Epilogue: From Beginning to the End

Haint Party Despite the pre-dawn drama, the wedding was flawless. It was a beautiful lie we all collectively told the world. Our honeymoon in the mountains was a blissful counterpoint to the chaos: we trekked, camped, and exhaustively photographed every moment. On the long drive back, we even had our auras read and our chakras aligned by a beautiful older… Continue reading Epilogue: From Beginning to the End

Chapter 14: The Wedding

Haint Party I stood in front of the living room mirror, making a final, pathetic attempt to coax the wrinkles out of my clothes. After confirming they were ruined beyond salvation, I gave up and attacked my hair. I was a mess, sleep-deprived, and marked with a fresh witch brand. I checked my phone: “We’ve got to go,” I announced,… Continue reading Chapter 14: The Wedding

Chapter 13: Our Werewolf

Haint Party “Shall we begin?” Sadie’s hands relaxed, the toxic green glow vanishing. With a theatrical flick of her wrist, the book flew up from the floor and hovered precisely in front of Erin. Erin accepted the book, which opened automatically to the “Untethering Spell.” She scanned the page. “It’s not a complicated spell. There are words we say… over… Continue reading Chapter 13: Our Werewolf

Chapter 12: The Ghost Witch

Haint Party The darkness was a suffocating blanket, punctuated only by the scrape of panicked chairs and the frantic sound of my own hand reaching for anyone. Then, from the center of the sunroom doorway, a vivid, poisonous green light bloomed. The glow grew, sketching a terrifying silhouette in the gloom. Someone brushed past me. I jumped a foot in… Continue reading Chapter 12: The Ghost Witch

Chapter 11: It’s Not Over…

Haint Party Sleep took me with brutal efficiency. I plunged into a terrible, vivid dream. Bex and I were fighting, a real, ugly one, and she was done. She packed her bags and left without a single word of reconciliation. Then the scene shifted. I was sobbing to Erin, explaining that Rebecca had left me. Erin was only half-listening, nodding… Continue reading Chapter 11: It’s Not Over…

Queen's Gambit

The Knights of Maenara Collective (10 of 10) The mahogany front door of Victoria’s New Orleans manor was pristine once more, the last sticky residue of the “Queen Victoria Pumpkin” incident scrubbed away by a mortified staff. Yet, the air in the house still held a faint, residual scent of cinnamon and decay, a fitting metaphor for the new, absurd… Continue reading Queen's Gambit

Bonus #1 — The Swamp God’s Tax

The Knights of Maenara Collective (9.3333… of 10) The air itself felt thick, not just with the humid, vegetal rot of the Louisiana swamp, but with a palpable, buzzing energy. It pressed down on them, a heavy, clinging weight that promised to swallow light and sanity whole. This was not the charming, slightly decrepit New Orleans neighborhood of Victoria’s manor;… Continue reading Bonus #1 — The Swamp God’s Tax

New Order

The Knights of Maenara Collective (8 of 10) The Louisiana warehouse felt less like a safe house and more like a tomb being reluctantly reopened. The air was heavy, smelling of river silt, dry rot, and, most acutely, the sharp, coppery tang of recent magic that Nicola had come to recognize as her own Knight blood signature. Grace stood near… Continue reading New Order