550 pages complete - daily updates coming 7/18 The insinuation didn't make her mad. It didn't comfort her. But it did strike a chord. "My instincts are the only reason I'm alive. They're why those children in Sangravah survived." Azriel descended to the grounds of the river house. "Then perhaps you should listen to them." He set her down gently and the moment she opened her mouth to retort, he cut her off. "I told you I would wait. I meant it." His words rendered her dumbfounded. They were the words of a male devoted. A male who knew her far longer than Azriel had. But she didn't reject them, because her tears over his broken body had been the tears of a female who had lost a part of their soul. A female bound to him. "Shall we?" said Azriel, gesturing up at the river house. And Gwyn nodded, for she knew no words. *cover by lowkeystruggling*

Prythian was amid a time of peace; a feat that its inhabitants had fought for and defended for decades and centuries. The Inner Circle, ever-growing with new additions, maintained a steady rule over their territory and trained their heirs to cultivate and nurture everything that they had once sacrificed for. As an Heiress to the High Lord and Lady's throne, Valeria would go to the ends of their World and any others in existence for her Court and her people, no matter the cost. Had grown into her power and strength and cunning to do just that. But there was an evil inside of her; a beast clawing at the cages she so dutifully enforced to keep it secured. And as that beast of night and shadow raged through the darkest depths of her begging for release, fear of the danger she posed and the weight of a crown not yet donned threatened to bring her to her knees. However, Valeria bowed to nobody. And once the gates of Realms were open and her family and continent were faced with an impossible war alongside allies from Worlds she had not known to exist, the choice to yield herself to the creature within proved to be as heavy as any throne. Whether it would be their salvation or ruin, she had yet to decide.

Lucien returns to Velaris after the war with Hybern, full of anxiety about being so near to Elain. He tries to find a place among Rhysand's Inner Circle and find the balance between getting to know his mate without being overbearing. For months, Elain has been having a recurring dream of autumn forests. When Lucien returns to Velaris, not only does the dream's frequency intensify, but she finds herself waking up in Lucien's room every morning before dawn. Despite Nesta's looming presence and Lucien's lingering guilt over Jesminda, the two grow closer and Elain allows herself to truly imagine what being Lucien's mate could be like. Lucien begins to wonder if the Night Court could be the home he's spent so long searching for. But their fragile, new bond will be tested when Lucien is called away, back to the continent and its cursed queen. Set after ACOWAR but ignores the events from ACOFAS. Elucien all the way. Sorry Elriel shippers.