Sylvia Heath arrives at the moonlit marble halls of the Fae High Court determined to secure guardianship of her sister, terrified of being cast aside after everything she has lost. The broad-shouldered fae lord Idris Wainwright offers the guardianship she needs, and his ruthless dominance is the price. He is both the shield she secretly craves and the ruin she walks toward anyway.

In the narrow vault aisle, amid dust and old parchment, he gives orders no one else will hear. Out of sight, he demands the total surrender of her untouched body and will. The court battle hangs in the balance either way. She twists a lock of hair and denies needing any of it. He tells her when to return to the vault.