Nina's POV

I looked at Jaxon, his face set in grim determination. “We need answers,” I said, my voice trembling. “We need to find the White Witch.”

Jaxon didn't hesitate. “I know. We have no choice. If we don't, this curse will ruin everything.”

The road south was long and treacherous, the weather shifting from sunny to ominous with each passing hour. Asher, still distant and lost in his own world, sat quietly between Jaxon and me in the back of our car.

“We have to hurry,” Jaxon said, his voice low, almost to himself. “The closer we get to his eighteenth birthday, the more power the wizard will have...