Readinginwonderland
When Queen Olivia Arden falls victim to a deadly curse that no healer in the kingdom can break, the desperate royal court is forced to seek help from the one woman everyone fears most, Ivy Bellrose, the infamous wicked witch of Blackthorn Forest.
Cold, brilliant, and impossible to control, Ivy agrees to save the queen in exchange for gold, expecting to leave the castle the moment her work is finished. Instead, King Victor Arden offers her a permanent position as Thessaria's official royal witch. Ivy accepts on one condition: the long-abandoned south wing of the castle belongs to her alone.
As Ivy settles into the castle filled with secrets, political tension, hidden magic, and people who both fear and distrust her, she finds herself increasingly drawn toward the kingdom's silent and watchful royal guard, Ryker Grey, a man as dark and unreadable as the shadows she walks within.
But the curse on the queen was only the beginning.
Because something ancient has been waiting inside the south wing for a very long time... and it seems to recognize Ivy the moment she arrives.