Hero. Traitor. It all depends on which side you’re watching from.

When the vicious ruling mages launched a war against their heirs, they tore the magical community in two-and I walked out on my family to stand with their enemies. You could say I was championing compassion over tyranny, but really it was pure self-preservation.

Two years after our victory, I’m tutoring a way-too-charming heir who’s totally off limits, dodging my parents’ vengeful spells, and trying to figure out where I’ll land after graduation. My once-prestigious ancestry isn’t doing me any favors. Most of my peers look at me with more suspicion than warmth.

Then a mysterious, brooding man arrives on campus with news of a conspiracy that could destroy our newfound peace. To unravel it, I’ll have to reconnect with the dark side of our community. Disavow my few friends. Woo the mages who idolize my family.

If I fail, they’ll probably kill me.

By now, I know there are worse things than death. And this might be my one chance to prove I’m more than a traitor-to my allies and myself.

But with the charming heir and the mysterious brooder along for the ride-two bad ideas I can barely resist-and a horror from my past rising from the ashes, I’m in way over my head. Will I win the day? Ha. The real question is, how much am I going to lose?

*Crooked Magic is the first in a new urban fantasy trilogy set in the Villain Academy world. Enter here for magical conspiracies, an outcast heroine, and a fraught romance where she’ll get to keep both her suitors.*