'I am Princess Meredith, heir to a throne - if I can stay alive long enough to claim it . ' Having eluded relentless assassination attempts by Prince Cel, her cousin and deadly rival for the Faerie crown, Merry Gentry is faced with a whole new set of problems. To become Queen of the Unseelie Court, she must bear a child before the loathsome Cel can father one of his own. But chaos lies on the horizon: in the human world, people are dying in mysterious, frightening ways, and suddenly the very survival of the Faerie is at grave risk. While she enjoys the greatest pleasures of her life attempting to conceive a baby with the warriors of her royal guard, Merry must confront an ancient evil that could destroy the very fabric of reality .