Series: The Hundred Halls (Book One)
Two sisters. One magical academy. A thousand ways to fail—and one chance to save each other.
Aurelia "Aurie" Silverthorne and her younger sister, Pi, are the two strongest mages to apply to the Hundred Halls in decades. But their parents' death when they were kids leaves them without an easy path to join the magical university.
Each Hall—the schools in charge of teaching specific kinds of magic—have expectations for entry. Pi wants to join Coterie of Mages, the most exclusive Hall at the school, but it requires sponsorship by an alumnus. In exchange for a recommendation, Pi is tasked with finding a lost artifact, but uncovering its location requires courting powerful allies and crossing forbidden lines. As the sisters delve deeper into finding the artifact—discovering they're not the only ones after it—they learn their past holds the key to the future and the survival of the Hundred Halls.
Tropes
- Magical Academy
- Sisters Fighting for Family
- Found Family
- Coming of Age
- Magic Systems
- Intrigue, Exams, and Dangerous Secrets
- Emotional Resilience
- “Gifted but Different” Protagonist
- Hidden Power / Secret Origins
- Female Protagonists with Strong Character Arcs
Details
AGE: 13+, Teen to Adult (YA-Crossover)
GENRE: Urban Fantasy, Academy Fantasy, Coming-of-Age Adventure. Magical Academy
READING ORDER: Trials of Magic, Web of Lies, Alchemy of Souls, Gathering of Shadows, and City of Sorcery. This is Book One of a multi-series universe, but Trials of Magic is your perfect entry point.
CONTENT NOTES:
- Magic School Competition
- Themes of Family, Loyalty, and Identity
- Light Romance Later in Series
- Mild Language & Fantasy Violence
- Emotional Themes (grief, belonging, ambition)
More Series in The Hundred Halls Universe
- The Hundred Halls
- The Reluctant Assassin
- Animalians Hall
- Gamemakers Online
- Stone Singers Hall
- Aura Healers Hall
- The Order of Merlin
- The Crystal Halls
- Coterie of Mages
Over 38 books. 8 interconnected series. One epic magical universe.
If Harry Potter grew up, moved to a magical city, and had to hustle to survive? Welcome to the Halls.
Excerpt
The bouncer took a long look at Pi's ID card. He looked like a rhinoceros without the horn. The reflection off a passing car made him blink.
"What kind of name is Pythia?" he grumbled.
"The kind that doesn't like questions," said Pi.
"You don't look like you're twenty-six," he said.
"And you don't look like you're smart enough to work the door at the Glass Cabaret, but Radoslav's still employing you, so that counts for something," she said.
The bouncer twitched. Pi knew what he saw. She had the body of a twelve-year-old boy, short dark hair, cutting blue eyes, and she was wearing tight black jeans, a white crop top, and glitter across the warm olive tones of her exposed shoulders. She didn't even look seventeen, which was her age, let alone twenty-six. Which either meant she was lying or had enchanted herself to look younger.
Pi met his gaze until he looked away and unhooked the velvet rope so she could pass.
"That's what I thought," she said, doing her best to strut into the bar, which felt a little ridiculous.
The inside reminded Pi of a noir film. A faint mist, neither vapor nor smoke, hung in the air. A small stage in the back was currently empty. Some French sounding mood music was piped in. Glasses clinked amid the occasional bass notes.
Radoslav was standing behind the bar, cleaning cherry guts off a cleaver with a rag. He was everything she expected him to be: tall, thin, chalky-gray skin, hair so dark it absorbed light, and an expression so sour it would curdle milk at a hundred paces. He was attractive, but in a way that made it hurt to look at him.
Pi summoned her courage and approached the bar, trying to maintain the arrogance that had gotten her past the bouncer. It took one flickering glance of his gray eyes to dispel her ruse.
"I don't deal with students," he said in a melodic voice.
The urge to sprint out the door nearly overwhelmed her. Beneath the edge of the bar, she pinched her side.
"I'm not a student," she said.
He met her gaze. She felt suffocated by it, as if she'd been dumped into a pit of asphalt fumes.
"That's what I thought," he said, mimicking her tone with the bouncer. He'd known she didn't belong even before she'd entered the bar.
"Hurry along now," he said. "Wouldn't want mommy and daddy to worry."
Mention of her parents, long deceased, put steel into her spine.
She couldn't meet his gaze, but she said with fervor, "I need a summoning focal."
A sharp laugh exited his lips. He stared at her with amusement, revealing gleaming white teeth.
"What would a whelpling like yourself need with that?" he asked, suddenly devoting his every attention to her, which made her skin crawl.
"That's my business," said Pi, staring at the meticulously clean bar top. Not one errant drop of liquid marred its surface.
"If you want a focal, then it's my business too. I'd prefer not to have my bar shut down because some irresponsible youngling summoned something she couldn't handle and put people's lives at risk," he said.
Pi bit her lower lip. "I need to summon a faez demon. Nothing major. But it has to be something above an imp."
Radoslav took another long look, as if he'd underestimated her yet again. Wry amusement was perched on his lips like a carrion bird.
"You have no patron, which means you're either a fool to expose yourself to faez madness, or"—he tapped his chin with a manicured fingernail—"you aspire to the Cabal...probably the Coterie of Mages."
Pi didn't bother acknowledging the correct answer. It would only annoy Radoslav further.
"Assuming you can meet my price, can you perform the deed? What's your barrier material?" he asked.
"Sea salt with a touch of silver dust," she said.
"Silver dust? Oh, yes, no patron. How savvy," he said. "What about your mechanics?"
Pi produced two quarters from her pockets, flipping them both into the air to catch them on the back of her knuckles. Then she started rolling them back and forth, making them dance across her fingers as if they were marionettes. When she was finished, she threw them into the air and deftly let them fall into her back pockets.
Radoslav clapped softly. A modicum of pride welled up in her chest. Then like a snake strike, he grabbed her arms. He put his face up close and dug his fingernails into her wrists.
Pi couldn't look away from his gaze. She felt him probing her mind briefly before he broke away.
"More than sufficient power," he said, licking his lips. "What's your Merlin score?"
"Never been tested," she said.
"Tell me then," said Radoslav. "Why Coterie? Why not another hall? You don't strike me as the power-mad type."
The first thing that flashed into her mind was her parents' faces, followed by the years of various orphanages and foster families. Pi rubbed the ropelike scar along her forearm.
"It's the only way to be safe," she said.
Radoslav drummed his fingers on the bar. "I guess the only question now is can you meet my price."
"I assume that a favor from a future member of the Coterie won't suffice?" Pi asked hopefully.
"Despite your promising abilities, you have a long way to go. Many a Coterie mage has disappeared due to hubris," said Radoslav. "So I'd prefer my payment in something more immediate and binding."
The way he looked at her put a twist in her gut. She felt like an antelope being sized up by a lion.
"I want your soul," he said.
“This series pulled me in and did not let go. The magic system is layered and fascinating, and the sisterly bond hit me right in the feels.”
— Megan
“Think magical college meets survival game. Add heart, danger, and sibling loyalty and you’ve got Trials of Magic.”
— Jordan
“I loved Pi so much. She’s neurodivergent-coded and just... real. Her arc is phenomenal, and I can’t wait to follow her story all the way.”
— Casey
