This is a short prequel story that takes place before Diabolical Sword, book 1 in The Charm Collector urban fantasy series. Camila Fletcher has made a career out of finding missing people. Despite being a full-blooded human, she’s often contacted by members of the fae population hiding amongst mundanes. When a young fae girl asks for help finding her sister, Camila is thrust into an investigation that involves much more than one missing girl … Please note that this is a low-romance series. The prequel’s spice level is at zero.

A sentient sword. An artifact collector. A whole world of trouble. My name is Harlow Fletcher, and I’m a charm collector. As the daughter of bounty hunters, I know more about the criminal underbelly than the average citizen of Luma, California. But when my dad’s work got him killed, and my mom skipped town, I swore off the profession for myself. Instead, I fell into the lucrative gig of freelance charm collecting. I have a knack for finding rare artifacts, namely illegal magic-laced weapons, and I use that skill to sneak into criminals’ homes after the police have carted them off for their latest infractions. Once I’ve helped myself to the contraband, I sell it to the highest bidder. While looting my latest victim, a gorgeous sword catches my eye. I regret my decision to steal the sword within minutes: the weapon is alive. It’s lightning-quick, has an anger management problem, and refuses to leave me alone. When the sword takes off one day, I think it’s finally out of my life for good—yet, in less than twenty-four hours, the police are at my door, accusing me of murder. While I’m in the middle of explaining that I didn’t commit the crime, the diabolical sword floats into my apartment, covered in blood. Now we’re on the run, with bounty hunters and government-trained feline shifters hot on our trail. Proving my innocence is going to be a lot harder with the sentient murder weapon by my side—especially when I might be next on its hit list …

Secrets are more valuable than gold. Kayda Kayda Verdan and Harlow Fletcher have been ride-or-die best friends since they were teenagers. And yet, when Harlow’s life hits the skids after she steals a sentient dragon sword, she doesn’t seek Kayda’s help. Harlow ghosts her friend altogether under the guise of keeping Kayda safe. Kayda is not amused. When Harlow leaves Luma and Kayda behind, Kayda is downright angry. As the Collective and their trained werecats try to track Harlow down, they turn their sights on Kayda, propelling her into an adventure she never expected. An adventure that reveals a secret group threatening Luma’s veil magic—and the lives of everyone who resides within the hidden magical city. ~ ~ ~ Harlow Harlow and Caspian Blackthorn left Luma to let the dust settle back home. While enjoying some much-needed rest and relaxation, they strategize their search for the origins of the sentient sword. The road trip leads them to a black-market auction where fae are selling dangerous items to fae and mundanes living outside the hubs. When Harlow and Caspian get their hands on a treasure chest that was extracted from a sunken pirate ship, they uncover not just a piece of the sword’s past, but the Collective’s. The treasure they find is more valuable than gold—treasure that powerful fae would kill for. And without magical friends to call for help, Harlow, Caspian, and the sword will have to fend for themselves. So much for a relaxing vacation …

The shadows have eyes. Returning to Luma after being promised their records would be wiped clean had been a no-brainer for Harlow and company. Especially when the only requirement for hub society reintegration was to meet with Sorceress Rhiannon at the Collective’s Tower to share intel about vampires, ferals, and Lachlan Shade’s potential master plan. Yet within minutes of crossing the veil, Rhiannon postpones their appointment due to a brewing faction war among the sorcerers. This welcome reprieve is dampened by a pack of werecats barricading Harlow, Caspian, Camila, and the sword in Caspian’s house until the foursome is given the all-clear to visit the Tower. Worried their side won’t win the war—thereby landing Harlow and Caspian back on Luma’s Most Wanted list—the pair is determined to prove they’re worth more to the Collective outside a jail cell. They believe the key to the worrying surge in portal activity and a window into Lachlan’s schemes both lie somewhere near Lake Nacimiento—the same lake connected to the sword’s dormant twin. Their impending escape only grows more complicated when Zander Welsh drops the bomb that his days-old bite from a hybrid is infected. Rumors are already swirling that hybrid vampire bites have begun turning fae—a feat previously thought impossible. In the rare instances that a fae survives the transition, their magic mutates into something unholy. Harlow and Caspian must find a cure for Welsh’s blood-poison before it kills him—or, perhaps worse, turns him into a monster unable to discern friend from foe.