Shaun A.

A winter sunrise over the great plains of Russia is no cause for celebration. The temperature barely rises above zero, and the guards at Penal Colony IK22 are determined to take their misery out on the prisoners—chief among them, one Zoya Zakharova. Once a master spy for Russian foreign intelligence, then the partner and lover of the Gray Man, she has information the Kremlin wants, and they don't care what they have to do to get it.

Winter was supposed to be a time for Ard to relax and train; instead, he finds himself repairing a ruined city. The battle at Faylin has made waves, and people are starting to have expectations for Ard and, more importantly, for Gwen. The Elder Trial is set, and Ard heads back into the den of vipers that is the capital. While his mother prepares to become an Elder and take over House Aldis, Ard is plotting and planning to ensure he doesn't get caught up in Carmilla's machinations this time around.

Five hundred years of fighting demons and humanity has been pushed to the brink of extinction. As the last bastion of the remaining humans is shattered, Bran Heros, the Wandering King, decides to enact a last ditch effort. He’s going to send his soul back in time to two years before the demon invasion comes to earth. This time when the demons first come he’s going to be waiting. He might not be as strong as he was in his past life, but he has something far more important.

Ken and party are training with his grandparents, preparing themselves to the next semester of Haylon. Yet, even after the Gransmens' deaths, there are still plots from the Kaiming targeting Ken. After thwarting an attack on him at the Nagato Clan, Ken heads back to Haylon to get the strength he needs.

Ard is hunkering down in the mountains for the winter as the war cools with the snow. That means it’s time to practice his magic and stay out of trouble. Well… Ard might not be entirely proficient at the last one. At the very least, he’s staying away from the city and his penchant for annoying other people. Except that doesn’t work out so well when he’s forced to attend a ball held by the Brighthavens, though they’ll certainly regret forcing Ard’s attendance.

Arden was left in the village by a dying mage, who never returned. With no way out of the village on his own, he had always held onto the hope that one day his magic would awaken and give him access to his spheres. But he’s about to turn eighteen and it’s never come. Instead, he’s settled into his lot as a sarcastic and quick-witted innkeeper. That all changes one night when his old flame, who escaped the village to become a mage’s anchor, returns. Ard’s life is about to go through some dramatic changes, and he’s not ready for them.

Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou is Seiren Private Academy’s “solitary princess.” She’s a half-Russian beauty with silver hair, at the top of her class, student council accountant, and…completely unapproachable. For some reason, she’s also taken on the responsibility of reprimanding the slacker who sits next to her in class. Masachika Kuze is constantly frustrating her by falling asleep, forgetting his textbooks, and just being an overall unexemplary student. Or at least, that’s how it looks from the outside. She may put on a tough act, but she doesn’t mind Masachika as much as others would think.