Severed Realms

When the fae king of Naenden returns home to his palace only to find that his human queen has committed treason by conspiring to assassinate him, he has the queen executed and decrees that once every mooncycle, he’ll marry a human woman from the kingdom, only to execute her the following morning. Unless one woman offers herself as a sacrificial bride for the rest.

Piper’s job is simple: Take the children. Don’t get caught. The rules she binds on herself, however… Well, they’re a tad more complicated. Kidnapped as a child for her connection with the Old Magic—the one that grants her the ability to enchant others with her music—Piper knows good and well the rules of the Coup, the underground organization intent on bringing down the fae regime. As the Coup’s first “recruiter,” she’s supposed to take the strong, the good-boned, the clever, the healthy. Except Piper doesn’t always do what she’s supposed to. Instead, she makes a few rules of her own

Ellie knows what she wants in life: Open a glassblowing shop in the art district; See her father retire; Marry for love (if she can find someone who can keep up, that is). Winning the fae prince's heart doesn't make the list. So, when Prince Evander throws a ball to find a human bride, Ellie respectfully declines. When she reads the morning paper and discovers the prince danced the night away with a mysterious stranger, only for the woman to flee at the stroke of midnight, Ellie can't help but laugh.

Blaise wasn't supposed to be the villain. She was supposed to charm the prince, the male she'd loved for years. That was all the potion was supposed to do—give her another face, and only for a few hours. All so she could prove the prince loved her. Except Blaise got more than she bargained for, and instead of a beauty potion, she's now infected with a magical parasite who takes control of her body every full moon. A parasite who would rather take control permanently.

Blaise wasn't supposed to be the villain, but now Nox is gone, and Blaise will stop at nothing to get him back—even if that means betraying everyone she holds dear. Meanwhile, Asha can't shake the feeling that Az is closing in on her. After all, he's been two steps ahead of her and Kiran from the beginning. All she can do is hope he stays too focused on opening the Rip to learn the truth: Az is the true heir to the throne. Between her nightmares, Ellie's secret, and the news that Piper has been taken captive by Queen Abra, Asha isn't sure she can handle much else.