The Hexenmeister's Curse

1648. The Thirty Years’ War has ravaged the Holy Roman Empire, leaving a trail of shattered loyalties and festering resentments.  But within the opulent walls of the Imperial court, a far more insidious evil festers: a creeping curse that twists minds and fuels paranoia, turning whispers into screams.
Ophelia von Hohenzollern, a noblewoman with an iron will and a dangerous secret, finds herself framed for her uncle’s murder. Her secret? She is a Hexenmeister, a wielder of forbidden magic, now exposed to a world that both fears and condemns her kind.  Dragged before Kaspar von Falkenhayn, the Kaiser’s enigmatic warlock, Ophelia faces not only imprisonment but a gruesome death.
Kaspar, bound to the crown by a dark pact, sees in Ophelia not a heretic but a volatile key to unlocking the curse’s mysteries—a key he’s tempted to break. Imprisoned in Kaspar’s tower, surrounded by the very instruments of her craft, Ophelia uncovers a conspiracy far more sinister than she could have imagined. Powerful figures, including the alluring and ruthless Lady Anne Russell, manipulate the escalating fear for their own gain.  To survive, Ophelia must not only clear her name but expose the true architects of this plague before the Empire crumbles beneath its own paranoia.
Their forced proximity ignites a forbidden attraction, a dangerous spark in a world shrouded in suspicion. Kaspar offers a perilous bargain: help him decipher the curse, and he will aid her in exposing the conspiracy. But trust is a luxury neither can afford, especially when every secret unearthed draws them closer to a devastating truth.  Their investigation plunges them into the shadowy world of alchemists and occultists, where they discover the curse is tied to an ancient artifact, the Obsidian Mirror, a relic of immense power sought by Lady Russell to seize control of the Empire.
As they navigate treacherous alliances and uncover hidden agendas, Ophelia and Kaspar’s forced collaboration transforms into a fragile trust, then something deeper, more dangerous. Their growing feelings complicate their mission, blurring the lines between captor and captive, ally and enemy. A whispered prophecy speaks of a Hexenmeister and a warlock, destined to either save the Empire or usher in its destruction.
Amidst the siege of Prague, Lady Russell unleashes the Obsidian Mirror’s full power.  Ophelia must make a heartbreaking choice: embrace the very magic she’s always feared, or watch the Empire fall.  Witnessing Ophelia’s sacrifice and the immensity of her power, Kaspar confronts his own prejudices and chooses to stand with her, recognizing that their destiny is not to save the Empire as it is, but to forge a new path. 
The curse is contained, but the Empire remains fractured. Ophelia and Kaspar, bound by their shared experience and forbidden love, stand amidst the ruins, facing an uncertain future. They are not saviors, but architects of a new order, where magic and power are not tools of oppression, but instruments of change.  The reign of the Hexenmeister and the warlock has just begun.