A Court This Cruel and Lovely

A Court This Cruel and Lovely is a 2023 romantic fantasy novel by Stacia Stark and the first book in the Kingdom of Lies series. It is set in a world where the gods strip humans of their magic at birth in exchange for providing protection from the fae. Any humans who manage to retain their powers are labeled as “corrupt” and are executed. The story follows Prisca, who is forced to flee her home after accidentally revealing her powers. She strikes a bargain with Lorian, a man she recognizes from her dreams, offering to help him in exchange for learning how to control her powers. However, soon finds herself caught in a web of secrets that threatens the safety of everyone she loves.

This guide refers to the 2023 eBook edition by Bingeable Books.

Content Warning: Both the source text and this guide contain descriptions of violence, coercive control, and suicide.

Plot Summary

Prisca lives in a kingdom ruled by the tyrannical King Sabium. Here, people must surrender their magic in order to protect the realm from the fae. The narrative describes a ceremony in which adults are assessed for hidden magic, and when one woman is found to have magical powers, she is arrested and her family is executed. Knowing the grim realities of her kingdom, Prisca keeps her own time-stopping magic hidden so that she can have a normal life, even though her mother warns her that she cannot hide forever.

After using her magic to protect a friend, Prisca is forced to flee with her mother, who reveals that Prisca is not her biological daughter; she took Prisca in so that she could protect her. As the guards close in, Prisca’s mother pushes her into the river to give her a chance to survive. She nearly drowns but is rescued by a group of men led by Lorian, a man whom she recognizes from her dreams. However, he abandons her shortly afterward.

Despite her injuries, Prisca plans to find her brother, Tibris, who was left behind when she fled. On the way, she is forced to kill a hunter who recognizes her as a fugitive, and she later pushes a guard off a bridge to avoid capture. In an attempt to steal supplies from a random camp, she discovers that the camp belongs to Lorian and his fellow mercenaries. After he overpowers her, he offers to give her food and protection if she uses her magic to help him and his group. She agrees.

As they travel, Lorian makes her practice using her magic, behaving in a possessive and demanding fashion. He also reveals that King Sabium steals the magic of his citizens and uses it for the benefit of his court. Lorian tells her that she is part of a part-fae “hybrid” group that is descended from a lost kingdom, and he explains that although the Taking ceremony is designed to steal people’s magic, her magic regenerates over time due to her partial fae heritage. (The king labels part-fae people such as her to be “corrupt” and actively persecutes and kills them.) During a stop at an inn, a drunken man accosts Prisca, and Lorian kills him and hangs his body in the inn’s common room. In another town, they find a wanted poster of Prisca, and she learns that her friend Asinia has been captured. The group uses her magic to escape capture and reach the road again. While traveling, Prisca’s brother Tibris finds them, and Prisca convinces him to help rescue Asinia. She then uses her powers to get herself, Lorian, Tibris, and the mercenaries into the city. Lorian tells her to leave the city and kisses her goodbye.

Prisca instead follows Tibris to meet Vicer, a rebel who agrees to help her if she also frees another rebel, Demos, from the king’s dungeon. Prisca infiltrates the castle as a servant and befriends a woman named Auria, who shares valuable gossip about life in the castle. At night, Prisca sneaks into the dungeon to find Asinia gravely ill. She also learns from Demos about the cruel treatment of the prisoners. She decides to save them and the rest of the “corrupt” prisoners. With the help of the rebel, Vicer, and a servant named Wila, Prisca gains the queen’s favor. While Prisca is promoted to the queen’s inner circle, Wila’s part in the scheme causes her to be arrested and executed.

Later, at a royal dinner, Prisca is shocked to see Lorian posing as a prince from a neighboring kingdom. When Asinia’s condition worsens, Prisca goes to Lorian for help, which he agrees to offer in exchange for her assistance in finding a hidden room in the king’s chambers. They discover an underground chamber, which Lorian searches, but he is enraged when he doesn’t find the amulet that he is looking for, and Prisca uses her powers to escape. While she worries that Lorian will withhold the help she requested, he does send a healer to Asinia, who recovers.

Prisco discovers that the queen’s seamstress used to be her former nanny. The seamstress reveals that Prisca’s real name is Nelayra and that Demos is Prisca’s biological brother. Prisca returns to the dungeons to share the news with Demos, and they have an emotional reunion. Afterward, Prisca witnesses another of the queen’s ladies, Madinia, accidentally summon fire. Prisca saves Madinia and forces her father, who hates hybrids and is part of the king’s inner circle, to help with the escape plan.

At a subsequent ball, Prisca is poisoned by another of the queen’s ladies and awakens after two days to find Lorian at her side. Court rumors begin to spread about a relationship between them. To secure Lorian’s help with the escape plans, Prisca offers to help him with his own plans to find an amulet that he says will help in his fight against the king. Lorian proposes a fae blood vow to seal the bargain. Prisca reluctantly accepts, and afterward, they sleep together.

At first, the plan appears to be moving forward smoothly, but news arrives that the king has filled in the hidden tunnel to the city market: the very tunnel that they planned to use in their escape. However, Prisca comes up with a new plan, and with Madinia’s help, the group learns how to control the king’s magical carriages. On Gods Day (the day the “corrupt” will be executed), Prisca finally enacts her plan during the ball at the castle. She freezes time, and this allows her, Lorian, and their allies to free the prisoners from the dungeons. While Lorian leads the escape, Prisca retrieves the amulet from the queen’s chambers. However, Auria is revealed to be a spy and nearly stops her before Madinia intervenes.

They escape into the city with the amulet, only to learn that the king and his guards are holding everyone else captive. Prisca throws the amulet to Lorian, and he is revealed to be the Bloodthirsty Prince: the very fae responsible for killing her parents. Lorian unleashes his powers on the king’s forces, although he allows the king to escape. After the battle, Lorian reveals that Prisca is the heir to the remnants of the hybrid kingdom. When Demos is struck by a hidden guard’s arrow, Prisca makes a final deal with Lorian and agrees to go with him to his kingdom in exchange for her brother’s life. Both follow through on their ends of the bargain, but Prisca vows revenge against Loria. The story continues with A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty.