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In the Duchy of Oc, the most precious of creatures are the winged horses blessed by the goddess Kalla. When one is born, it is immediately taken to the Academy of Air to be trained and watched over. But this time, the Academy is getting more than it bargained for.

At Deeping Farm, far in the Uplands, young Larkyn Hamley finds a lone winged horse, starving, exhausted, and about to give birth. The headstrong Larkyn saves the newborn from death. But in the process, the coal-black foal named Tup bonds with Lark--which the horses only do with one human woman, and for life.

So when Mistress Phillipa Winter arrives to inspect Tup, she has little choice but to take the farm girl to the Academy for a "proper" education. There, Lark realizes that her unlikely good fortune may not be so lucky. For in the elite world of the Academy, Lark's kindness and honesty prove to be weak armor against the taunts and cruelty of the high-born girls already there.

Now, with Tup as her only ally, Larkyn Hamley is going to show everyone how high she can fly. Because if she falls, it's a long, long way down.

Since bonding with a winged foal by accident, Larkyn Hamley has risen from her position as a wild country girl to become one of the finest students at the Academy of Air. But not everyone has her special gift, a fact that one nobleman simply refuses to accept gracefully.

The free-spirited Larkyn has found her place in the Duchy of Oc. She's favored student of Mistress Phillipa, and has mastered riding her flying horse, Black Seraph.

Elsewhere, things are growing far more turbulent. Lark's old enemy, Duke William, is the new ruler of Oc. Obsessed with the desire to ride a winged horse himself, his growing madness leads him to ignore his traditional duties to protect the Duchy--leaving the coast open to Aesklandish raiders who strike at will.

Now, as Oc is ravaged by chaos, Lark finds herself caught in a desperate battle to save her Academy from the Duke, her land from the savage Aesk, and her own life from a bloody end.

Bonded with a winged foal by accident, country girl Larkyn Hamley transformed herself into a strong, willful young woman at the Academy of the Air. Now, her most difficult challenge is upon her. And in this test, failure will be fatal.

Darkness is overtaking the Duchy of Oc. Driven by jealousy and madness, Duke William is determined to found his own flying school, where the valuable flying horses of Oc will learn to bond with well-born young men... instead of arrogant women. Once he has control of the air, nothing will stand in his way--not even the soon-to-be outdone horsemistresses.

At the Academy, Lark and her fellow flyers struggle to learn their craft while under William's yoke. His spies and soldiers are everywhere. Worse still is the absence of their beloved instructor, Mistress Philippa, who has been forced into hiding.

But when the Academy of the Air is threatened, Lark and her beloved Black Seraph must gather all of their allies from the air to the ground. For if they do not soar now, none will ever see the skies again.