I've a decision to make to save a life, but what if the wrong choice destroys everything?

Thornwood Academy—the bane of my life. A student is missing, and a mysterious intruder lurks in the shadows. The threat of an impending attack hovers above the academy like a well-placed guillotine, with the tension between humans and supernaturals sharper than the blade itself. Something foul is afoot inside the academy, but I'm no closer to identifying who's keeping secrets or what they're planning.

I refused to leave the academy when accused of murder, but now I wish I'd departed on day one. I'm endangering lives—just not in the way those around me once feared. I've allowed people into my life and developed bonds and deep affections, and I'm deadly to them.

The situation isn't only a confusing nightmare for me, but for everybody involved. Grayson is struggling with, well, everything, and I'm striving hard not to take his blood. Rowan worries that stopping my heart once may affect our relationship, but I'm more concerned what will happen when Dorian discovers he can use the shadows. And the spell on Leif that's distressing him? Only my mother's expertise can help, so hopefully she'll keep his brain intact.

I don't recognize myself anymore, and not only due to the awful uniform. Life at Thornwood changed me. I'm Violet Blackwood: hybrid, necromancer, unfeeling and self-assured… or at least, I used to be.

Now, I must rediscover who I am in order to help a friend, even if I risk losing everything else.