A Curse of Malice & Mercy

A Curse of Malice & Mercy Courts of Malice Book 1 Miranda Joy Spellbound Souls Copyright © 2023 Miranda Joy The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, emailer the publisher at [email protected] Paperback ISBN: 979-8-9859148-2-5 Developmental edits by RaeAnne from LavenderProse - www.lavenderprose.com - Instagram: @lavenderprose.editing Line edits by Brittany Corley from ThisBitchReads - www.thisbitchreads.com - Instagram: @thisbitchreads_ Cover designed by Maria Spada - www.mariaspada.com - Instagram: @mspremades Map by Cartographybird Maps - www.cartographybird.com - Instagram: @cartographybird Spellbound Souls www.authormirandajoy.com Content Warnings This book contains fictional depictions of physical abuse, emotional abuse, brief attempted sexual assault, references to slavery/servitude, murder with blood and slight gore descriptions, nightmares, grief, post-trauma PTSD, manipulation, slight bullying, descriptive/detailed sexual content, foul language, and more. This book is intended for mature readers. As always, read at your own discretion and comfort. Your mental health comes first. If you would like further information, please email me at [email protected]. For those who make friends with the monsters instead of fearing them. Contents Dovenak Map Avylon Map 1. The Lord's Little Dolly 1. Alessia 2. In the Trade We Will Die 2. Alessia 3. Survive My Forest 3. Rainer 4. Leaving the Nightmares Behind 4. Alessia 5. Find Strength in Fear 5. Alessia 6. I Miss Char 6. Alessia 7. Welcome to the Umbra Court 7. Alessia 8. I Am Conflicted 8. Rainer 9. Pay Off My Debts 9. Alessia 10. Did the Faerie Prince Just Flirt With Me? 10. Alessia 11. Like the Little Rose She Is 11. Rainer 12. On Rainer’s Terms Only 12. Alessia 13. What Do They Get Out of This? 13. Alessia 14. Not That Bad After All 14. Alessia 15. More Alone Than Ever 15. Alessia 16. We Are Not Friends 16. Alessia 17. I’ve Been Free 17. Alessia 18. Now I Have to See My Nemesis 18. Rainer 19. Help Me, Please! 19. Alessia 20. I Hope He’s Harmless 20. Alessia 21. Up to My Innards In Conflict 21. Rainer 22. Screaming His Name 22. Alessia 23. He’s a True Nightmare 23. Alessia 24. I Am the Girl Who Fights 24. Alessia 25. She Will Always Be Mine 25. Rainer 26. I Don’t Owe Him Anything 26. Alessia 27. An Equally Troubled Brother 27. Alessia 28. Instinct Ends Up Being Right 28. Rainer 29. Like a Sunset Rose 29. Alessia 30. The Mercy He Needs 30. Alessia 31. Annihilate the People I love 31. Rainer 32. A Thousand Little Pieces 32. Alessia 33. Not Fae At All 33. Alessia 34. Who Was Killed? 34. Alessia 35. I Do Recognize Him 35. Alessia 36. I’ll See You in My Dreams 36. Alessia 37. I Will Do Much Worse to Him 37. Rainer Chapter Acknowledgments Afterword About Also By Miranda Joy one The Lord's Little DollyAlessiaI can’t resist gossip about the fae. So, when I overheard Sir Dougrey telling his tablemates about the faerie trees eating men alive, I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. I should’ve remained silent. I should’ve kept my eyes downcast and carried on serving the cranberry-almond apple pie. It took me all afternoon to make, after all, and seeing their eyes light up as the sweet, tart, and toasty flavors exploded on their tongues would’ve brought me a spark of elusive joy. Plus, I could’ve lingered in the wings under the guise of service and eavesdropped longer.But I messed up.A dozen questions ran through my mind, and instead of setting down the dessert and retreating, I gaped at the back of Sir Dougrey’s bald head and asked, “humans went to Avylon?”The lord’s refined friends grew silent, and Sir Dougrey slowly turned to scowl at me. A dozen gazes had penetrated me with open disdain.I hadn’t meant to speak—to be seen—but it slipped out and now I’m paying for it.Char—who served the other end of the table at the time—met my eyes with a flash of disappointment, the frown lines on her pallor skin more prominent than ever.Normally I pester Char about faerie tales and she obliges, albeit with an ominous warning, telling me stories filled with magic and wonder, but in that moment, I had taken my interest too far.“How dare you make a fool of me,” Lord Edvin says after dragging me from the dining room.His beady eyes prick me with unease as he leers over me.I glance away.The kitchen’s hearth sits off to my side, tucked into a brick mantle. It crackles with the room’s heating, the flames dancing like the fae in the stories Char told me about. A few feet beside it sits the door to the wine cellar, and next to the cellar is a small servant’s stairwell that leads up to my and Char’s shared room.I'm half-tempted to bolt up there and hide away. Better yet, I’m tempted to escape the door on the opposite side of the room—the one leading out into the pastures and stables beyond.Perhaps I could flee through the field and into the forest. Escape from the lord for good. But there isn’t anywhere to go.Or maybe, like in my dreams, I could be stolen away by a faerie. They have magic.Plus, Sir Dougrey said the trees were eating the humans—not the faeries themselves. Surely they can’t be that dangerous.“Look at me girl!” Lord Edvin grunts as he grips my shoulders, spinning me away from him and shoving me down on the cool oak table in the center of the kitchen. “I said how dare you make a fool of me!”He grips my hair,