Hel’s Princess

They call Hel a pit of monsters and I am its Princess. A realm of screaming souls and unspeakable horrors. The fae whisper my name to frighten their children into obedience. Be good, or the Princess of Hel will drag you into the dark. They are wrong, of course. Hel is not a prison. It is a sanctuary. A refuge for every creature the Fae hunted, feared, and tried to erase. Shifters. Wraiths. Dragons. Half-breeds. The forgotten and the broken. We built a kingdom in the shadows, and we are proud of it. I am proud of it. But none of that matters to Cardan Oberon Ashryver Windsor. He is the High King now. The golden ruler of the largest Fae nation on the continent. And he is also the male who has been my betrothed since I was four years old, and has never once laid eyes on me. Eighteen years. Eighteen bouquets of poisonous flowers. Not a single visit. Not a single letter in his own hand. I stopped waiting for him when I realized he was never coming for me. Now his father is dead, the crown is his, and suddenly I am summoned to his glittering court like a forgotten package finally retrieved from storage. I arrive ready to end this engagement and return to the only home that has ever wanted me. I have a blade of grave-dust steel strapped to my thigh and eighteen years of cold fury burning in my chest. But the ancient Oath that binds us is merciless. If either of us walks away before the marriage is consummated, the gates of Hel seal forever, trapping my people in eternal darkness. And the Fae? They lose their magic entirely. There is no escape, only death.