A Forbidden Friendship — K.M. Jenkins

Prince Billy is on a quest. He must prove to his elders that he can make it out in the real world on his talents as a mage. After two years of adventures, he is finally on his way back to Elërya, the City of Mages. But when he wanders off the King's Road, Billy finds himself in trouble. The Forest of Ferrês has swallowed him up while he slumbers in his camp. He wakes to find a small fox with two tails jumping at his feet, trying to warn him that a creature of horror is hunting him from the depths of the forest. Will he make it out alive? Or will his journey take an unexpected turn?