The Darker Woods Series by May Sage, Alexi Blake

My lips hitch up an inch as the hulking, slender man bends down to whisper in my ear. “A divided kingdom without a leader is weak. You will fall. You will fail. You will all die without my kindness, little girl. ”. He expects me to falter, shiver, and drop my gaze to the ground like the flock of gentry buzzing around him. My eyes widen in feigned dismay. “Kindness? Why did no one think to tell me you had any? ”. I have to allow him that one concession: Rydekar is fun to tease... moreMy lips hitch up an inch as the hulking, slender man bends down to whisper in my ear. “A divided kingdom without a leader is weak. You will fall. You will fail. You will all die without my kindness, little girl. ”. He expects me to falter, shiver, and drop my gaze to the ground like the flock of gentry buzzing around him. My eyes widen in feigned dismay. “Kindness? Why did no one think to tell me you had any? ”. I have to allow him that one concession: Rydekar is fun to tease. He doesn’t even smile. I don’t think anyone has taunted him. “I have none. You will beg nonetheless. ”. I just may, in his dreams. And in my nightmares. No one was ever born less suited to ruling than Rissa, the thorn of the seelie realm—a half-fae so wild she’s spent the better part of a hundred years in the woods. For all her flaws, she’s the last of the high court bloodline, and the southern king seems to think that’s reason enough to slap a crown on her feathered head. He needs her to unify the seelie forces. She needs him to forget about that nonsense. In an effort to aid her people without condemning herself to a lifetime of misery, she sets off on a journey to find the one person with a stronger claim to the throne than hers: the cursed prince. Sealed in the mountains of the Wilderness, under many spells, the heir of the first seelie queen is the only royal strong enough to protect the fae lands from their immortal invaders. Surviving the untamed tribes and awakening a thousand-year-old prince seem a lot easier than ruling an entire kingdom where everyone hates her very nature. And her choices won’t come without consequences. less

Ten years ago, there was a battle, a curse, and a princess. It sounds like a fairy tale. It isn’t. Still deep in her eversleep, powering the wards of the last fae sanctuary, Vlari has one adversary to fight: time. Time for the folk to gain the weapons they need to fight against the invaders. Each passing day, she’s less likely to awaken. Drusk has ceased to hope she ever will, until something changes at the very core of Tenebris.

No one was ever born more suited to ruling than Tharsen, the high queen’s eldest son, but the seelie court is full of treachery. Tricked by his lovers and allies, trusted only by his worst foe, the most powerful fae in all the realm finds himself cursed to either live and see his kingdom shatter, or suffer like a corpse until the end of time. And then she came; a girl, with as much elder blood as he, wrapped in thorns... moreNo one was ever born more suited to ruling than Tharsen, the high queen’s eldest son, but the seelie court is full of treachery. Tricked by his lovers and allies, trusted only by his worst foe, the most powerful fae in all the realm finds himself cursed to either live and see his kingdom shatter, or suffer like a corpse until the end of time. And then she came; a girl, with as much elder blood as he, wrapped in thorns. Rissa might have freed him from his eversleep, but no one can truly break the spell Mab placed upon him when he took her crown. In a year and one day, unless he learns to love, every single soul in the entire kingdom he claimed to rule will perish. Tharsen has lost his crown, most of his might, and everyone he’s ever known has since turned to dust. He has no intention to seek his rotten, buried heart. And his choices won’t come without consequences. less