A Single Brutal Fate — Lee Paige O'Brien

A powerful spellcaster must find an ancient archive and escape a dangerous bargain to save their friend -- and themself -- in the second book in The Broken Tower saga, which New York Times bestselling author Andrew Joseph White called “a twisting, creeping mystery full of tenuous friendships, difficult choices, and beautiful magic.”
Rat Evans knows that they shouldn't have made a deal with Isola, a shadowy raven knight older than the stars and more powerful than the strongest arcanists. They know Isola can't be trusted, know that promising to go with her once all of this is over was a mistake. But they'd needed to make sure their friends were safe -- that Harker was safe, even though they're still not sure if he's a friend or a rival or something more complicated. And even if Isola's been keeping him locked away at the tower for almost two months. 
 
Now, Rat needs to search Bellamy Arts for answers on how to get Isola's heart out of the Ingrid Collection. But even with the help of Will, Jinx, and Agatha, the doors to the collection might be the one puzzle Rat can't solve, and Evening is fast on their heels.
 
The more Rat tries to use their powers to unravel the secrets of Isola's heart and the Collection, the more they realize how intertwined they may be in all of this -- and that their role in Isola's game might be an even more dangerous one than they'd imagined. Will Rat find a way to escape their deal and save the boy they care about most? And what are they willing to risk in order to make sure that the tower and Isola are razed to the ground, for good this time?
 
Enthralling and filled with twists, the second book in the Broken Tower Saga combines the dark academia aesthetic of A Lesson in Vengeance with the queer rage of Hell Followed with Us and will have readers tearing through the pages to see how this duology ends.