The Warden He Sealed

Mira Vaunt can't leave Crowmere Academy. Not won't — can't. There's a seal on her wrist from the night she was admitted, and every time she walks toward the gate, it tightens until she can't breathe. She's been there four years when three names appear carved under her windowsill: Lorn, Aiden, and Sev. Lorn is the school's head warden, in his thirties, filing quiet reports about her that go nowhere. Aiden is a cadet who has spoken to her exactly once and has refused to leave ever since. Sev isn't a student or a warden at all — he's a caretaker who's been at Crowmere longer than anyone can remember. The seal is an anchor, and three others in the school are carrying the same one. Lorn signed the original binding at twenty-two and has been trying to undo it for a decade. Aiden found out eleven weeks ago. Sev has known since before the school had a name. The four of them will break the binding this year — and Mira will be the one holding the blade.