Silver Beasts: Book One (The Mapmaking Magicians) by Emma Sterner-Radley

A dying world.
An academy to train seafaring heroes.
Four eighteen-year-olds trying to survive it all.

Silver beasts, lack of provisions, royal intrigue, and cloaked threats plague this realm. Four young people are chosen to attend the Hall of Explorers academy to train their minds, bodies, and magic, to sail and find their people a new world.

Representing the Lakelands, Eleksander, the sensitive boy with a shrouded past. From the North, Sabina, the rational warrior with her snow tiger. On behalf of the Woodlands, Hale, the fearless orphan with something to prove. From the Peaks, Avelynne, the insecure countess with a shameful secret.

Before they brave the unknown seas, they must complete their training. Not to mention getting to know each other and become a tight-knit team. Disturbing and bloody incidents soon make that even harder than it should be. Not knowing who to trust makes it worse.

They will have to face their individual issues and overcome them together if they're to avoid becoming puppets in a game where they don't understand the rules. Or worse, die before even finishing their training.

• ISBN-13 : 978-1912684403
• 418 pages

Emma Sterner-Radley is an ex-librarian turned fantasy author.  Originally Swedish, she now lives with her wife and two cats in Great Britain. There's no point in saying which city, as they move about once a year.

She spends her time writing, reading, daydreaming, lifting weights, and watching the gayest TV shows she can find. Her addictions are reality escapes, coffee, protein bars, sugary snacks, and small chubby creatures with ridiculously tiny legs. www.emmasternerradley.com