Auralee never had the knack for magic, but she’s dedicated her life to the study and preservation of it.

After a research trip leaves her marooned on an island that shouldn’t exist, the arcane scholar takes shelter in the ruins of the island’s lighthouse, triggering its dormant purpose — Defense of a ley lash; one of the many ties that binds an ancient evil beneath the sea floor. If she wants to ever be found again, or even just survive, she’ll need to find a way to anchor the ley lash and keep the waves of sea monsters from unleashing their broodmother.

Without any magical talent of her own, Auralee have to rely on the hidden gift of her fellow survivor — a sailor off her same wrecked ship — his willingness to learn, and her own ability to teach. If she can’t, then what was the point of all that studying anyway?