The Second Death of Locke

V. L. Bovalino’s debut adult novel, The Second Death of Locke (2025), is an epic romantasy set on the war-torn island of Idistra, where magic is fading after the destruction of the legendary Isle of Locke. The story follows Hand Captain Grey Flynn, a “well” (a living source of magical power) who employs a forbidden ritual to bind herself to her mage, Captain Kier Seward. When a high-stakes mission forces Grey to confront her hidden identity as the last heir of the Isle of Locke, the source of all magic, she must decide what she is willing to sacrifice in order to protect her secret, her love, and her world. The novel explores The Conflict Between Personal Bonds and Professional Duties, The Burden of Secrets, and Sacrifice as the Ultimate Expression of Love.

As the first installment in a planned series, The Second Death of Locke fits within the popular romantasy subgenre, combining intricate world-building and political conflict with a character-driven, slow-burn romance. V. L. Bovalino holds a PhD in English and uses her educational background to bring thematic depth to the genre. The novel uses a fantasy setting to examine how personal bonds are tested against the backdrop of wartime conflict, resource scarcity, and rigid social hierarchies. 

This guide is based on the 2025 Forever/Hachette Book Group edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of graphic violence, cursing, illness or death, and physical abuse.

Plot Summary

At the Mecketer military encampment of the Scaelan army, Hand Captain Grey Flynn is summoned by her mage, Captain Kier Seward, through their magical tether. Grey is a well, or living source of magic. Like all wells in military service, she is paired with a mage to whom she funnels her magical power so that he can wield it against Scaela’s enemies in battle. Wells automatically take the rank of their mage, with the addition of the title “Hand,” so because Kier is a captain, Grey is known as a Hand Captain. 

Now, Grey and Kier’s superior, Master Attis, gives them a mission from Scaelas, the High Lord of Scaela: Grey and Kier must intercept a convoy from the enemy nation of Luthar and retrieve a mysterious “resource.” Kier later tells Grey of Luthar’s belief that this resource can combat the magical “waning” that has plagued Idistra since the destruction of the Isle of Locke 16 years ago. They speculate that Luthar might believe the resource is Locke’s lost heir, Severin. That night, Grey has a nightmare about fire.

During the ambush on the convoy, Grey and Kier discover that the resource is a captive young girl. Kier frees her, and in a moment of rash tenderness, he gives the girl his armor. She then stabs him with his own dagger. To keep Kier alive on the march back to camp, Grey forces him to siphon a dangerous amount of her magical power. Her fellow soldiers, the well Ola Et-Kiltar and the mage Brit Wyvern, worry that this immense drain will kill Grey, and Kier orders her to break the tether. Back at camp, Grey, who has medical training as a healer, performs surgery on Kier. Attis’s Hand, Mare Concord, observes and questions Grey’s unusually high power capacity, implying that Grey and Kier may be illegally “bound.” (This forbidden magical link enhances a mage and Hand’s power but prevents them from working magic with anyone but each other.)

Attis leverages her suspicion of their binding to assign them a new mission. Attis identifies the captured girl as Maryse of Locke, the supposedly deceased daughter of the Isle’s last High Lady; she then charges Grey and Kier with transporting the captive girl to the High Lord Scaelas. Later, in their tent, Kier argues they should desert, and their conversation reveals that Grey, not the captured girl, is the long-lost Maryse of Locke. 

A flashback shows that as children, Grey, Kier, and his brother Lot forged a letter, signing it with the name of Grey’s deceased brother, Severin, in order to make the world believe that he, not Grey, was the sole survivor of Locke’s destruction. This ploy has protected Grey from discovery. (Many nations have historically sought to control the heir of Locke, as doing so would grant that nation control of all magic.)

In the present, a furious Grey confronts the prisoner, who now calls herself Sela, and warns her never to harm Kier again. As Grey and Kier begin the dangerous quest to bring Sela to Lord Scaelas, they are accompanied by Ola, Brit, and a typic (nonmagical) officer named Eron Fastria. After several days, they stop at a remote inn. While Kier is absent on an errand, Grey spots Luthrite soldiers in the common area, and when Grey rushes to warn the others, the trackers attack their room. In the melee, she is forced to tell Brit that she and Kier are bound; this permanent link prevents her from sharing her power with any other mage. Sela reveals that she is a well and “tethers” to Brit, who uses their materialist magic to kill the attackers, though Brit is gravely injured in the fight.

The group later confronts Sela, who confesses her true identity as Wilisela Naudé, the First Daughter of the nation-state Cleoc Strata. She lied about being Maryse to save her life when Luthar captured her. Now, the group changes their mission, deciding to use Sela to broker a truce between the warring nations of Scaela and Cleoc Strata. 

While crossing the mountains, they are surrounded by an enemy company of 43 soldiers. Believing that they are about to die, Grey reveals her true power as the heir of Locke: She can forcibly drain power from other wells. She strips the enemy wells and funnels this immense power to Kier, who kills all 43 enemies by stopping their hearts. The effort overwhelms Grey, who collapses.

A flashback reveals the night of Locke’s destruction. The nation of Eprain attacked the Isle, and upon the death of Grey’s mother, the young girl herself became Locke, the heir to the isle. In this moment, Grey’s brother, Severin, convinced the girl to draw in as much magic from the surrounding area as possible and then detonate the isle. This act submerged the Isle of Locke into the sea, ensuring Grey’s own survival at the cost of her family’s lives. 

In the present, Grey awakens after two days of severe illness, and Kier finally confesses his long-held love for her. The group reaches the city of Grislar, where Eron poses as Kier’s Hand in order to protect Grey’s identity. Sela is returned to her mother, High Lady Cleoc. At a celebratory dinner, the High Lord Scaelas, who is Grey’s godfather, starts in recognition upon seeing her but does not take any action. Soon after this event, the group is captured by a joint force from the now-allied nations of Eprain and Luthar. To protect Grey, Kier falsely confesses that he is Severin of Locke. Kier makes a deal, agreeing to surrender himself if his companions are freed.

Grey and the others are released, but Grey fights back and is rendered unconscious for her efforts. Awakening to find herself and the others in the wilderness, a furious Grey finally embraces her identity as Locke and resolves to save Kier from his folly. She, Brit, Eron, and Ola return to Grislar, where Grey reveals her true identity to Scaelas and demands his aid. Scaelas explains that because Grey and Kier are bound, Kier is now also a Locke by blood and magic; if Kier resurrects the Isle, their enemies could gain control of all magical power in the world. 

At a diplomatic parley between Kier’s and Grey’s retinue, Grey telepathically directs Kier to create a diversion, then rescues him in the ensuing chaos. They escape by jumping from a cliff into the sea, which triggers Grey’s power and causes the Isle of Locke to rise from the water. On the shore, Grey finds Kier’s dead body. In a liminal dream-space, the goddess Kitalma and the spirits of her family appear to her and explain that Kier’s death was the sacrifice required to raise the Isle. Kitalma offers her three choices. In the first, Grey can accept Kier’s death. In the second, she can choose to bring him back to life, but at the cost of his freedom. Finally, she can bring him back with his freedom intact, but only by giving up her own power as Locke. Kitalma temporarily restores Kier to life, giving Grey one lunar cycle to decide.

Grey and Kier explore the resurrected Isle and bury the dead. Grey struggles with her choice and remains unable to tell Kier that he died. Meanwhile, allies from Scaela and Cleoc arrive to defend the Isle from an impending attack, and Grey reunites with her friend Leonie. The night before the battle, Kier overhears Grey telling Leonie about the choice that she must make. He is furious that she would decide for him, but they eventually reconcile, and Kier insists on giving up his freedom so she can keep her power for the sake of all Idistra. During the battle against the invading armies, Grey is mortally wounded. In a liminal state, her mother’s ghost teaches her to fully control her power. Grey strips the magic from the enemy nations of Eprain and Luthar, ending the war.

In the following weeks, peace treaties are signed, and Grey restores the power to the defeated nations. The Isle is repopulated. On the night of the full moon, Grey and Kier meet Kitalma and confirm their choice: Kier’s freedom is sacrificed, and he is permanently bound to the Isle. Three months later, Locke is thriving. Grey has a private cottage built for Kier on a secluded cliff. They affirm their shared future, ruling as the two sovereigns of Locke.