Where Fae Go to Die

“You will die screaming, or you will make them scream for you.”

What would you get if Gladiator met ACOTAR, with a sprinkle of The Hunger Games and Fourth Wing?

Once, the fae were immortal. Their magic built kingdoms—and destroyed them. After the Hollow Wars scorched the world, the Empire outlawed magic forever, branding it the source of all ruin.

Now, fae who break the law are thrown into the Ironhold—a mountain prison where the condemned fight for their lives in savage dragon arenas—to remind the realm what happens when the law is broken.

Veyra Rhaevorn, a street thief with a sharp tongue, has never been good at following rules. Insubordination will send her to execution faster than any dragon. But when the Empire’s reigning gladiator, Zeriel Caelith, claims her as his ward, survival becomes its own kind of war.

He’s ruthless, unreadable, forged in blood. And whatever purpose he sees in her may prove more dangerous than the cage they share... or even the upcoming Emperor's Tournament she's bound to enter with him.

Because a darker force is rising. And she might just find herself unwittingly at the center of it.

Note: This is not a gentle fae tale, so don’t expect a cozy court with glittery balls and harmless flirtation. This is an enemies to (hopefully) lovers dark romantic fantasy for readers who want their fae feral and their love interests the “touch her and die” type… who’s also the reason she’s in danger. There’s no kindly High Lord here to rescue anyone, and the Empire isn’t “morally grey” — it’s a boot on your throat with a crown on its head. The Ironhold is an arena built to turn fae captives into legends or corpses, and the Empire enjoys the show either way. So expect sharp teeth, sharper chemistry, and a slow-burn romance that feels like being spun at the edge of an abyss—close enough to taste, close enough to fall. Tighten your grip on your dignity (and your dagger), because the champion you’re supposed to hate might be the one you can’t survive without… and the only way out is through. Welcome to the Ironhold: your next dark fantasy obsession.