NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In the sequel to the “unforgettable” ( People ), New York Times bestselling fantasy debut Blood at the Root, a Black teenager with magical powers returns to Caiman University only to find new dangers and new secrets. It's Homecoming season at Caiman University, and all 17-year-old Malik Baron wants to do is be a regular college student…or as regular as he can get at a magical HBCU for young, Black Conjurers. He’s ready to go to parties, hang out with his new friends, choose a major, and talk to girls. Instead, he's reeling from a summer of revelations, heartbreak and betrayal, and still uncovering the truth about his powers and his legacy. The family he only just discovered is already fractured beyond repair, and a new relative who shows up on his doorstep brings even more questions. Then there’s the mother he risked everything to find, who might be the biggest threat to the life he's trying to build. To protect his new community, Malik joins an elite secret society with roots in ancient magic. His journey takes him even deeper into his own heritage and the history of the magical world, while bringing him closer to a classmate whose friendship might mean something more, if Malik is ready to let her in. But how can he use powers he can’t even control to defend a world he’s not sure will ever fully accept him? And as the pressure and danger builds, will he be able to confront the deepening cracks within the magical society, and those building within himself? “This thrilling sequel lives up to its promise....The novel's smooth integration of action and introspection keep the pages turning, and threads of romance, family, history, and personal integrity come together, well, rather magically. A great pick for fans of magic school stories .” — Common Sense Media "A story as magically cool as it is emotionally heated." — Kirkus Reviews "Williams emphasizes heartfelt messages about the importance of Black men’s mental health and fostering a queer-inclusive community....A cliff-hanger ending ensures that readers will return to Caiman University in a heartbeat ." — Booklist Hailing from the small town of Helena, Alabama, LaDarrion Williams is a self-taught playwright, filmmaker, author, and screenwriter committed to shaping a new era of Black fantasy. His theatrical work has garnered attention at notable venues, including the Echo Theatre Playwrights Lab, the Great Plains Theatre Conference in Omaha, TSU’s Black and Latino Playwrights Festival, and the Boise Contemporary Theater BIPOC Playwrights Festival. An esteemed alum of the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, LaDarrion’s play Hurt People was selected for the 2024 conference, further solidifying his place as a bold and necessary voice in contemporary theater. His play Coco Queens was featured in the 2019 Sundance Institute’s Playwriting Intensive, won the New Works@theWorks Playwriting Award, and celebrated its world premiere at Playhouse on the Square in July 2024. His Jeff Award-nominated play Boulevard of Bold Dreams—a poignant exploration of Hattie McDaniel’s historic Oscar win—debuted at TimeLine Theatre Company in Chicago, had its East Coast Premiere at Greater Boston Stage Company in March 2023, and was part of the Orlando Shakes Theater Signature Series in October 2023, with plans for national productions in 2024-2025. Beyond theater, LaDarrion has directed three short films featured on YouTube and made his mark as a debut author with Blood at the Root, a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller. Through storytelling across multiple mediums, he continues to craft narratives that amplify Black voices, history, and imagination. Chapter One Legends never die. You really only hear that statement when celebrities die. Not regular folks. Death be having folks do funny things. It definitely have folks make their little social me-dia posts offering up their hundred-and-forty-character prayers and then they keep it pushing. What about those who were taken away from us so early or so fast that we haven’t even gotten to know yet? Does death care? Naw. Death doesn’t give a fuck that you’re sad, that you cry, that you stop living, because no matter what, the world is gonna keep moving. Grief got me feeling a myriad of things. Guilty, sad, fired up, and angry. Truth be told, the shit is exhausting. In the late nights after my nightmares, I look up the stages of grief. There are seven of them, and to be perfectly honest, I’m not too sure what stage I’m on. But the way life is life’ing right now, I ain’t got time to think about it. On top of all that, I have to do what Baron Samedi says. Be a kid. Have fun. It’s like, when I made that promise, it was a magical bond, and every part of me has to uphold it. So, I’ve been doing just that. Going to class, hanging out with the crew, trying to forget about what happened this past summer. I can’t forget, though. Honestly, I will say Baron Samedi got me thinking