The Cruel Prince meets Powerless in this dark academia romantasy retelling of Cinderella, a companion to international bestseller Seven Deadly Thorns

Vesper Fontaine and Lonan Duval have always been rivals. Competition for top student at Gossemort Academy, school of magic, is cutthroat. They both keep dangerous secrets, and tonight those secrets could get them killed.

It's hours until The Ridding - a high-stakes, one-night-only test, in which students will be locked in the school and challenged to survive until dawn. Three trials will challenge them, and only the best (and most loyal) will survive.

Then an unexpected element enters The Ridding - a mysterious prince claiming to be Vesper's bloodmate. But what happens when your fated mate is a fate worse than death? As the clock ticks closer to dawn, the trials grow darker, and hope wanes. To survive the night, Vesper and Lonan may have to put their trust in their worst enemy.

This story takes place in the same magic world as Seven Deadly Thorns but with a completely new cast of characters.