At Nightshade Academy, power isn't taught. It's taken.Maeve never meant to become a target.She came to Nightshade Academy expecting secret societies, ruthless rivalries, and the kind of magic whispered about in legends. But the moment the crescent mark ignites in her blood, Maeve learns the truth the academy has buried for centuries: she isn't a student anymore... she's a key.And keys don't get to choose what they unlock.As ancient wards awaken beneath the school, Maeve is pulled into a war between two dangerous forces-Ember, a cold-blooded coven leader who believes obedience is survival, and Vale, the brilliant, seductive professor whose hunger for control stretches far beyond the classroom.Caught between domination and manipulation, Maeve discovers something even more terrifying than their obsession: Nightshade Academy was built around a living door-one that feeds on fear, magic... and consent.The deeper Maeve is dragged into the academy's twisted rituals, the more her bond with Melody-her fierce, defiant anchor-becomes the only thing keeping her human. But when the academy turns its students into living wards and the crown of containment demands to be restored, Maeve and Melody are forced into an impossible choice: Run and be hunted forever...or shatter the system that created monsters-even if it turns them into one.Because Nightshade doesn't just want Maeve to serve the door.It wants her to become it.