Through Smoke & Ash

In the Elyaxi Series: Book One, Through Smoke & Ash, Malakai Reynaxi wakes up to find he has no memory of who he is or his past. All that was left to him was an apartment lease in his name, and a suspicious and haunting note to not trust the local authorities. Those same authorities haunt him, creeping slowly by him every day and sending shivers down his spine, so he listens. Malakai adjusts to his new life in the Human city of Kelyaxi as a Private Investigator, earning money by following people from the shadows. Until one day, when his hunt gets him into a little more trouble than he's worth.

What happens next is a flurry of events that leave him stunned. He finds out he wields magic, and not only that, but that someone has tampered with his memory. As the notorious Council of Seven, the Mages responsible for the Elements, gives him instructions to learn how to wield his new powers, he is assigned to Akari Xion, a Light Mage with a sordid past. He can't help but feel drawn to her, but as assigned partners, it's his duty to protect her, not fall in love with her.

As time passes and issues come to light, Malakai learns that perhaps not everything is as it seems, and when a madman from ages past reveals himself, he has to fight to not protect only himself, but his partner as well.

Through Smoke & Ash is a 3rd person point-of-view, forced proximity, rivals to lover fantasy book. If you've enjoyed books such as Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, or A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas, you may find a home here as well.