Court of Lies and Deceit

A shard of ice fire is turning Selena's body to ice

Selena wakes face-down on a table, spine severed, blood in her mouth.

A shard of ice fire is turning Selena's body to ice

Selena wakes face-down on a table, spine severed, blood in her mouth. A doctor has removed a shard of magical ice fire from the Silver Dragon Clan, but the magic is spreading inside her—freezing her from within. She can't feel her legs. Draven rages at the doctor while his best friend Galen, fellow soldier Lyra, and Seelie fae allies Isera and Alistair crowd the room. The prognosis is a death sentence: the ice will freeze her solid within hours. Isera's ice magic can't extract it without accelerating the spread. The only hope is a healer with true healing magic, and the nearest one is unreachable behind enemy lines. Then Lyra remembers: five years ago, she watched a fae woman heal devastating wounds near the Unseelie Court's border.

Draven kneels before the Unseelie King to save his mate

Orion Nightbane steps out from behind his ancient wards, amused by the dragon fire and lightning crashing harmlessly against them. He dismisses Draven's demands and turns to leave. Threats mean nothing—the wards have stood for millennia. So the legendary Shadow of Death drops to his knees, spreads his arms, and begs. When Orion asks who Selena is, Draven reveals the truth that shocks even his closest friends: she is his mate. A cross-species bond, unheard of. Orion's interest sparks. The deal crystallizes: his healer Haldia will save Selena and fix her spine if Draven publicly assassinates an Unseelie fae named Danzo Wolfstalker. Draven accepts without hesitation. They step through the wards into a court that stuns them—not the dark ruin they imagined, but a breathtaking city of waterfalls and pale stone.

Orion forces them to relive their worst memories over dinner

Haldia saves Selena—spine mended, ice purged, legs restored. But gratitude curdles fast when they sit down to dinner with Orion and discover their host's true nature. Isera erupts at him for living freely while the Seelie Court suffered millennia of conquest. He doesn't deny it—he claims he would have conquered them himself, given the chance. When Isera hurls a shard of ice at his face, Orion retaliates by weaponizing their own minds. His nightmare powers rip their worst memories to the surface and force them to relive every second. Selena watches her parents' eyes fill with resentment. Isera collapses into something worse—a claustrophobic terror rooted in childhood. Orion grips Isera's throat and threatens her with absolute brutality. But when she glares up at him with murder in her eyes, he doesn't look angry. He looks fascinated.