Fairies aren’t real, right? Reed would have agreed with that statement a few weeks ago, before he got his new assignment helping to cure a forest in Ireland of a tree disease. He not only saw one in the woods, but she saved his life twice. So, despite his logical disposition, he can no longer deny the existence of fairies, or fae as they prefer to be called. But having an encounter with the fae always comes with a price…and Reed’s is twofold. First, he’s been magically transported to her world and needs to find his way home. Second, he has fallen in love with her even though it would be impossible to maintain a relationship living in two different realms.
Aisling is questioning her split-second decision to save a human. She doesn’t know what made her do it, considering all the dangerous stories about them she grew up hearing. She was sent to the human world for a single purpose; to place a protection spell on the beloved Hawthorne trees that were being destroyed by a disease. If they were destroyed, it would threaten the veil between the two worlds.
The man seemed so helpless and fragile at the time, not to mention handsome, and she just couldn’t let him die. So, Aisling did the one thing that was forbidden for the fae, she interfered with the human world and saved him. Not once, but twice, and since returning to the Otherworld, she discovers she is now wanted by the King’s guardians for punishment. That isn’t even her biggest concern as she didn’t return alone. To save the man, she had to bring him back through the portal with her. Now she must figure out two things. First, how to get him back to his world undetected, and second, how to heal her heart when she has to say goodbye because she’s fallen in love with him.
The saga of Aisling and Reed continues as they once again find themselves in an impossible situation. The worst-case scenario has come true where Aisling alone gets transported back to the human world and the portal closes before she can try to go back to the Otherworld and Reed. Aisling is delivered in an unfamiliar forest with no idea where to go for safety and does the only thing she can think to do, which is find the woman she remembers Reed telling her about, Mrs. O’Brien, in the town of Ballynaskeagh.
Reed can’t believe his fate when Aisling disappears through the Hawthorne tree and watches the portal close before he can follow her. Now he’s stuck in the dark fae kingdom alone with no magic in a magical realm to keep him safe. When he tries repeatedly to reopen the portal to the human world unsuccessfully, he makes the difficult decision to return to Aisling’s fae friends, Myrna and Caitlin, for help.
It’s dangerous to be a foreigner alone in a different world. Aisling and Reed must rely on virtual strangers and don’t know who they can trust. The situation becomes even more dire as they learn that the King has had all the portals sealed between the two worlds, issued arrest warrants, and has sent guardians out searching both worlds looking for Aisling and Reed, making it almost impossible to find a way back to one another again.
As both struggle in opposite worlds to find a way to reunite, the risks increase not only for themselves but for those that are helping them. Both decide that they need to sacrifice themselves to protect all those they have come to love, even if it means never getting to see one another again. The question is whether their surrendering will be enough or will there be more consequences?
After sacrificing themselves to save those they love, Aisling and Reed must face the consequences by choosing their punishment from three impossible choices presented by the fae King. Believing they picked the lesser of the three evils, they are immediately sent to a training academy to become spies for the fae King for the next two years…or so they were led to believe.
The only positive aspect the couple can find in this entire mess is that they were forced to marry as the King wished for them to spy as a married couple. Their newlywed year wasn’t all that romantic, however, as they were often separated for training and individual missions, but their union created a magical bond that allowed them to always sense one another.
As they celebrate their first anniversary, a tragic accident occurs that has them discovering the reality of their situation. The King lied and they will never be allowed to leave the agency alive. While on their next mission in the human world, they begin to devise a plan to defect and disappear forever. It doesn’t take long before it becomes clear that this current mission is really a test of loyalty to the King and has Aisling and Reed desperate to find a way out before someone gets hurt.
They cannot do this alone, but knowing who to trust when lives are on the line is difficult at best? It’s going to take more than slipping through a Hawthorne portal to disappear from the fae King as it seems he has eyes and ears everywhere. Aisling and Reed are going to need to rely on all their friends and their magical abilities in order even attempt to defect. Will their plan work? Will it cost them everything they hold dear or can they conquer evil with the strength of love and friendship created by their magical bonds?
J.C. Poole 