by Lianne Vail
She’s half American, half Kirathi. He’s full “chosen-one magical civil servant.” Now Trina is hiding him from assassins in her mom’s guest room while he taste-tests tacos. Earth was supposed to be safe. A no-magic zone. That’s why her father thought sending Syrin through the family portal was the perfect hiding place. Too bad he was wrong. Syrin’s bond to the Light breaks all the rules. Between assassins slipping through portals into San Diego and trying to avoid becoming the “glowing boy” trending on TikTok, Trina’s summer is becoming the exact opposite of the quiet break she envisioned... And she still has to teach her new roommate to use a microwave. It’s a perfect recipe for disaster. Or love. For fans of Howl's Moving Castle and Stardust, this is a warm, emotionally driven portal fantasy full of humor, dangerous magic, slow-burn romance, and quiet moments of care before everything inevitably catches fire. 🌟 What to Expect:-Slow-burn romance (soft, awkward, real) -Emotion-tied magic + catastrophic consequences -Cozy scenes… punctuated by “for the love of all things holy NOT NOW” explosion-Fish-out-of-water fantasy and culture-clash chaos -Grief, healing, and quiet moments of care -Competent parents with opinions -A warm portal fantasy where emotional intimacy and magical danger are deeply intertwined Additional Tags: Reverse Isekai, Sentient Magic, Political Intrigue, Cozy Moments Schedule:📅 Updates every other Monday Status:📖 Book 1: Between Light and Shadow - COMPLETE📖 Book 2: The Light in Chains - CURRENTLY POSTING🖊️ Four Planned Volumes ✨ Who You’ll Meet: 👟 Trina – a college student who grew up across worlds and absolutely does not know what to do with her feelings 🔥 Syrin – a glowing magical civil servant with the soul of a paladin and exactly zero training for Earth’s nonsense ☕ Mom – a competent, unflappable ex-portal adventurer who refuses to be sidelined 🗡️ Dad – the Kirathi adventurer who did not think through the consequences of marrying a girl from California 🌑 Shadow-things & assassins – because magic problems don’t respect international borders (or interdimensional ones) 🐼 A panda who does absolutely nothing… which Syrin takes extremely personally * Winner of the Royal Road Nov 2025 Writathon challenge *
