty-year-old Ryiah is a black mage of combat, but she is not the Black Mage. Yet. She's had her eyes on the legendary robe for as long as she can remember, and in just one year she will have a chance at her country's prestigious - and only - tourney for mages. Too bad she is going up against a certain non-heir. The one person she has yet to beat.

Ryiah's world was shattered the night she discovered King Blayne's nefarious plans. Now, she has to betray the one she loves most in order to save the realm from war. Torn between love and duty, Ry finds herself on a perilous mission to help the rebels and convince the kingdom of Pythus not to honor its pact with the corrupt king of Jerar - all the while deceiving the most powerful mage in the realm, the very man sworn to protect the Crown and hunt the rebels at all costs: her husband.