A Vermilion Curse by DC Guevara

Former scholar turned mercenary Ryesand Valafar rummages through a ransacked city for banned religious texts, seeking information about ancient and dangerous magic. While investigating an abandoned temple, he encounters a threatening woman with a price on her head high enough to fund his research. Wanted by both the crown for her involvement in the dead king's occult studies and a menacing cult, Cressida Benoit searches for a way to get rid of a brand that scars her in the besieged capital in order to make her grand escape. An encounter with a demon leaves her in bonds. When this unlikely pair of opposing personalities discover that they have similar objectives relating to the outlawed religion, they agree to work together to find the place where all dark magic stems from. This proves to be a difficult task when their journey is tracked by a war commander set on bringing them to justice, a family they must escort back to a circus, and the growing tension rising between Ryesand and Cressida, serving as a distraction from their individual goals. In the midst of shifting rulers, villages, disarray, and a scattered court of decadence - falling in love was never in the cards.

Adult • Romance/Action and Adventure • Romance/Fantasy • Fantasy/Romantic and Erotic

Content Warning: Content Warnings for: Demons Drug usage Alcohol consumption Aphrodisiac usage Sex Pollen trope in Chapter 18 General fantasy violence Blood magic Dark magic rituals near act 3

Menendezbe

Interesting concept incorporating ideas of being different from one's home, family, and institutions and running away from trauma, but the plot was a bit hard to follow at times. The writing could have used a bit more polishing. The ending was particularly confusing, sequel?