Dara Martin is an untrained witch with strong natural power, and while she knows she deserves formal education from the Academy, it will take years of grueling study and hard slog for this half-blood to be accepted by the Kin. On the other hand, Willem the sorcerer may hold the secret to her lost mother, and he promises the fast-track to power beyond measure. What he proposes is illegal, and if she's caught, her magic will be painfully bound forever.