Curse Without Cause

The Crimson Moon is rising.The curse is stirring.And love, at last, will face the ultimate testThe Alvyrans—sorcerers of old lineage—have been locked in a bitter feud with the Virelda family for generations. When Elois Virelda and Antoine Alvyran fall in love, their union is seen as an unforgivable betrayal. Determined to escape the hatred that has shaped their families for centuries, they announce their marriage and their intention to leave the region behind.Elois's father, Rodic Virelda—a powerful and unhinged warlock—responds with vengeance.He curses their unborn children, declaring that no Alvyran heir will live past the rise of the Crimson Moon.Elois, a formidable witch in her own right, counters the spell before fleeing with Antoine. She cannot destroy the curse, but she binds it—leaving behind a fragile promise of hope that love, freely chosen and willingly endured, may yet undo what hatred has wrought.Thirty-two years later, that hope is all that remains.The Crimson Moon is expected to rise in just three short months. Elois has been dead for twenty years, and Antoine—paralyzed by fear and guilt—has never found the courage to tell his son Joaquin the truth. Joaquin Alvyran has lived his life unaware that his fate was sealed before he was born.Now the truth can no longer be avoided.According to the curse, Joaquin must take a wife—one who is strong, kind, and willing to remain with him despite the shadow hanging over his life. Only a love freely given and steadfastly held can break the spell. If not, Joaquin will die before the Crimson Moon rises.Ester Marshak, a gifted and stubborn witch, has no intention of being traded like a prize at market. But when Joaquin—still reeling from the truth he has only just learned—speaks to her with honesty and gives her the choice Elois once fought to preserve, Ester's compassion outweighs her fear.She chooses to marry him.Together, with the aid of ancestral spirits—Ester's grandfather Pierre Marshak, the lingering ghost of Elois, and Antoine himself—they confront the legacy of vengeance that has stalked them for decades. As Rodic Virelda, now a vampire lord who has transformed his clan into monsters, descends into madness, the final reckoning draws near.