Fall Semester — Vanessa Cardui

Things are going pretty well for Lynn Kennedy . . . considering the circumstances. She's managed to survive her first two weeks of studying magic under Grandmaster Eris Andromeda Carmichael without any permanent loss of life or limb. And her skill at playing Eris' sadistic mind games has won her not only the grudging respect of her fellow-students, but also the magically-compelled obedience of one of them: beautiful and fascinating Kasey Bouet, who kept Lynn naked and collared for most of their orientation period, before Lynn turned the tables on her.

Now Lynn spends her nights with Kasey tied up beside her, and Parry Stephenson, another of Eris' apprentices who was ready to bargain away his independence in return for Lynn's protection, in a cage by the bed. Both of them are eager to serve her every whim, although Kasey, at least, is equally eager for any opportunity to take control of Lynn once again.

But Lynn's days are less pleasant, with more lethal contests of skill, cruel punishments for the slightest failure, and horrifying sessions with Eris and her assistant, the brutal Master Andrei Rostem. And when Eileen Sullivan, one of Lynn's fellow-students, tries to run away, the rest of the class is forced to use the magic they've learned to change her into something that will be satisfied with the circumstances in which she finds herself--a creature with the outward appearance of a flawlessly beautiful woman, but whose only thought is pleasure, and who finds pleasure in the inflicting and suffering of pain.

The results of this transformation, both for Eileen and the others, are a terrifying object lesson in unintended consequences, and the power of magic to twist and corrupt one's very sense of self. And Lynn is learning that when you start off in a high position, it means you have that much further to fall.