Fractured Wards: The Confluence Saga, Book One

She spent fourteen years learning to be small. The wards were never going to let her stay that way.
Elara Novak is a liar.
Every assessment passed with careful mediocrity. Every flicker of power smothered before it can be seen. Every day at the Convergence — the most elite magical institution in the Accord — spent performing the role of a quiet, unremarkable witch.
Because what Elara really is would get her killed.
When she's paired with Cassian Voss — top-ranked wizard candidate, political heir, and far too observant for her safety — everything she's built starts to crack. He's arrogant, sharp-tongued, and dangerous in ways that have nothing to do with magic. And the closer he gets, the harder it becomes to keep her secret buried.
But Elara isn't the only one hiding something. The ancient wards that hold their world together are failing, and someone powerful has been waiting for exactly this moment.
As the cracks spread and the truth claws its way to the surface, Elara faces an impossible choice: keep hiding and survive — or become what she was born to be, and set the entire system on fire.
Fractured Wards is the explosive first book in The Confluence Saga — an epic romantasy series for fans of Fourth Wing, From Blood and Ash, and The Atlas Six.
Enemies-to-lovers slow burn • Hidden identity • Academy fantasy • Institutional conspiracy • A heroine who was taught to be small and chose to burn