Fae of Ashes and Midnight is here!
The first book in my Dark Enchantments series is finally here! Fae of Ashes and Midnight is a dark fantasy romance inspired by Cinderella and Peter Pan. It’s not a strict retelling or a play-by-play of either story, but all the fairy tale elements are there in fun, twisted ways.
This book is for adults and has:
bad language/graphic violence/explicit sex
vicious faeries
a heroine who hires our morally black hero to kill someone
a nightmare version of Cinderella’s ball
pixie-dust cocaine
happily ever after
It’s available in ebook and paperback on Amazon, and you can also read it in kindle unlimited. There’s a link to a free bonus story at the end, too.
The paperback is pretty cute and has chapter header designs for the heroine and hero, as well as a few other interior design features. (I wanted it to look special!)
Here’s an excerpt from Chapter 1 when Cendry meets Pan.
(Is it a meet-cute if you’re hiring him to kill someone?)
I had grown up with the stories. I’d been warned that the fae were wicked, that they were devils. But I was not prepared.
It was like being exposed to a coldness that had merely been described to you—then feeling the first icy cut of the wind into your tender skin, the frost bringing tears to your eyes, numbing your body and your heart.
And yet I had to approach him. I had to cross this darkness and bargain for a favor.
My throat tightened like it would choke me.
“Careful,” he called as I started toward him. “Are you sure you want to come over here?”
His smile curved higher when I quickened my steps—determined now to see this through. We couldn’t turn back. There was nowhere else to turn.
“We have a proposal for you,” I said, stopping a few feet away from him.
“For me?” He pushed away from the pillory, carving up the bit of distance I’d left between us. This close, I could see that his hair was dark—not raven black or earthy brown, but a rusty crimson, like bloodstained autumn leaves.
He wore an ensemble that ignored the chill in the air. No cloak or coat, just a black linen shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbows, black trousers, and leather boots. I didn’t detect a knife on his person. Maybe it was hidden. Or maybe he used his teeth on his victims.
I reminded myself that I wanted him to be a heartless killer. I needed him to be.
Sucking in a breath, I forged ahead, my fingers undoing the countless buttons down the front of my dress. “We want you to kill a man. We’re willing to pay—in jewels,” I said, right as his eyes dipped to the large sapphire I’d just bared. At least, I hoped the jewel was what had drawn his attention. There wasn’t much to excite him beneath my chemise, but I was still a woman exposed.
“It must be obvious that a fae caused his death,” I went on. “The blame can’t fall on anyone in the household.”
I shivered as the damp night air made me feel that much more naked—then continued unbuttoning until every last necklace was revealed, my thin white chemise on view from bosom to waist.
The fae tilted his head. “Who is this man you wish me to kill?”
“My husband,” Lady Everane said.
“He deserves it,” I added.
“Oh, I don’t care about that.” He reached for the jewels that lay against my chest, his fingertips brushing my skin before his palm caught a constellation of gold and diamonds. He lifted the web of jewelry, examining it, while my heart thumped beneath his knuckles.
“I’m intrigued that you want him dead,” the fae murmured. “I rarely get ladies bargaining for their husbands’ deaths. Usually I meet men who are in need of money, and they never bring lovely jewels like these.” His fingers clenched around the tangle of necklaces, the chains tightening in his fist and forcing me onto my toes, lest I be strangled by them.
I gasped, swaying a little in his grip. His wicked black eyes remained on mine. This was a test. Or maybe a game. A fae toying with a helpless human.
“What do they trade?” Lady Everane asked nervously. “Their souls?”
“The humans I deal with don’t have souls. They trade their daughters. They’re happy to do it. Blood is cheaper than gold. And you, lady—” His head jerked sideways to Lady Everane. “Would you trade your daughter? Is her blood worth your husband’s head?”
A little context: Cendry is Lady Everane’s maid. But she pretends to be the lady’s daughter and agrees to go to Faerie with Pan, where she’ll attend the Midnight Ball. That’s what this ruthless killer wants in exchange for the murder.
Pan promises Cendry a night of enchantment in Faerie. She might even become a fae lord’s bride.
He’s lying, of course. And Cendry knows better than to trust him.
But she doesn’t know just how cruel Faerie can be until she gets there.
And by then, Pan won’t let her leave…
Here’s the book description:
A not-so-innocent Cinderella.
Peter Pan with bloodstained hands.
Cendry is a maidservant with a dark bargain to make. She wants her wicked employer dead and hires a devilishly handsome fae named Pan to kill him. But Pan won’t accept money as payment. Instead, he brings Cendry to Faerie to dance at the Midnight Ball and become a fae lord’s bride.
When the clock strikes twelve, enchantments turn to nightmares.
Pan is a heartless killer—but his true specialty is collecting human playthings for the vicious lords of Faerie. He loathes humans and has no qualms about hurting them. What Pan cares about is power—he’ll do anything to rise from the lowly ashes of his birth.
One blood-soaked instant changes everything.
When Cendry sheds the blood of a powerful fae, Pan risks his own position to protect her. He wants her—and he’ll fight to keep her, even as his obsession endangers them both. Now Cendry’s survival depends on the ruthless fae who deceived her. Can she trust the flame that’s growing inside his blackened heart?
Happily Ever After begins in the dark.
If you’re looking for a cozy, feel-good fantasy, this is not it. But if you like a fucked-up fae fantasy world and an unhinged hero whose moral compass points straight to hell, but who will ultimately do anything for the heroine (except let her go), this might be the book for you.
Okay, that’s it from me for now! If I stay longer I’ll keep abusing these button links, and no one wants that.
If you made it all the way to the end, thanks for reading!
xoxo