For years, when Prisca slept, she would dream of a man with blazing green eyes and a cruel smile.
Little did she know he was real, and the day she met him, she found that he was ruthless mercenary who left her for dead.

On the day a child is born, they are taken to give what little power they posses to the gods in payment to protect our borders from the vicious, merciless fae.  Those who kept their powers are know as "the corrupt" and if found, they are burned to death and their family and anyone else who may have harborted them are killed. 

When Prisca's forbidden power is discovered, she had to flee her tiny village away from her mother, brother and friends never to return otherwise she will be killed.  In order to survive, she makes a bargain with the mercenary who first abandoned her to travel with him and his other mercenaries so she can flee to avoid being killed.  

The deal seemed simple: Prisca will help them sneak into the city without notice from the guards with her powers in exchange to teach her how to wield the strange, powerful magic she avoided using her whole life to keep hidden, and how to fight. The power that she needs to understand how to use in order to survive and save her best friend.

These ruthless mercenaries hiding secrets of their own and are not sharing with Prisca.  Especially Lorien who is as mean as he is handsome. Secrets that threaten the safety of everyone she loves as well as this kingdom.  They end up getting more involved in each others lives than expected and if they aren't careful, all will end in death.

This slow burn story had me hooked.  I lost sleep staying up late not able to put it down.  As soon as I finished it, I tore right into book 2 A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty.  If you are a fan of found family, dark male fae who fall first, touch her and die, and a strong female character who can take care of herself and is on a mission to help save as many people as she can, this is for you.