The Chaotic Resonance — Shari Malin

The walls of reality are shaking, and the very souls of animals are fracturing.Months after Malachi's escape through the Energy Gate, its residual pollution—the Chaotic Taint—is driving magical and mundane pets into spirals of unpredictable madness, forcing pet medium Zara to fight a war on two fronts. Her greatest challenge, however, is the visible enemy: the Veridian Syndicate, led by the brilliant but corrupt Director Silas Thorne, former head of magical stability.Silas, viewing the government as inept, has acquired a shipment of Malachi's smuggled Crystalline Spirit-Traps to hold the magical elite hostage, proving his authoritarian critique. To stop the coming terror, Zara must rely on a skeptical Dr. Elias Thorne, who is now forced to betray his own brother, and the untrustworthy Imp, Snip, who can trace the flow of the illicit traps.As the Taint threatens to dissolve the community's animal companions, Zara must master a complex, risky Spirit Resonance to heal the chaos, while navigating a network of betrayal and sabotage that could cost her more than just the magical world's secrets.