<p><em style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1); color: rgba(18, 18, 18, 0.75)">An ancient and unholy university.&nbsp;</em><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1); color: rgba(18, 18, 18, 0.75)">&nbsp;</span></p><p><em style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1); color: rgba(18, 18, 18, 0.75)">A brilliant tutor with a dark past.&nbsp;</em><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1); color: rgba(18, 18, 18, 0.75)">&nbsp;</span></p><p><em style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1); color: rgba(18, 18, 18, 0.75)">A grad student determined to end a curse.</em><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1); color: rgba(18, 18, 18, 0.75)">&nbsp;</span></p><p></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1); color: rgba(18, 18, 18, 0.75)">Laura has come to study curse-breaking at Oxford's Cornix College with one goal: to&nbsp;stop dark magic from pursuing anyone who cares for her.&nbsp;</span></p><p></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1); color: rgba(18, 18, 18, 0.75)">Solitary, talented countermancer Cillian is simply filling in for a missing lecturer - or so it seems. His true purpose at Cornix is the investigation of a disturbing pattern of deaths and disappearances. And he's noticed the grad student who avoids music - and attracts tragedy.&nbsp;</span></p><p></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1); color: rgba(18, 18, 18, 0.75)">In the competitive Faculty of Arcane Sciences, darkness and fascination twist around Cillian and Laura like a forest of thorns. They soon find themselves locked in a mutual battle to resist temptation and maintain secrecy.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1); color: rgba(18, 18, 18, 0.75)">&nbsp;</span></p><p><strong style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1); color: rgba(18, 18, 18, 0.75)">Who will hold out the longest, especially when succumbing tastes so sweet?</strong></p><p></p>