The Curse

of the black SUV, his knuckles white as h

haotic blend of honking taxis, pulsing club music, and

t of his patience, and the memory of Saria's diary; its

soul, stirred in his chest, whispering warnings he couldn't decipher. V

yse's tomboy smirk, her hazel eyes sparking with forbidden love, ha

clutching that mysterious d

ed at a hidden identity that Calden's m

s werewolf king whose crimson eyes and dangerous a

hoed like a prophecy, and Toren's gut told hi

. The passenger, a wiry man named Vance with a weasel-like grin, sat in the

ught, her sightless eyes and secret diary flashing in his mind. Was she

r angelic spark hid

ce sharp. "Calden doesn't pay you to eavesdrop." To

mind raced, piecing together fragments; the Calden's con

est daughter's marriage came first. Saria, the substituen

glass facade reflecting Veyrholt's neon glow. Vance slipped o

urse surged, a vision flashing through his psyche: a mo

hispering, The luna rises.He shook it off, his scarred hands tremb

ead. Toren drove back, the SUV cutting through t

lled at him, but Saria's quiet storm; her scars, d

omething deeper, a belated love

eaded inside, the wolf carvings on the

a stone fountain. Her gray dress clung to her, her scarred face tilt

to her belt, its leathe

ing. Her voice was shy but edged with a

aning against a pillar. "You

n her posture. "It's quieter than my fath

hat's with the diary, Saria? And don't give

less eyes narrowing. "You're bold for a new

"It's a system. Not just a book. It shows things; glimpses o

"Like time travel?" She shook her head, her shy facade cracking. "More like warn

heat in his veins. "What do

eps echoed. Elyse appeared, her hoodie swapped for a fit

you," she said, her haze

boy. He's got

presence was a balm and a blade, her forbidden love pulling

gret. "The kind that comes with strings. He wants you to

Haven; where he'd met Calde

on darkening. "Be careful,

tive gesture. "Stay out of his way, Elyse.

es. Toren caught it, his rogue instincts sensing a secret baby

Toren's curse growled, sensing a power struggle brewing. Kael's crimson eyes, his

ria grabbed Toren's arm, her

r," she whispered, he

hey're playing a game yo

s all connected, a mystical prophecy tying them to Veyrholt's fate. He thought of C

ething else; a need to protect Elyse, and m

oonlit Haven, the bar's neon

ves and human dealers mingling in the shadows. Kael sat at a co

his king-like presen

eet your new client. Kael's business is very

e flicking to a photo on the table;

el said, his tone obsessive. "

g a glowing diary, and a portal opening to an alternate universe. The image

the SUV's glovebox, where Saria's diary shouldn't be, but is. A whis