No rest for the wicked... or the cursed. SLATE I didn’t mean to steal the Bloodstone from the De Morel’s crypt. Scratch that, I did mean to steal it. Until I realized it was a curse-magnet that only comes off if I, along with a jolly trio, successfully defeat four curses. If any of us fail, I’m dead. I’ve never been a glass half-empty sort of person, but my glass looks in dire need of a refill right about now. The only highlight of this wicked treasure hunt: feisty, entitled Cadence de Morel. CADENCE I was raised on tales of magic, in a small town reputed to be the birthplace of French witchcraft. Did I believe all the stories I heard? Absolutely not. I mean, if magic existed, Maman wouldn’t have died, and Papa wouldn’t be stuck in a wheelchair, right? Wrong. The night Slate Ardoin waltzes into my life, wearing a ring he stole from my mother’s grave, I call him a monster. But then I meet real ones, and Slate, well . . . he becomes something else to me. Something frustrating to live with but impossible to live without. Something I will fight for, no matter the cost. \*Warning: profuse cursing (and not just the magical kind).

ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE . . . AND MAGIC. SLATE Somehow, we survived. It was supposed to be over. No more curses. No more magic. Just a calm, little life in Brume. For the first time ever, I’m ready for calm. So. Damn. Ready. Just so happens that the girl I love doesn’t like to leave things unfinished. Fine. So our little crew will assemble the Quatrefoil and bring magic back to the world. We’ve already faced death. This can’t be worse. Or can it? CADENCE I could have let things be. Maybe I should have let things be. My crew is alive. Slate is by my side. And life is returning to normal. Except the university is a giant pile of rubble. Papa is still stuck in a wheelchair. And a girl is dead. If magic can change all that, I want to try one last time to bring it back. Hopefully, I won’t regret it. \*Warning: profuse cursing (and not just the magical kind).