It is said that when the gods refused to help save the dying lands from the Goblins, the Fae intervened. They cleaved the world in two, creating their haven of Evervale and the Wilds. As punishment, the gods bound them to their lands.

 

Trapped, the Fae turned to humans for aid, employing them to guide what creatures remained across the divide. In return, they promised that one day, they would grant all mortals entry into Evervale.

 

Ennery Castor is one such human. A scout in service to the Fae, like so many before her.

 

Except in winter.

 

Because winter belongs to the Goblins.

 

They come to gather young women from across the Wilds for a mysterious rite, killing anyone who stands in their way. Few return, and those that do are no longer flesh but bone. Left like offerings to those gods who let them live so long ago. For twenty years, Ennery had lived with that fear. Now she is believed to be beyond their reach, too old to be counted among their chosen.

 

But her sister, Wren, has just come of age.

 

Ennery would give blood, breath, and her very soul to keep Wren safe. With winter approaching, she turns to the only protection humans still have some faith in: marriage. A mortal claim, a bond the Goblins seem to honor. Something Ennery could never claim for herself, because of a Fae deal. One that would get her killed if discovered.

 

So Ennery scrapes together a dowry meant to bind Wren to one of the few eligible men left in their warren of Dravennew, the safest underground city in all the Wilds. A place her father once promised would keep her safe.

 

But for Ennery, “safe,” like the rite itself, is wholly unknown.

 

Until a Goblin chooses her.