The Ordeals (2026)

Sophia DeWinter has been bound to her cruel uncle, the Collector since he exacted a blood bond from her as a child. When she learns of Killmarth, an elite academy for magic wielders outside of the Collector’s control, she grabs it as her only chance to break free.

Each hopeful must prove their worth by competing in brutal and deadly challenges – the Ordeals. And that’s just the beginning, because hopefuls are also being viciously picked off one-by-one. To survive, Sophia could team up with another challenger. Perhaps the powerful wielder Alden Locke. But how to identify an ally from a rival? Or even a murderer?

In her haste to escape the Collector's power over her, has Sophia risked everything only to run from the flames and into the fire?

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Rachel Greenlaw (Author)

Rachel Greenlaw grew up in North Cornwall, surrounded by wild moorland and studied creative writing at university before moving to an island in the middle of the Atlantic, with all the allure of tropical palm trees in the summer and spine-tingling storms in the winter. When she’s not wandering the beaches and nature trails, she’s dreaming up her next story. She is the bestselling author of One Christmas Morning, The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells, The Ordeals duology and the Compass and Blade trilogy.