Living Words — Sasha L. Miller

Macati has sworn off apprentices. His last three have been complete disasters, especially the latest, Tlory, whose betrayal was the final blow. He's busy enough without the time-consuming hassle of managing an apprentice, anyway. Then an old friend arrives bearing Guylian, a brilliant, but awkward student that Macati can't bear to turn away. Guylian is adrift. The life he hated will not leave him alone, the life he loved is gone forever, and the life he was trying to build has crumbled, his teacher so out of patience with him that he has foisted Guylian on a stranger. Giving up magic, however, means giving up the last ties to his past, the one thing Guylian cannot bear to do. Neither teacher nor apprentice is prepared for the draw between them, or the additional complications that come with the return of Tlory...