By
May Dawson

No princess is guaranteed a happy ending.
We have to fight for it.

The Blood Fae infiltrate my lands, seeking to take over the Four Kingdoms. Their high leader wants my brother dead… and because her body is decaying, she wants to wear me as her new second skin.

I’m not in the mood to be turned into a coat, or to bury my brother. I just saved him, and united my males. I intend to enjoy this new life of mine and these four handsome, exasperating Fae kings.

Time for me to teach these males of mine how to kick some vampire tushy.

It’s a nice kingdom we’ve got here…
if we can keep it.

If you haven’t read the rest of this series, STOP! Go back and read them. This is the series conclusion.

At the end of the last book, Alisa fights Herrick’s magic to free Faer and succeeds. For her she has her brother back and she believes they can rule together to restore the four kingdoms. Faer is not of the same frame of mind. He’s not so certain they can or will forgive him for what Herrick did while in possession of his body and mind. He’d rather travel and figure out who he really is now.

Before he can depart, the Blood Fae appear in the harbor and the Summer Court is now under siege. When Alisa meets with the Samvarian and her advisor she’s give a lot of information she didn’t know and also an ultimatum. Her brother and her castle or Alisa and her kingdom.

No way is that happening so plans have to be made to evacuate everyone. Alisa goes with Torin to release his parents from their stone prison in the garden, not sure if it will work. That has an unexpected outcome. Faer remembers Herrick collecting and hiding things, so they make some very interesting discoveries. Alisa finds the earring key to the mirror Azrael gave her to portal to him in the Autumn Court. This will help save her people. Faer however is the one who finds the key to what may save them all. That is if they can find it. They have to travel to the Autumn Court to portal to the human realm, where they see Torin parents again.

This is a favorite scene.

We had to pass through the fall court to reach a portal back to the mortal world. When we went through, it was a shock to find myself in the wreckage of the castle. The scent of rotted wood and growing, marshy things hung in my brother’s room.

One wall had been ripped away; I remembered the view of the blue mountains through the arched window. Now the entire side of the castle was gone, allowing an even better view of the snow-capped mountain landscape. The contrast between the beautiful mountains and the hellish destruction around us made me feel an old surge of anger, and underneath that, something different, something lost.

I hadn’t been inside since I woke up to an invasion, since Azrael ordered me to take Zora and flee. The memory of my sister’s slight frame bouncing up and down on her horse as the two of us galloped into the night, of looking over my shoulder and seeing a castle in flames, with Azrael’s voice echoing in my ears: at least one heir has to survive… the memories burnt through me like acid.

Azrael walked across the floor and stood near the broken wall, his hands in his pockets. His face was a mask, but I’d lived with my brother’s nightmares for years.

If I’d been a little gutsier, I would’ve asked him what he was thinking. But I’m good with a sword, not feelings. I’d rather face a Feddlewig than talk to my brother about his nightmares.

“Welcome to the fall court,” Azrael told Tiron, Raile and Alisa as they stepped through after us.

“It’s a bit bedraggled,” Raile said, sticking his hands in his pockets. He thrust his chin at the wall. “We could fix it, you know.”

“The castle’s been stabilized to make sure the portal can be used safely,” Azrael assured him.

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Raile said. “We could rebuild it.”

Azrael hesitated, and I felt my own stubbornness wash over me. Some things can’t be rebuilt.

The fall castle in wreckage—it had represented how I felt these last six years.

Tiron cocked his head, listening to voices out in the hallway, and it took me a second to realize why. Then I caught the familiar edge of a complaining voice.

“Why are my parents still here?” Tiron asked, spreading his hands to either side.

“They’ve had a few… needs… we haven’t been able to satisfy for their trip to the winter court.” Zora stepped into the room, her expression exasperated. “And they just keep sliding further down my priorities list the more they yell at me, too.”

“They yelled at you?” Azrael demanded. He’d always been protective of our little sister, and they’d shared a special bond growing up—even if the two of them were at each other’s throats now.

“You yell at me,” she shot back.

“I’ll go talk to them,” Tiron said, sounding deeply thrilled.

We all headed for the hallway, but when Tiron stopped to talk to his parents, I lingered, examining a long, dangerous crack in the wall.

Azrael glanced at me knowingly. It always irked me when he looked at me like that, and I said, “I’m going to make sure this wall is properly shored up.”

“Thanks,” he said, surprising me. He and Raile went on ahead.

“Do you need any help?” Alisa asked, stopping beside me. “That destructive autumn magic might not serve us around the castle, at the moment.”

I had a feeling she was only half-engaged in our banter, listening to Tiron and his parents beyond.

Agnys turned toward us, her brows arching, breaking away from her husband’s conversation with Tiron about carriages. “Oh, is it the autumn court that’s destructive?”

Gods help me. I would’ve kicked Tiron’s parents all the way back to the winter court if it wouldn’t have hurt him and Alisa worse.

But Alisa just rolled her eyes at Tiron’s mother before she turned to face her.

“You might play at loving Tiron, but Herrick destroyed his kingdom. And when I look at you and your brother, you look just like him.” Agyns snapped.

“I’m not anything like him.”

“No?” Agnys laughed, a harsh, surprised sound. “Manipulative, clever. Playing the part of the protector to get your way. You don’t just look like him. Every time you speak, I hear him.”

Alisa stared at her, her jaw setting. “You’re having a hard time adjusting to freedom. I’m going to forgive you for what you’re saying, but you should really hustle off to the winter court so we have a chance at forgiving each other and becoming family down the line.”

“You will never be my family,” she said. Then she turned to Tiron. “And if you insist on staying with her, you won’t be either.”

Tiron stared at them. I’d never seen him speechless—as much as I’d wished to sometimes. Now it irked me.

Into the silence, Denys said heavily, “You’re a traitor to our people, Tiron. We waited fifteen years to see you again, only to discover you grew into a disappointment.”

Alisa’s lips parted, and I knew she was about to tell him off. I gave her a gentle shove as I jerked my jaw toward the doorway, trying to tell her with my eyes I’d take care of it. She wasn’t going to make things any better for Tiron right now.

She leaned into my shove—I should’ve seen that coming—and slipped around my arm, but then stopped, as if she understood what I was trying to say.

I gritted to Alisa and Tiron, “I’ll make sure they’re accommodated. Then I’ll meet you at the portal.”

Tiron nodded stiffly. “I’ll see you in the Winter court, when I’m finished with this mission.”

They didn’t answer him. They didn’t even look at him. The stiffness in his posture made answering anger flare in my chest, but I stayed there with them as Tiron offered Alisa his arm, and the two of them swept off.

“I’ll have Zora get your carriage,” I said flatly, and Agnys favored me with a smile that I didn’t return.
Dawson, May. Lost Queen (Lost Fae Book 4). Kindle Locations (1677-1727). Kindle Edition.

To the human world and meeting up with old friends and making some new ones as they battle not only regular vampires but also Blood Fae during their search.

Favors asked and received, more revelations, surprises, action, tears and so much more in this stunning series conclusion!

5 Contented Purrs for May!

May Dawson

May Dawson writes reverse harem romance about magic, strong women, and the men who love them. A native New Yorker, she’s settled in Virginia, where she is raising two red-headed troublemakers and a passel of cats.