In this world, fairy tales lied.
Fair folk are not gentle creatures of light and wishes-they are ancient predators bound by old magic and older hunger. Immortal, ruthless, and exquisitely cruel, the fae rule their hidden realms through blood pacts, deception, and calculated violence. They do not kill for chaos alone; they kill for balance, power, and amusement.
When the boundary between the human world and the fae realms begins to fracture, disappearances follow. Villages are emptied overnight. Bodies are found drained of magic and memory. Survivors speak of beauty so overwhelming it paralyzes, voices that compel obedience, and smiles that come just before death.
At the center of the story is a human protagonist who learns the truth too late: humans were never meant to survive encounters with the fae-only to serve them. Bound by an ancient contract written in blood and bone, the protagonist is dragged into a war among fairy courts, where betrayal is law and mercy is weakness.
The fae are not villains in their own eyes. They are executioners of natural order, and humanity is an infestation that has grown too loud, too numerous, too careless.
As alliances fracture and secrets surface, the protagonist must decide whether survival means submission, rebellion, or becoming something just as monstrous as the creatures hunting them.
This is not a story of happily-ever-afters.
It is a story of teeth behind smiles, wings stained with blood, and the terrifying truth that magic does not make things better-it only makes them deadlier.