Crown of Crimson and Crows

The first installment in the Blood Bound series is set in Lumaria, a magical realm divided between two rival species: the Luminaries, light-wielding beings who control all light in the land, and the Nocturnae, centuries-old winged, fanged beings who are the ancestors of vampires. The Nocturnae possess superhuman speed, strength, and elemental magic. Four Nocturnae Houses each hold a distinct elemental affinity: fire, earth, water, and air.

The novel opens 15 years before the main story. Rhys, King of the House of Firelight, is visited by Olympia Morningstar, a powerful Luminary elder. Olympia reveals that her granddaughter Soraya is Rhys's fated mate, a sacred, god-given bond that has never before existed between a Nocturnae and a Luminary. Rhys is devastated: Olympia's son, Mikel Morningstar, murdered Rhys's father and young sister. Through a blood oath guaranteeing the vision's authenticity, Olympia shows Rhys images of an adult Soraya and of the child being snatched by the Demon King, Wraith. Despite his hatred for the Morningstar bloodline, Rhys agrees to help hide the girl in the human world.

The narrative shifts to the present day. Rae (Soraya), now a 23-year-old botany graduate student near Boston, lives unaware of her magical origins. Adopted at age eight after a fire supposedly killed her birth family, she has no memories of Lumaria. Her closest friend is Pax, secretly a Nocturnae guardian Rhys assigned to protect her. Rae has worsening migraines and a recurring nightmare of a winged man carrying her through a starless sky while monstrous creatures pursue them. Her adoptive parents, Jim and Dara Greenwood, were murdered when she was 16, leaving Pax as her emotional anchor.

Pax summons Rhys because Rae's headaches threaten permanent damage. When Rae encounters Rhys on campus, she feels an intense buzzing beneath her skin. He intervenes when a predatory classmate corners her in a greenhouse. When their fingers accidentally brush during a later encounter, agony and need rip through her. Soon after, she collapses at home as fiery pain scalds her from the inside. With no time to explain, Rhys unfurls his wings and flies her through a portal to Lumaria.

Rae arrives in the Firelight Kingdom, stunned by the ember-lit landscape. She learns Pax also has wings and that she is not human. Rhys's younger brother Ayden confronts them with warriors but is forced to yield. A horn signals the Luminaries' approach.

A confrontation takes place on neutral ground, a barren strip between territories where Luminary magic is nullified, the Nocturnae lose the ability to feed, and any weapons use results in banishment. Queen Daphne and King Evander of the Luminaries arrive alongside Calloway Leclair, the Luminary Prince and Rae's betrothed since childhood, Rae's biological parents Mikel and Imogen Morningstar, her older sister Isadora (Izzy), and Olympia. Rae recognizes no one. When she learns Calloway is her betrothed, she spirals into a panic attack. Kian, a Nocturnae leader from the Luminary-allied House of Starlight and Rae's childhood best friend, crosses the border to calm her. He whispers an incantation to her blood, an innate ability unique to their connection. Rae's 13-year-old sister Kyrie, born after Rae was taken, breaks free and embraces her. Olympia invokes the Council of the Fates, summoning three ageless beings who preside over destiny.

The group flies to the Fates' sanctuary atop a floating mountain. The head Fate, Lyra, performs an unbinding ceremony to restore Rae's sealed magic and memories, which Olympia locked away 15 years ago. Childhood memories return in fragments: playing with Kian and Calloway, her birth mother Imogen's relentless magical training, and the night Rhys rescued her from Wraith, sustaining a massive chest scar while shielding her. Rae recognizes Rhys as her childhood savior.

Lyra then performs the Fating Ceremony, cutting Rae's palm and dripping her blood onto volcanic stones. Four unique flower-shaped marks burn into Rae's body, with matching marks appearing on Rhys's and Kian's necks. Lyra announces Rae has four fated mates, an unprecedented number indicating extraordinary power, and Calloway is not among them. Chaos erupts: Queen Daphne protests, Calloway insists the gods were tricked, and Mikel denounces the Nocturnae. Kian kneels and pledges himself to Rae, but Rhys refuses to bow, vowing only to protect her and declaring he will never love her.

Imogen urges Rae to sever the bonds and marry Calloway, but Rhys reveals that if Rae does not bond with her fated, her unbalanced powers could overload and kill her. At the Firelight Kingdom, Rhys announces Rae as his mate, and his people react with fury until he uses an overpowering dominance display to force every Nocturnae to their knees. That night, a Nocturnae ambushes Rae and bites her neck. She fights back, instinctively shocking him with an electrical charge from her blood. Rhys beheads her attacker and feeds Rae his own blood to heal her wound.

The group departs Firelight. In the forest, they encounter Nyx (Onyx Bellerose), King of the House of Demilune, known as the Cruel King, whose family was killed by demons. After a fierce fight with Kian, Nyx reveals a fated mark matching Rae's: He is her third mate. The group deduces the fourth is Torrin, King of the House of Blood Moon, known as the Feral King, who has lived alone in his crumbling castle since a demon attack devastated his people.

At Nyx's ice castle, Rae's magic overloads again. Kian coaches her through expelling excess power into soil, but the blast causes every plant in Nyx's conservatory to erupt into massive growth. Kyrie arrives after sneaking away from Luminary territory and begins teaching Rae magic. Olympia also arrives and offers a crucial theory: Rae's magic is unstable because her bonds are imbalanced. She is close to Kian but at odds with Rhys and Nyx, and her fourth mate remains unfound.

When Izzy berates Rae during a lesson, Rae's anger triggers an involuntary force that sends Izzy flying. Horrified, Rae flees into the forest, where a white Arctic fox bonds with her as her familiar, a magically bonded animal companion she names Bandit. Meanwhile, Rhys receives a prophetic vision, an ability gained from Olympia's earlier vision-sharing, warning of an imminent attack. Moments later, Wraith leads a demon raiding party against the group. During the battle, Rae tackles Rhys out of a fireball's path, taking a burn on her shoulder that mirrors the scar Rhys received saving her as a child.

In the aftermath, Rhys cruelly tells Rae he wants her but will only hate her more for it and will never love her. Pax punches Rhys for the remark. Rae and Kian sleep together; Kian bites her and drinks her blood, deepening their bond. Rhys witnesses them and leaves, consumed by jealousy. Olympia reiterates that Rae needs all four bonds balanced, but approaching Torrin seems impossible.

Rae secretly enlists Kyrie and escapes Nyx's castle at night, riding to the Blood Moon Kingdom. She leaves Kyrie at a remote farm and continues alone to Torrin's abandoned castle. Torrin descends from the sky, enormous and wild. He charges at Rae but buries his face in her neck, whispering "Fated" with reverence. When her other mates arrive, Torrin threatens to kill them until Rae tells him they are also her fated and that hurting them would hurt her.

The group shelters in Torrin's castle. Rhys delivers a genuine apology, admitting Rae is innocent and promising to stop taking his pain out on her. Kian is hurt that Rae fled without trusting him. That night, as Rae drifts off by the fire, a blurry, familiar face jostles her awake and whispers an apology before she feels a pinch in her neck and loses consciousness. She has been drugged and abducted by an unknown person. The story continues in the sequel, Throne of Traitors & Thorns.