Forged by Malice

The third installment in the Beasts of the Briar fantasy romance series continues the saga of Rosalina O'Connell, a young woman who crossed from the human world into the Enchanted Vale, a magical land divided into four realms governed by fae princes. In the previous books, Rosalina discovered she is fae, became the fated mate of two princes, Farron (Autumn) and Keldarion (Winter), and helped defeat an invasion. The four princes share Castletree, a magical castle at the Vale's center, but an ancient curse transforms them into beasts each night until each prince bonds with his fated mate.

Six weeks later, Castletree is crumbling. Rosalina uses thorn bracelets acquired through a secret bargain with Caspian, the Prince of Thorns and son of Sira, Queen of the Below (the subterranean realm beneath the Vale), to hold the castle together. The princes return briefly to channel their magic into Castletree before departing to their respective realms. Ezryn, the High Prince of Spring, avoids Rosalina by patrolling the Briar, the wilderness surrounding Castletree.

Rosalina's powers continue to emerge. During archery practice, she transforms an arrow into seawater, a feat of elemental change mirroring the legendary abilities of Queen Aurelia, the Vale's absent creator. When Caspian visits her room, she confronts him: His thorns are not draining Castletree but holding it together. He confirms this but swears her to secrecy.

Keldarion reveals to Ezryn his plan to abdicate Winter's throne by passing his blessing, the realm's transferable magical power of rulership, to his uncle Irahn. His bargain with Caspian, which forbids him from taking any other lover on pain of that lover being enslaved to the Below, makes him feel unfit to rule. When goblins wielding recently forged Spring steel attack Castletree and attempt to steal the Sword of the Protector, one of five divine weapons, Rosalina summons golden briars to save Dayton, the High Prince of Summer. She declares him her mate and they make love, but no bond awakens. Devastated, they travel to the Spring Realm to warn Ezryn about the stolen steel.

In Florendel, Spring's capital, Ezryn discovers his younger brother Kairyn has seized control during their father Thalionor's mental decline. Though Kairyn has protected Spring's villages from goblin raids and secretly constructed a massive airship hidden beneath the keep, his true allegiances remain unclear. Chapters set in the Below reveal that Caspian's sister, the Nightingale, has been manipulating Kairyn for years, cultivating his resentment of Ezryn and redirecting his loyalty toward Sira. Together, they have claimed four of the five divine weapons, though wielding them without the queen's enchanted tokens (the princes' necklaces) corrupts the bearer. They plot to kill Rosalina to break Ezryn emotionally, making him vulnerable enough for Kairyn to claim Spring's blessing.

Rosalina and Ezryn grow closer in Spring. She learns the Vale's creation myth: how Sira stole a celestial rose from the Gardens of Ithilias to create the Below, and how Queen Aurelia saved four roses from the same gardens to create the Vale. Separately, Farron meets Caspian in secret at Castletree, where Caspian reveals his desire to be transformed into a human, which would dissolve all his fae bargains.

Ezryn takes Rosalina to Sylvanita Lake, intending to confess a painful truth, but a hallucinogenic flower, one of the Nightingale's botanical weapons, traps them both in nightmares. Rosalina witnesses Ezryn's most painful memory: the day the uncontrollable surge of Spring's blessing killed his mother. She breaks free and rescues him.

The Nightingale launches a full attack. Having overheard the assassination plot and chosen to betray Sira to save Rosalina, Caspian convinces Keldarion to travel through thorns to Spring. They arrive in time, and Caspian unleashes green flame, annihilating the enemy forces. Sira herself materializes, commands Caspian to surrender the princes' necklaces, and compels him to rescind his bargain with Rosalina, stripping away her thorn bracelets. Sira publicly reveals Keldarion's bargain, explaining why he cannot consummate his bond with Rosalina. Rosalina seizes control of Caspian's thorns, pulls the princes to Castletree, and shares a passionate kiss with Caspian during the transit.

At Castletree, the princes erupt into bitter arguments. Keldarion reveals the full history of his relationship with Caspian: how Ezryn led Keldarion's army to raid the Below without permission, killing Caspian's friends and provoking Caspian's devastating retaliation.

Returning to Spring, poisoned red flowers hypnotize Rosalina; her companions Astrid and Marigold; and Keep Hammergarden's majordomo, Eldy, compelling them to walk toward a cliff. Rosalina breaks free, transforms Eldy into a bird using the queen's magic, and plunges over a waterfall. Ezryn removes his helmet to breathe life into her, breaking Spring's most sacred royal creed. Their mate bond awakens and they consummate it, but as the curse begins to break, Ezryn panics, remembering how uncontrolled power killed his mother. He suppresses the curse, and his magic erupts destructively, nearly killing Rosalina before Keldarion and Kairyn calm him.

Kairyn, now acting as steward, puts Ezryn on public trial. He forces Ezryn to confess to killing their mother, strips him of his title and blessing, and cuts off the tips of his ears, permanently marking him as a creed breaker. Outside the gates, the Nightingale ambushes them with Penta Conclave knights, Kairyn's elite warriors wielding stolen divine weapons and wearing the princes' necklaces. She captures Rosalina, while the knights deliver Keldarion and Dayton to Kairyn as prisoners.

At the monastery, the Nightingale forces Rosalina to drink a magic-suppressing potion, then stabs her with the Trident of Honor. Rosalina discovers that white stardrop flowers worn by Kairyn's followers neutralize all the poisoned flowers. She steals one and eats it, restoring her power. Ezryn, stripped of magic but armed with his mother's sword, storms the monastery alone, cutting through every soldier. When a conclave knight accidentally grasps the Bow of Radiance and is destroyed, Rosalina seizes the weapon. It transforms in her hands rather than killing her. She declares she carries the queen's blood: She is Aurelia's daughter.

Wrenley, an acolyte Dayton rescued earlier, frees Keldarion and Dayton using stardrop antidotes. Kairyn activates red flowers throughout Florendel, placing the population under mass hypnosis. Rosalina, Ezryn, and Keldarion infiltrate Keep Hammergarden to rescue Thalionor, but Caspian arrives and kills Thalionor by driving a thorn through his heart. Ezryn vows to kill Caspian. Kairyn transforms into a giant plant-armored form, capturing everyone. Rosalina unleashes her golden briars, sending Keldarion, Ezryn, and Caspian to Castletree, but Kairyn captures her and forces a mind-control flower under her nose.

At Castletree, Ezryn declares his brotherhood with Keldarion severed and departs alone. Outside Florendel, a will-o'-wisp reveals Wrenley as Dayton's fated mate. Farron feels Rosalina's pain through their bond and sees Kairyn's airship carrying her toward the Summer Realm.

Aboard the airship, Rosalina resolves to escape and reclaim her legacy. In an epilogue, Caspian visits Queen Aurelia, imprisoned in a crystal cell in the Below where Sira drains her power. Aurelia reveals she bound the life force of George O'Connell, Rosalina's father, to Castletree, explaining his declining health. She confirms Rosalina has a sister, implied to be the Nightingale, and calls Caspian a worthy mate for her daughter.