A Sexy Flirtation Has a Dangerous Edge In This Excerpt From A Curse of Shadows and Ice

Princess Arabella of Althea is left no choice when Felix Osiris, the Shadow Emperor, threatens to overthrow her country unless she agrees to marry him.

When she learns his empire is cursed and she’s destined to set them free, they come to an agreement: help him minimize the curse’s effect on his people, and he’ll let her go.

As Felix teaches Arabella how to control her forbidden and volatile magic, her feelings for him turn from hatred to passion… and she realizes that she must break the curse, or she’ll lose him forever.

A Curse of Shadows and Ice won’t hit shelves until October 28, but we’ve got a sneak peek at the story for you right now.

I watch my wife as she browses through the books in the library, a smile spreading across her beautiful face when she pulls out a leather-bound tome. She takes a seat at one of the tables and flicks through the pages, her eyes lit up in delight. I underestimated her. I thought I’d married a meek woman I could easily conquer, but nothing could be further from the truth.

It shouldn’t surprise me that the book that excites her so is one on toxic poisons and potions. I bite back a smile as I walk toward her. Perhaps I shouldn’t have taken things quite so far last night. I have earned her ire, and while that should fill me with remorse, it instead fuels my desire.

Unlike my people, I do not believe true love is what will break this curse. However, I am no longer opposed to trying. Making Arabella of Althea fall for me is the biggest challenge I have ever faced, but I will bring her to her knees.

She looks up at the sound of my footsteps and slams her book closed, the smile melting off her face. I watch as her cheeks heat, a hint of shyness in her gaze.

“Plotting my demise once more, I see.” I tip my head toward her book, and her eyes widen as a blush spreads across her cheeks. Her face is so expressive that it’s instantly clear she was only reading the book out of interest, but I can’t help but tease her.

“You said I shouldn’t spill your blood,” she tells me, shrugging. Arabella holds the book up and grins. “This way, I won’t.”

I sit down opposite her and place the wooden box I brought with me between us. “My love,” I murmur. “If you want me to touch you, just say the words. There is no need to seek out punishment in such a convoluted manner.”

Her lips fall open in shock. “I . . . I w- would never,” she stammers.

I take the book from her and open it in the place she bookmarked.

“Nightshade,” I read, chuckling. “ Atropa belladonna, no less.”

Does she have any idea how swiftly I’d have killed anyone else in her position? Yet when she looks at me that way, all I want to do is take her right on top of this table. Leaving her all alone in bed last night was torture, but I knew she wasn’t ready for more, and sleeping next to her when I wanted her so desperately felt impossible.

I gather my shadow and push it underneath the table, making her feel like my fingers are wrapping around her ankles. She gasps, and I smile at her as I interlace my fingers, placing them clearly visible on the table while my shadow spreads her legs.

“Beloved,” I tell her. “My feelings are awfully hurt. Belladonna won’t be sufficient to harm me. That would merely irritate me. I would’ve expected hemlock, at the very least. Do you truly think so little of me? Perhaps I should show you the true strength of my body, so you might not underestimate me again.”

Her eyes are wide, and she sucks down on her lower lip for a moment when shadowy hands slip underneath her dress, trailing up her calves, stroking her inner thighs.

“H- Hemlock you would’ve tasted,” she says, her cheeks bright red. I thought she looked beautiful last night, but seeing her sitting opposite me with curiosity and desire in her eyes . . . Fates.

Does she know that everything my shadow feels, I feel? Her skin is a delight, and so is the way she trembles against my fingers, her eyes moving from my hands on the table to my eyes.

“But belladonna,” she adds, her voice shaking, “is sweet. I could’ve slipped it in your wine and you’d never have known.”

I smile at her and lean in, lifting my fist to my temple so I can rest my head against it. “I daresay the plans you’re concocting count as attempted murder, and I need not remind you of the punishment for that, do I?”

I snap my fingers, and her undergarments disappear, leaving her bare underneath her dress. She gasps, her eyes wide. “Felix!”

I smirk at her, loving the way my name sounds on her lips. I’d merely come to the library to give her a present, yet I cannot resist her allure. She makes it so easy to tease her.

“Were you imagining the way I’d punish you after you poison me, wife?”

She’s breathing hard, and though she shakes her head, I recognize the lust in her eyes. “Never.”

Perhaps the man she thinks she’s in love with is not as much of a threat as I thought he was. 

She might believe she’s heartbroken, but she isn’t. She’s furious that her freedom has been ripped away, but she isn’t mourning a relationship that was forcibly ended. Not truly.

“Felix,” she warns me. “I did not make an attempt at your life.”

“No, but you were planning to.”

“That is merely an assumption you were making. Is that the kind of ruler you are? You judge your subjects before giving them a chance to make their case?”

“No, beloved. But as it turns out, I am that kind of husband.” Her eyes flash with anger, and I can’t help but chuckle. “You are mine,” I tell her. “You are my wife, Arabella. I was lenient yesterday, but it appears I must satisfy your desires lest you scheme against me. If I keep you satiated, will my life be safe?”

“You are immortal,” she reminds me.

The way she speaks to me is exhilarating, and I can’t help but want to tease her more. Except this time, I want her to beg for it. “Tell me you want more,” I whisper, my voice pleading. I don’t understand what kind of hold she has over me. I’ve never wanted a woman the way I want her, nor have I ever felt so out of control.

Her expression changes, and she bites down on her lip. “I won’t,” she tells me, her eyes flashing defiantly, but she fails to hide that near-hidden plea written all over her face. She looks into my eyes as she shifts her hips just a touch, so my fingers are pressing against her harder.

“Very well,” I murmur, pulling my fingers away. I watch as the word no forms on her lips, yet she won’t let it slip out of her mouth. “Beg me for it, Arabella, just like you did last night. Say please, and I will drop down to my knees underneath this table and give you what you want.”

She crosses her arms and looks away. “I would never. If anything, I’m grateful for your leniency.”

I chuckle, unable to help myself. Does she realize how badly I want to take her? What has she done to me? I never expected to desire her, or to find being around her so intoxicating. She was never meant to be more than a means to an end.

I watch her closely as I push the box I brought with me toward her. “A gift.”

She frowns as she opens it, her eyes widening at the sight of the slender dagger. “Since you seemed to have taken a liking to the blade you used last night, I thought you should have one of your own. It’s silver, in case that is on your list of murderous plans.” I tip my head

toward the hilt. “The stones are the same color as my eyes, so you may think of me each time you draw your blade.”

Her lips fall open in shock, and I burst out laughing. I’m meant to court her, yet I cannot resist taunting her.

“You won’t be laughing when I stab you in the back.”

I lean back in my seat. “Won’t I, beloved? For you to stab me in my back you’d have to be awfully close, and each time you voluntarily come to me, all I carry is a smile.”

She looks disarmed, and my heart does an odd thing. It appears to skip a beat. Arabella of Althea. She was meant to be a demure princess, yet it seems I have met my equal at last.

Excerpted from A CURSE OF SHADOWS AND ICE by Catharina Maura. Copyright © 2025 by Catharina Maura. Reprinted with permission from Forever/Grand Central Publishing. All rights reserved.

A Curse of Shadows and Ice will be released on October 28, but you can pre-order it right now. 

Lacy Baugher Milas writes about Books and TV at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter and Bluesky at @LacyMB