Amid Clouds and Bones is a standalone fantasy romance written by Australian author Ella Fields. Originally self-published in 2024, the novel rose in popularity among online book communities and was then acquired for traditional publishing in 2026 by Scarlett Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. The novel follows half-fae princess Mildred as she navigates the pressures of her arranged marriage to the cruel fae prince Atakan. Her journey examines the Pressures of Political Relationships, The Contrast between Cruel Honesty and Gentle Deception, and the challenges involved in Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Revenge.

This guide is based on the 2024 Amazon/KDP edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of graphic violence, sexual content, bullying, and emotional abuse.

Plot Summary

The two rival faerie courts, Seelie and Unseelie, have been in conflict for many years. The Seelie court is allied with the human kingdom. To strengthen this alliance, the half-human, half-fae Princess Mildred Nephryn has been betrothed to Seelie Prince Atakan Ethermore ever since she was a child, even though she dreads the prospect of marrying the reputedly “heartless” prince. Across her adolescence, she and Atakan encounter one another several times, and each meeting is contentious. Atakan goes out of his way to make Mildred feel small and unimportant, and he flaunts his sexual conquests in front of her. When she is 14, he poisons her by trapping her with a venomous two-headed snake. Two years later, when she poisons him with the same venom, Atakan is begrudgingly impressed by her audacity.

After spending years dreading her marriage to Atakan, Mildred is almost relieved when it is finally time for her to move to the Seelie kingdom of Ethermore, though she knows that Atakan and his father, Garran, will delay the wedding as long as possible because Garan resents the prospect of allowing a half-human into his bloodline. Her human father, Juris, gives her a “featherbone,” an artifact that her late fae mother left her. (She later learns that the featherbone will transport her to the Unseelie lands, as her mother was an Unseelie fae.) In Ethermore, Atakan treats Mildred cruelly but keeps her close, refusing to give her a space of her own, and he frequently makes sexually suggestive comments. Although she finds Atakan unkind and infuriating, Mildred is also attracted to him.

Atakan is frequently absent, fighting the Unseelie, and when he returns from one such trip, she tends to his injuries. During another of his extended absences, she wanders farther and farther from the castle, seeing signs of Unseelie incursions. Suddenly, Atakan finds her and confronts her about her wanderings, and they have sex. Later, when Mildred overhears Atakan and Garran talking about how “meaningless” she is, she angrily crushes the featherbone in her fist and finds herself suddenly transported to the Unseelie kingdom.

The featherbone takes her to the bedroom of King Vane Ashbone, the Unseelie king. He explains that Atakan’s blood was used to create magical wards between the Seelie and Unseelie lands; Atakan’s reputed “heartlessness” made him an ideal candid for this project, as the wards can only be brought down if Atakan loses his “heart.” Vane wants to bring down the wards by stealing “Atakan’s heart”—namely, by making Mildred fall in love with him instead of with Atakan. If he can do this, the wards will fall. Mildred rejects this plan, as she does not believe that Atakan loves her at all. Vane offers her material comforts in a crass attempt to earn her love, but his tactics frustrate Mildred, who feels that he is just using her.

Vane, like Atakan, spends much of his time away from his castle. He gifts her a baby felynx, a catlike creature, whom she names Meadow. As Vane continues to court her, Mildred finds herself softening toward him. One day, he sustains injuries by passing through the wards, and she tends to him. Later, when she balks at helping Vane to break the wards, knowing that this would unleash the dangerous mystical creatures that live in Unseelie, he tries to persuade her by offering to give her anything she wants in return. He magically binds the vow with his blood.

Mildred convinces Vane to take her to Skeleton Mountain, the Unseelie military compound. There, she is alarmed to learn that the Unseelie have been breeding pytherions (dangerous dragon-like creatures) and training them to serve as mounts for the military. She also learns that he is hiding pytherion eggs in Seelie, as this will lead the adult pytherions to attack Ethermore’s Cloud Castle with fire.

While in Unseelie, Mildred receives a report that her parents have been killed, supposedly by Atakan. (She later learns that Vane actually killed them to frame Atakan.) Despite her complicated feelings toward her parents, she grieves their deaths. To cheer her up, Vane invites her to a night out in the city. When he thinks Mildred asleep, he admits that he killed her family and that the wards have begun to crumble due to her softening feelings for him. Mildred hears his confession and is furious at his betrayal. She schemes to escape Unseelie, but before she can put her plan into action, she finds Atakan waiting for her. He takes her back to Seelie.

Atakan locks Mildred in the dungeon but keeps her there for only a brief time. (She later learns that his action is meant to hide her return from Garran.) Atakan is jealous of Mildred’s feelings for Vane; he feigns making a blood oath with her in order to get revenge on Vane, but in reality, this ritual is a way for him to secretly seal a mate between him and Mildred. Mildred is baffled when she is plagued with intense sexual desire for Atakan, and the two have an extended sexual encounter.

Mildred, Atakan, and his allies spend the next day searching for the pytherion eggs so that they can thwart Vane’s plan to have the pytherions attack the city. When Mildred cuts her finger, she learns that her blood will float to the eggs, and she locates several this way. (She later learns that this phenomenon occurs because she is mated to Atakan, who is secretly a pytherion shape-shifter). Back at the castle, Mildred encounters Garran, who plans to kill her so that Vane cannot abduct her again and compromise the wards. Atakan arrives in time to kill his father, saving Mildred. However, he keeps Garran’s death a secret from the realm. Atakan admits that his mother was the Unseelie queen, which means that he is half Seelie and half Unseelie. The next day, Atakan and Mildred marry.

The damaged wards allow the Unseelie to attack Ethermore, and Atakan reveals that he can shape-shift into a pytherion. When he changes to his pytherion form, the attacking pytherions turn on their Unseelie riders and obey Atakan instead. At the loss of his forces, Vane appears and threatens to kill Phineus, Atakan’s friend, if Mildred refuses to go with him. He then transports her to an underground compound in Unseelie and asks for her help in defeating Atakan. She refuses, then uses her telepathic mating bond to tell Atakan her location. The next morning, Atakan arrives. He offers to let Vane and the Unseelie leave peacefully if they return Mildred to him. Vane, who is consumed with the idea of revenge, wants to refuse, but Mildred invokes the blood oath that Vane made, forcing him to transport his troops elsewhere.

Mildred and Atakan return to Seelie, where the pytherions have now settled. Atakan explains that he never wanted to rule both kingdoms. However, he admits that he did initially plan to allow Vane to kidnap Mildred so that she would bring about the fracturing of the wards; this development would allow him to claim the pytherion army that Vane had created. However, Atakan found that he was too possessive of Mildred to allow her to be kidnapped, and he was very distressed when she vanished anyway. He confesses that he has cared for Mildred ever since she had the audacity to poison him in retaliation for his earlier acts against her. Mildred, still angry with him for keeping secrets, returns to her sister’s castle until Atakan comes to retrieve her. There, the two finally admit their mutual love, as well as their shared desire to continue their verbal battles.

In the epilogue, 20 years have passed, and Atakan and Mildred now have a daughter. The wards remain, although their gaps have widened. Atakan is a formidable leader, and he and Mildred are still in love.