The Eldest Curses Books in Order

The Eldest Curses is a Shadowhunters spin off series co written by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu that puts High Warlock Magnus Bane and Shadowhunter Alec Lightwood at center stage. The books slip into the gaps between the main Mortal Instruments and Dark Artifices cycles, giving their relationship room to breathe.

In The Red Scrolls of Magic, Magnus has planned the kind of grand romantic vacation only an immortal warlock can imagine, a luxurious tour of Europe with Alec now finally his boyfriend. Their plans collapse almost immediately when news arrives that a demon worshipping cult called the Crimson Hand is murdering Downworlders, and rumors insist Magnus founded it years ago.

Rather than submit to judgment from the warlock high council, Magnus and Alec decide to investigate the cult themselves. Their chase pulls them from Paris to Venice and Rome, mixes in other Shadowhunter allies and enemies, and forces both of them to reckon with secrets Magnus has kept buried for centuries. The tone is lighter and more intimate than the battle heavy core series, but the stakes remain unmistakably deadly.

The second book, The Lost Book of the White, moves the action forward to a period when Magnus and Alec are living together in New York and raising their adopted son, Max. Their relative calm ends when former acquaintances break into Magnus’s loft, steal the dangerous Book of the White, and stab him with a cursed weapon that leaves a glowing wound.

To retrieve the book and save Magnus, the couple travel to Shanghai with a small group of Shadowhunter friends. What begins as a stolen artifact case widens into a crisis involving an underworld realm, unstable magic, and a flood of demons that threatens an entire city. Along the way, parenting worries, trust issues, and old bargains with Princes of Hell all come to the surface.

Across the trilogy, the phrase eldest curses refers to the rare children of demon lords who survive, including Magnus himself. The books dig into what that heritage means for him, how it shapes his power and his fears, and what it costs to build a family when your bloodline is literally infernal.

Readers can expect plenty of banter, romance, and cameos from across the Shadowhunter Chronicles, framed as globe trotting adventures with strong emotional throughlines. The series works best if you already know who Magnus and Alec are, and then want to see what happens when the camera finally stays on them.