ren has always wanted to leave, to escape his quiet village life. he wakes up from gold-tinged dreams with his heart pounding and a yearning for something he can't name, can't hold. he longs to experience something magical just once in his life. nico's monsters don't lurk under the bed. they walk in daylight. they haunt him every day of his life. he's possibly the strongest magician of his time, yet he's trapped. all he wants is an out. at a magical carnival in the middle of a forest, ren and nico collide. they've been on this collision course their entire lives, always hurtling toward each other. for both men, escape is now. they have no choice but to flee together. monsters and betrayal hunt them across strange lands. they find themselves on a journey to save each other--and possibly the world. all they have is one another, nico's magic, and a lifetime of half-remembered dreams. but finding each other, finally having someone to rely on, might be the strongest magic of all.