Forbidden Magic by Salina Strange

Length: 16,500 words

When practical and ambitious Irena Savamore inherits her reclusive grandmother’s isolated mansion, she expects dusty halls and quiet solitude. Instead, she discovers a hidden family grimoire tied to an ancient bloodline steeped in mystery and power. As a storm rages, a simple accident awakens the tome, summoning Darium, a captivating ancestral spirit bound by centuries of regret and forbidden love.

Haunted by his past as the secret lover of one of her ancestors, Darium offers Irena a path to unimaginable magic, one that challenges her skeptical worldview and demands ever deeper intimacy. With each ritual, Irena feels her carefully ordered life slipping away, replaced by a seductive pull toward power, connection, and surrender. As rival forces sense her growing abilities, she must navigate the tension between doubt and desire, heritage and independence.

Will Irena embrace the awakening that could transform her forever, or will the emotional stakes of this otherworldly bond prove too intense to bear?