Read this swoon-worthy standalone prequel novel that readers are calling, “Mulan goes to Hogwarts.” Perfect for fans of Elise Kova’s Air Awakens.

Sixteen-year-old Song Liena is just one of the many peasants in the empire until the discovery of her unexpected magic upends her world. She’s ripped from her family and forced to join the hundreds of elite magic-wielders fighting to graduate from the empire’s rigorous Academy with their lives and honor intact.

But when she’s ten years behind her rich classmates who have the best training money can buy, everything—from the weekly battles against other wielders, to dangerous Night Games, to hunts for the monstrous mo gui—becomes another opportunity for death’s cold grip to claim her.

The enigmatic Crown Prince, rumored to possess unstoppable fire magic, takes an unexpected interest in her, leaving her to wonder exactly what the future emperor wants from a poor farm girl—and what lengths he will go to get it from her.
She will need every scrap of determination to survive the ruthless environment.

Because once you enter the Academy of Zheninghai, the options become succeed . . . or die.

If you love swoony-sweet romances, vivid Eastern-inspired worlds, Mulan vibes, and dark academia, discover Maiden of Candlelight and Lotuses, the prequel to the romantic fantasy series The Zheninghai Chronicles, for fans of Sylvia Mercedes, Kenley Davidson, and Shari L. Tapscott!

Anastasis Blythe