~Her insides are rotting. She can smell her own decay~ Amorey has nothing to look forward to. She spends most of her time sleeping, and when she isn't sleeping strange thoughts overtake her. Sometimes she starts to think she isn't real. The only activity that makes her actually want to get out of bed is working in her tomato garden. Still, this isn't enough to rid her of the incredible feelings of isolation and loneliness that are crushing her. She often wishes that Nita was still around, but her older sister left home when she was sixteen, after a falling out with their father, and Amorey has rarely seen her since. Then, everything changes. Amorey is reunited with her mysterious half-sister Rachel. Amorey can barely remember the anxious and disfigured girl who came to stay with her family one fateful winter, the same winter that her mother died in a tragic fire. Despite this, Amorey finds herself becoming close to Rachel very quickly. She isn't Nita, but it's still nice to have a sister again. It doesn't take long for the two to form an intense bond. When Rachel tells Amorey that she purchased the plot of land where their mother died, and asks Amorey to come to New Hampshire with her, Amorey feels like she finally has the purpose she has been lacking in her life. Amorey loves the idea. This new sisterly bond seems like a dream come true. But dreams distort into maddening nightmares, as the two take up residence deep in the woods of the New Hampshire mountains. As Amorey twists about in the unknown, wondering if she can trust this burnt and angry young woman, something dark settles into her heart. An icky has dug its claws into her. She can feel it killing her. Her insides are rotting. She smell her own decay.

❝ An exile should remember that they will die in these lands and there is nothing they can do but fight. ❞ ➳ Cover created by the talented @soundthealarm [complete | editor's pick | book 1] The Reaper's Curse has come, the gods have foreseen death and people are helpless to fight it. Those infected lose their minds, feasting on souls and flesh. Surviving the Reaper's Curse means being forced from Muovea's capital and into exile, abandoned and forgotten. Alicia Zalana had her entire life before her, destined for greatness amongst the opulent palace of the capital. But when the queen is murdered and Alicia is the only one who knows who did it, she's compelled to play her hand and risk exile. Or much, much more. As long-forgotten legends begin to stir beneath the ancient stone of Muovea, Alicia will discover just how much she's willing to sacrifice, and just how much she cares for the captain who saved her life. ➳ Wattpad Editor's Pick (May 2020) ➳ Featured in @WattpadDarkFantasy's 'The Bestiary' reading list ➳ Featured in @Fantasy's 'Dark Fantasy' reading list ➳ Featured in @StoriesUndiscovered's 'Diamond' reading list ➳ Featured in @WattpadZombies' 'Voodoo Hoodoo' reading list ➳ Featured in @SpeculativeFiction's 'More Than The Eye Can See' reading list ➳ Complete! ➳ This book is part of a duology (a two book series) and is the first. The second and final book is 'The Grey Blood'. ➳ Recommended 15+ for depictions of violence and some coarse language. ➳ Previously titled 'The Black Taint'. ➳ Cover created by the wonderful @soundthealarm [[word count: 100,000 - 150,000]]