Curses in the Light - G.K. Lund

Chasing a missing crown jewel into a cursed frontier, two mismatched partners are running out of luck.

Still branded "Red scum" after the fall of the anti-magic cult, Emery Morgan is barely tolerated in her neighborhood. Under a coerced deal, she and her sharp-tongued ex-god partner, Loki, are the expendable assets the state sends to handle dangerous problems. Their latest: cross into the Enchanted Realm's Flatlands and retrieve an emerald crown jewel stolen by a former Kin member before the theft ignites a political firestorm.

The Flatlands look peaceful at first-wide skies, sunlit grasslands, two nomadic tribes who claim to leave each other alone. But murderous cursed hounds stalk the plains, a magical border turns the open steppe into a mystery, and a clash of customs leaves Emery bound by ritual to an earnest young hunter who insists on helping.

When a brutal curse strikes, all eyes turn to the two so-called "magicians" from Atlantis. Suddenly, finding the jewel is the least of their problems. To survive, Emery and Loki must outrun a furious tribe, untangle the magic behind the curse, and prove they're not the monsters everyone expects-before the frontier decides to swallow them for good.

Curses in the Light continues the Atlantis Outcasts series with sharp banter, deadly curses, and a high-stakes crown jewel hunt, where magic cuts deep and not everyone who walks in the light is innocent.