Once upon a Curse

Jade was only a little girl when the earthquake struck. Before her eyes, half of New York City disappeared, replaced by a village that seemed torn out of a storybook. Horses and carriages. Cobblestone streets. A towering castle. And, above all, a queen with the magical ability to strip emotions away.

Omorose Bouchene has a secret - magic. There's only one problem. At the age of seven, an earthquake struck, catapulting her into a new world. A land made of skyscrapers and cell phones. Fast cars and fluorescent lights, where magic isn't supposed to exist and anyone who wields it is the enemy. But after 10 years of hiding, she's desperate to find a place where she can be free. Because all magic comes with a curse, and her curse is time - every ounce of power she uses strips days off of her life. The clock's winding down, and the only option left is to escape to the realm of the Beast.

Hundreds of years ago, humans learned the secret to sealing magic beneath their skin and stole it from the world. Faeries reverted to flowers. Shifters remained trapped in their animal forms. Mermaids turned to foam. And the magical creatures who survived vowed revenge. Nymia is one of those survivors - a faerie brought back to life by the return of her magic. When she finds a human girl named Ella with her sister's power trapped beneath her skin, she'll do anything to get her back, including kill her.

Humans are dangerous. That's the lesson faeries are taught as soon as their flower petals unfurl. It's the first thing Aerewyn remembers the priestesses telling her as a young girl. Why then, when she stumbles upon a human boy in the woods, does she find him so intriguing? His blue eyes don't shine with malice. His smile doesn't menace. And when she later discovers he's been knocked unconscious in a storm, injured and alone in the forest, the only thing he seems in danger of is dying. So she saves his life - a single act that will change the fate of both their worlds.

Alanna thought rock climbing in Yosemite National Park would be the trip of a lifetime. But an earthquake strikes, and she finds herself plummeting to her death. But instead of slamming into the forest floor, Alanna drops into a secret underground cave. There, she's confronted by the impossible - magic.