Six months ago, two sisters were chased from their home in the dead of night. Claimed as murdered by the very person who their father had trusted to oversee their Court until they reached the age of nineteen and legally able to rule the Wind Court as the High Ladies. The sisters fled with the help of their trusted protector, the Fire Fae Souji, until the end of their bloodstained and battered journey led them to the mysterious shadow wrapped Dusk Court. Here they stayed as the land dissolved to war, Fae and humans alike fighting across borders, and strange new foes rising out of the winter nights.
Belima, the second daughter, the beautiful half fae with her mother's looks and a love for all finery, sees more than most know. She's tired of the pain and suffering, exprenced both by the village residents and her own close companions. She begs the Dusk Court healer Dafnea into accepting her as her apprentice, but it devastated her to learn that no matter how hard she works, some lives are still lost no matter what. Then one day, she meets the mysterious Fae boy with the blue hair and the twisted feline smile. He wants the keys, something she doesn't even know what they are, and will go to terrible lengths to seek them.
Souji, the loyal Fire Fae with the heart of gold and the flaming magic burning in his blood. His lazy smile is gone, replaced by the granite grimace of pain that renders his right arm damaged from his encounter with Water Fae Iron. He's determined to beat back his pain and prove himself worthy of his lady's trust once again. Even beating off the dark strands of the past if it means winning Belima's heart. But when a mysterious figure from his past emerges, not even his strongest illusions will be able to mask the scars he wears.
A steep cost comes as the Dusk Court village of Glennoak dissolves into a hotbed of sickness, and the village children slowly disappear into the night air. It will take both of these fractured souls down to their very core and test the bonds of truth between them. Together they might hold the key to defeating the mysterious spirit known as the Earlkin wreaking havoc in the Court, and perhaps even reveal long buried secrets as well.