The halls are dark. The magic is deadly. Trust no one.Iona hoped escaping the murderous warlock who tried to sacrifice her would be the end of her nightmare. Instead, it's only the beginning.Desperate for safety and a future, Iona claws her way into Coterie of Mages-a prestigious, cutthroat magical university hidden within the Obelisk of the City of Sorcery. But for a backwater girl without family connections, survival is far from guaranteed. The students are cruel, the professors indifferent, and the building itself whispers secrets in the dark. When her classmates' "pranks" turn lethal, Iona learns that the real trial has just begun.As enemies close in, Iona forms a tenuous alliance with Zuri, a sharp-edged prodigy with secrets of her own, and a kind-hearted newcomer who still believes in friendship. But when the warlock Fenris tracks her down, the stakes rise beyond grades and status-because now he's made a deal with one of her classmates.Betrayal, magic, and ancient horrors collide as Iona and her unlikely crew fight to survive the Obelisk's deadly levels, navigate backstabbing politics, and face the terrifying being that's been hiding inside Fenris all along. Thomas K. Carpenter is a full time contemporary fantasy author with over 50 independently published titles. His bestselling, multi-series universe, The Hundred Halls, has over 25 books and counting. His stories focus on fantastic families, magical academies, and epic adventures. All the books can be found at major retailers and directly from the author at https://thomaskcarpenter.com/.You can sign up for his newsletter at https://www.subscribepage.com/trialsofmagicWhen he is not writing, he enjoys playing turn-based strategy games and MTG, skiing, hiking, traveling, and chilling on the couch with his wife and their little dog, Loki, at home in the beautiful mountains of Colorado.
