Art Mages of Lure

Briar can curse with the flick of a paintbrush. Her paintings maim, bewitch, and - most effectively of all - destroy. But Briar doesn't want to hurt people anymore. She has fled her family's deadly curse business to start a new life peddling nonlethal jinxes and petty revenge. Briar's destructive powers catch the eye of a charismatic young outlaw called Archer, who hires her to help him save a kidnapped friend from a ruthless baron. Briar thinks this is her chance to make amends for her crimes, but the family business won't let her go so easily.

Stone charming is the rarest form of art magic, used to manipulate stone and bring fantastical sculptures to life. When Briar, Archer, and the outlaws are hired to find a powerful stone charmer, they know how dangerous his magic could be in the wrong hands. Their old enemy, Lord Larke, wants the stone charmer too. Briar and Archer must race his minions across a snowy wilderness to the stone charmer's remote hideout. If they fail, Larke will use the power to threaten the entire kingdom. The journey will test Briar and Archer's bond. A secret they discover along the way could break it.

An enchanted sleep holds Briar in its grasp. Desperate to break the curse, Archer sends Briar and Esteban to seek help from the voice mages at the Hall of Cloaks. If they heal her, she'll awaken in a pit of vipers, but it might be her only chance. Meanwhile, Archer's sabotage mission attracts recruits eager to stand against Lord Larke's cruelty. But Larke's hired curse painter is out for vengeance, and a botched raid has dire consequences for the outlaws.