Veyden: Book 1- Wanderbourne

For nineteen years, David Novak assumed the static buzzing under his skin was just another defect. Broke, aging out of Washington's foster system, and stuck in a dead-end town, his plan was simple: keep his head down, work his shifts, and survive.

Then a man ended up dead with his skull cracked open against an alley wall-and David didn't even touch him.

Dragged into the hidden world of the Veyden-a secretive aristocracy of mages bound by ancient bloodlines and elemental spirits-David learns the brutal rules of magic. It's finite. It drains the body, ruptures blood vessels, and demands a physical tax from every Veyden.

Except David.

Untrained, unclaimed, and born without a family line, David is a Wanderbourne-a volatile anomaly. While every spell leaves elite mages bleeding and exhausted, the raw, terrifying power surging through David doesn't even make him catch his breath.

Cornered by rich strangers who view him as a dangerous weapon, David is hauled off to an ancestral estate full of shadow politics, ancient family rivalries, and blood-bound secrets. Alongside Jacob-a broad-shouldered mage with a cold streak-and Katrina, Jacob's sharp and lethal sister, David is thrust into a dangerous hunt for others like him before rival noble houses can hunt them down.

In a world where non-magical lives are cheap and ancient families play for keeps, David has to figure out who he can trust before his untamed power makes him the ultimate target.