Winterwink Commons was as much a mystery to the world as the little curiousity shop erected at its heart, selling bottled starlight and shimmering elixirs that could heal broken bones and make even a king grow green with envy. For those who didn't know better, Winterwink was renowned for its humble academies, cozy libraries, and quaint bakeries that matched the curious perfection of the town itself. But for those who did know better, it was known for its magic.

For decades the Vesperas gifted the little neighborhood with vials and ampoules of the unimaginable. Potions of selectable emotions, little cups of remedy teas, even shards of fallen stars. But things changed, as they so often do, when little Verity was born.

Even for a Vespera, the girl was peculiar. Her soft round eyes were bluer than powdered cobalt, crowded with thoughts and feelings far too complex for someone so young. But above all her curiousities, Verity carried her magic so loosely, as if burying it too deep inside her soul would crush it to oblivion. It was that delicate hold on her magic—magic brighter and fiercer than the sun—that allowed it to escape.

Light unlike any other exploded from the little curiosity shop and flooded the streets of Winterwink Commons, the echoes of its ethereal glow rippling to the far reaches of their world. Once it reached the shadowed corner of Nightengale Hall, the magic in the little emporium shifted; sensing something to warrant its unease.

For it was sure, regardless of the deceiving safety of Winterwink, someone would come look for Verity's light. What they would do once they found it, however, it did not know. And what it didn't know, it didn't trust.