"Her mission was to kill him. Her destiny was to love
him."
Nyx
Triskelion was raised to marry a monster. She had known her destiny since the
age of nine. Her father, the Master Magnum of the Resurgandi, made a bargain
with the Gentle Lord, who is the prince of demons, seventeen years earlier. Now
that bargain is due. Nyx is to become his wife. The Resurgandi is an "organization
of scholars that was officially founded to further Hermetic research".
Nyx has longed to attend Lyceum, the great university where the Resurgandi was
founded. But she and her twin sister, Astraia, learned the secret truth of the
Resurgandi when they were nine. "The first Magister Magnum and his nine
followers swore a secret oath to destroy the Gentle Lord and undo the
Sundering. For the past two hundred years, all the Resurgandi had labored
toward that end." (The Sundering occurred when the Gentle Lord killed
the prince of Arcadia before he could be crowned king and took over rule. He
only asked for tribute to keep his demons in check. He only offered his
wish-granting abilities to those foolish enough to ask for them. He separated
Acradia from the rest of the world.) Nyx only wanted to learn Hermatic
principles at Lyceum. Through her father's bargain with the Gentle Lord, her
fate was given to her. She is to kill the Gentle Lord and undo the Sundering.
After
her proxy wedding before all of the villagers, her father rides with Nyx to the
Gentle Lord's home, the tower that's the only part left of the crumbling castle
of Arcadia. Nyx gives her father one last dig about his bargain with the Gentle
Lord and not caring for her. She walks the rest of the way to the tower and
finds that the door opens for her. She enters a space that surprises her. The
house turns out to be deceptive much larger on the inside than out. In the
circular room with all of the doors locked, Nyx announces to her new husband
that she has arrived and falls against the wall and floor. She eventually falls
asleep.
Nyx
wakes up to find the Gentle Lord sleeping against her with his head on her
shoulder. She is surprised by his handsome, youthful looks but his catlike eyes
truly horrify her. She is surprised that he doesn't immediately want to be her
husband in every way. He tells her that it is time to show her to her room. He
raises his hand in a gesture and Nyx is startled to see his shadow become
separate from his body. The Gentle Lord tells her that Shade will show her to
her room. Shade drags her away and is unable to speak. He shows Nyx to her new
room and leaves. She is unhappy and furious over her new life and ashamed that
she destroyed her sister's perceptions of that new life.
Dinner
goes as well as expected when Nyx tries to stab the Gentle Lord with her fork.
He stops her and lets her know that maybe she deserves to be his wife. He tells
her that she may call him Ignifex but it isn't his real name. Every night he
will give her the opportunity to guess his real name. If she guesses right, Nyx
will gain her freedom. If she guesses wrong, she dies. He also gives her a key
that will unlock only the rooms that she will have access to. If she tries to
enter any of the rooms she doesn’t have access to, she will regret it, but not
for long. Not really wanting very much to eat, Nyx announces that she is going
to bed. Ignifex asks if she wants to guess his name. Nyx declines. He kisses
her knuckles and says that he will see her in the morning. She is surprised
that he doesn't want to consummate their marriage. He tells her that he is her
husband. "I can wait as long as I please and still have all of
you."
Back
in her room, Nyx is surprised when Shade comes to her. Not there because of
Ignifex, Shade begins to take a corporeal form. He looks exactly like Ignifex
but he has beautiful, blue human eyes. Still unable to talk, Nyx is able to
deduce that Shade is a part of Ignifex. Shade is a prisoner of Ignifex, just as
she is. Unable to fully trust him, she allows Shade take her down the hall and
back into the ballroom. The floor has changed from earlier. It is now a pool of
water that holds their weight. She realizes that he has shown her one of the
hearts of Hermetic working. If she can find the other three, Nyx will be able
to stop the Gentle Lord. Hopeful for the first time in her life, Nyx kisses
Shade. He tells her to be careful. He is able to speak because she kissed him.
Nyx realizes that Shade isn't a part of Ignifex, but someone else he has
cursed. He warns her that he has betrayed Ignifex once and that she shouldn't
trust him. Shade is unable to reveal any of Ignifex's secrets or to help her
find the other three hearts. It will be safest for her to search at night. She
is their only hope. Nyx promises to save him but asks him who he is. "Just
a shadow" and he disappears.
Will
Nyx be able to defeat the Gentle Lord and save Arcadia? What is his true name?
Who is Shade? Why does Shade look like Ignifex? What happens when Nyx finds
herself falling in love with Ignifex? Can Nyx ignore the duty she was raised to
follow and kill the Gentle Lord?
.
In
this twisted retelling of Beauty and the Beast, readers will be left hanging
until the end to see how Nyx’s story ends.
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