Some things don’t break. They bind.
- Series: Richmond Academy, Book 3 of 5
- Author: W.M. Dawson
- Genre: YA fantasy, magic school
- 🌶️ Spice: 0.5, kissing and yearning
- Kindle Unlimited: yes
About the book
Shayla Montgomery’s fire didn’t answer when it mattered most.
When the sanctuary barrier tore open last semester, she was supposed to bring the flame that would hold it. Nothing came. Not even a spark. Now she’s back at Richmond Academy for spring term, carrying her father’s disappointment like a second duffel bag, and the wardstone perimeter is still failing—held together by nothing but friction and hope.
Then the earth starts answering her instead.
It begins as a hum in the ground beneath her feet during a routine assessment. It ends with Shayla discovering a guardian legacy her family buried generations ago: a second path, one her father’s line was never meant to forget. Binding, not burning. Holding, not destroying.
But someone is sabotaging the ley system from the inside, and the trail keeps leading back to Councillor Varis—a woman with the authority to bury the truth and the patience to do it slowly. As the fractures spread and the people Shayla loves are pulled into the blast radius, she has to decide whether the guardian she’s becoming is strong enough to hold a school, a sanctuary, and the boy beside her together.
You’ll love this if you like
Elemental magic · buried family secrets · hidden powers · found family · slow burn · a conspiracy inside the school
Content notes
Emotionally controlling parent · peril and violence · mild language · YA. See all content notes.
Keep reading
Shayla’s story continues in Trial by Wind, out now and in Kindle Unlimited. The finale, Trial by Spirit, arrives December 15, 2026.
