The Curse Of The Fifth by Steven Donahoo

Her blood was hidden for a reason. His curse was made to keep him alone. The thread between them could wake a power erased from history.

At twenty-four, Mícheáilín ní Cathasaigh knows only two things about the magic beneath her skin: it smells of white peach and orange blossom, and powerful people will kill to possess it.

Then Donnchadh enters her market—a scarred Ulster warrior whose curse turns every fierce emotion into something lethal. The instant their eyes meet, an invisible thread snaps tight between them.

When shadow-born hunters descend, Donnchadh becomes her only path to safety. But the farther they travel, the more her mother's forbidden book awakens, the more his curse responds to her, and the clearer one truth becomes: Mícheáilín's blood is tied to the forgotten Fifth, an ancient power the crowns buried but never destroyed.

A queen wants that power restored. Donnchadh was shaped to deliver it. And surrendering to the desire between them may be the key that opens everything.

To survive, they must decide whether their bond is fate, a weapon, or a choice no crown can command.

The Curse of the Fifth opens The Fifth Province Saga, an adult Irish-inspired dark romantasy filled with scent magic, buried bloodlines, court intrigue, and a dangerously devoted warrior. For readers who love fierce heroines, forced proximity, forbidden secrets, and passionate romance woven into an epic fantasy world.

Contains explicit sexual content, violence, and mature themes. Intended for adult readers.