Silverthorn

Cassian Vale never belonged at Moonveil. The legendary academy trains the empire's most powerful magical bloodlines-heirs, nobles, and future rulers. Cassian is none of those things. He's a scholarship student from a forgotten harbor town, carrying dangerous Shadow magic he barely understands. Then he meets Evander Silverthorn. Cold. Brilliant. Untouchable. The heir to one of the oldest bloodlines in the empire should hate Cassian on sight.
Instead, their magic reacts violently whenever they're near each other, awakening an ancient bond the world believed extinct. As buried kingdoms rise beneath the sea and forgotten monsters stir below Moonveil, Cassian and Evander uncover a truth hidden by centuries of blood and war. Bonded wielders were never villains. They were powerful enough to threaten empires. The bond between silver and shadow was supposed to be extinct.
Now it has chosen them-and the empire will burn before it lets them rise. Silverthorn is a dark-academia MM fantasy romance featuring rivals-to-lovers tension, forbidden magic, ancient kingdoms, political intrigue, emotional obsession, and a slow-burn bond powerful enough to change the world.