"Are you certain these are the right coordinates?" Seraphina's voice was laced with apprehension as she double-checked the faded map clutched in her hands.

Elara ran her fingers along the etched symbols adorning a towering obelisk. "This has to be the place. I can feel it – a lingering power, lying dormant."

A violent tremor suddenly wracked Damien's body, and he staggered, his breaths coming in pained rasps. Elara was at his side in an instant, cradling his face in her hands.

"Damien? Talk to me, what's happening?" Her eyes shone with panic.

He managed a strained smile, his fingertips tracing the curse markings that had spread farther across his...