This Vicious Dream

"I hate you."

"Well, sweetheart, I'm currently not too fond of you either."

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REVIEW

Would I read this again? Yes No Maybe

Spice Level Legend How spicy is this book?

Tropes	Trigger Warnings
One bed, One horse, Enemies to lovers, Forced proximity, Magic, Strong FMC, "Who hurt you?"	Violence, Death, Torture, Recollection sexual assault, Imprisonment

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SUMMARY

This book is Book 1 of the Kingdom of Death duet. These can be read without reading the previous series, Kingdom of Lies, but it does help (and they are really good).

I will say if you’re planning on reading KOL, do that first, this book does contain spoilers for that series.

Characters

Madinia Farrow - Used to be a lady in the Queen’s court. Her father was one of the King’s top men and her mother was killed when she was young. Madinia hid the fact that she was a Hybrid her entire life. Her magic is fire, she conjured it out of nowhere and control it. Prisca stops her from setting herself on fire in the first KOL book. She doesn’t trust anyone and doesn’t necessarily like a lot of people. She agrees to help Prisca on freeing the prisoners in the King’s cells. After they succeed, she travels with a group of Hybrids to the Hybrid camp that is on the edge of the Fae Kingdom. Along the way, one of the children dies, and then they are attacked by the King's guards. Madinia is fighting them off with her fire and then Cal shows up to help with his shields and knife work. She saves his life, Cal tells her he now owes her a life debt. 

Calysian - First appeared in KOL. Prisca and him were in a dungeon together, when they escaped, Madinia was outside, she had come to rescue Prisca. They run into each other again, when Cal helps her fight off the Kings guards. He appears in the last KOL book. Prisca sees him notice Madinia getting on Darahark’s ship with the grimoire, he starts running to the ship. Prisca stops time, just for him, but when she turns back, he’s gone. 

Characters from KOL

some appear in this book, some do not (yet, I think they might in Book 2).

Prisca - Hybrid (meaning she is half Fae, half human). The current Hybrid Queen, mated to Lorian, has the power to pause time.

Lorian - Fae. Used to be known as the Bloodthirsty Prince. Was prince to the Fae Kingdom. Left his kingdom for Prisca.

Demos - Prisca’s biological brother. They were separated when they were kids. Hybrid, his magic is ability to influence events and defense. Was imprisoned with Asinia and rescued by a plan executed by Prisca, Madinia, and the Fae boys. 

Tibris - Human; Prisca and him were raised as brother and sister. 

Asinia - Prisca’s best friend, also a Hybrid. Her magic is luck. She’s with Demos.

Rythos - One of the Fae boys. His magic is the ability to immediately befriend someone, like they think they are best friends, and then he can sway them to what he wants. He does not like using his power. 

Marth - One of the Fae boys. His magic is the ability to see people’s past. Also, kind of a man whore. 

Galon - One of the Fae boys. His magic is the ability to siphon water away from the source.

Conreth - Lorian’s brother and the King of the Fae Kingdom. 

Plot

We start this book with Madinia traveling with Daharak and her pirate crew. They have been on the run from Queen Vicana’s guards, including Kyldare. They are now engaged in a battle with them and Madinia decides to give herself up to help keep the pirates safe. Kyldare is looking for the grimoire that Madinia had been given by Prisca for safe keeping. Madinia has hidden it and refuses to tell him where it is. For three years, he imprisons her. He uses a witch to put a spell on Madinia that basically preserves her in time - she doesn’t need to eat, drink, or use the bathroom. Kyldare visits occasionally to try and pry the location out of her but it hasn’t worked so far. On this particular day, Madinia has somehow linked with the grimoire, even though it's nowhere near her. She uses it to control things outside of the tower she is locked in. She is SO close to killing Kyldare but Cal shows up. He “rescues” her. Which pisses her off. She didn’t need rescuing and he foiled her plans. 

Cal remembers Madinia, but Madinia doesn’t remember him. She doesn’t remember a lot actually. She thinks the magic has messed with her memories, but Cal thinks she is refusing to remember things that might hurt her. Cal, however, has his own memory problems. Before KOL, he woke up in a forest, with no memory of who/what he is, or where he is from. He has had a companion named Eamonn from the beginning. A shapeshifter that can shape into anything, except a human. He helps Cal a lot - getting him out of tricky situations. Cal has a feeling that Eamonn knows more than he can share (which is true). Ever since he woke up in that forest, Cal has felt this pull guiding him towards, what he believes, is all the answers he needs. Right now, that pull is pulling him towards Madinia. 

Cal convinces Madinia to travel with him to the nearest town. More of Kyldare’s men will be looking for her and he can help keep her safe. She finds this funny, she is perfectly capable of keeping herself safe, but agrees to travel with him anyways. 

Madinia’s memories come back slowly. She knows she has hidden something special and somehow knows Cal is looking for it. She decides to lead him away from it, not towards it. Something he catches onto fairly quickly. There is a lot of bickering going on. She leaves him tied to a tree and runs off into the night. She makes her way into a village and decides to locate a seer. She figures a seer would instruct her on how to stay hidden from not only Kyldare, but also Cal. The seer was expecting her and questions Madinia on what she knows about the grimoires. Madinia tells her that the old gods were fighting each other, they decided one of their own had too much power, they referred to him as The Dark God. The seer tells her that this dark god is named Calpharos. He had a twin and they never got along well with their other siblings - Tronin (strength), Faric (knowledge), Creas (memory). The other siblings were jealous of the twins and being daddy’s favorites and for being exceptionally gifted. So the three jealous ones devised a plan but it didn’t go as they intended. They tried to take Calpharos' memories but before they could, he was tipped off so he took three grimoires and put his memories, his power, and pieces of his soul in each. Then he threw them out to the world hoping to find them all later and make himself whole. The seer believes that when he finds all three, he will destroy their world out of anger. Madinia realizes that Calpharos is Calysian. 

Madinia leaves the seer’s house and Cal quickly catches up to her. For tying him to a tree, he decides to use the same chains, and bind her wrists together to prevent her from escaping again. It doesn’t exactly work. She escapes again, and he finds her again. She decides to tell him what she knows. She thinks maybe if he knows what will happen if he finds all the grimoires, and maybe if she can help him hold onto his humanity, maybe he won’t want to destroy the world. 

When they get to the area where Madinia has hidden the grimoire, Kyldare is already there. There’s a bit of tussle but Cal manages to get the grimoire first. It takes him a hot second after he absorbs his power back to remember who he is. At first, it’s almost as what Madinia feared would happen. He would just destroy everyone, including her. But he comes back to himself, but not fast enough. Kyldare shoots Madinia with an arrow and then gets away. 

Eamonn scouts ahead and finds a healer in a nearby village so Cal hauls ass there. Madinia wakes up five days later. Cal never left her side, even though Madinia knows the other two grimoires are calling to him even more insistently now. Madinia asks him why he didn’t leave and he is surprised that she would think he would. They have grown closer over this journey, even fucking before finding the first grimiore. Madinia tells him she wants to go with him to help find the other grimoires. She thinks she’s being sly but Cal knows what her true motive is. She wants to get there first and somehow prevent Cal, and Kyldare, from getting the next two.

Madinia has made it clear on this journey that she also wants to search for Daharak and the pirates. Not to mention, she is wondering (and is extremely hurt thinking about it), how come nobody from the Hybrids have come looking for her. Cal questions her about this when she says she wants to go with him but she says she can ask around villages as they pass through if about the pirates. 

A few days into their travels they meet Haldrik. He was one of the pirates that was traveling with Daharak. He had actually left the ship when it had stopped in a port prior to Madinia being captured. Haldrik says he hasn’t seen anyone since the night he left. Madinia tells him that Kyldare told her (while she was imprisoned) that he had killed them all that night but she doesn’t believe it. Haldrik wants to travel with them. He feels guilty for leaving them behind and now he wants to help find them. 

Traveling with another person is strange for them. They’ve developed a nice little routine and now a third person throws that off. Plus - the closer they get to the next grimoire, the weirder Cal gets. Madinia believes it’s because of the grimoire but her feelings are hurt all the same. A few days into the trip, Madinia wakes up and Cal is gone. Haldrik says he left during the night to go find it on his own. Madinia gets the ick from Haldrik. She knows something is off but she doesn’t know what exactly. Haldrik pulls a knife on her, says her eyes gave away her suspicions. Haldrik tells her that he is under a blood vow and she realizes that he has been working for Queen Vicana this entire time. He helped Kyldare find them when they were still with the pirates, that’s why he left prior to Madina getting captured. Haldrik drops a stone on the ground and Madinia’s eyes are instantly drawn to it. Haldrik laughs and says it even works on her and he didn’t expect that (foreshadowing). He tells her that Vicana gave it to him, it's from Cal’s real world, if he kept the stone near him, it would make Cal unable to fight his true self. Meaning - he would be less Calysian and more Calpharos. Madinia realizes that’s what has been wrong with him this whole time. She thought it was the grimoire calling to him that was affecting him, but it was Haldrik and his stupid stone this whole time.

Haldrik tells Madinia that Cal is heading towards his second grimoire, and that just happens to be where Kyldare and his men are waiting. 

Then Madina remembers something - Haldrik is part Fae. What’s his power you might ask? Doubt. He sows doubt. So not only was he making Cal doubt himself, his intentions, his feelings but he was messing with him using the stone as well. 

They fight, he pins her down and is strangling her but Madinia is a badass bitch who can take care of herself. She manages to grab a rock and bash him upside the head a few times before getting him off of her and finishing the job. Just as she is done with that, and puking, she hears someone say her name - Asinia. 

Asinia, Demos, and Rythos have arrived. They have been searching for her for three years. But they recently had help - Eamonn. Madinia asks for their help to go after Cal.

Meanwhile Cal has gotten pretty far away and is out of reach of Haldrik and his stone power. He realizes that Haldrik must have been using magic on him and he just left Madinia alone with him. He turns around and heads back towards her but they meet in the middle. They have to make camp for a few nights because Cal has pushed his horse, Fox, too hard trying to get back to Madinia. 

Madinia had told the others about what Cal is and what they are looking for and what may happen. Asinia says Rythos could use his powers and convince Cal he doesn’t want to find the grimoires. Madinia doesn’t want to do that but what choice does she have? She might have to kill him otherwise. She agrees to try but then immediately regrets it when she sees Rhytos walk towards him. 

Rythos’ powers don’t work on a god as they soon find out. All it does is piss Cal the fuck off. 

Asinia decides that her, Demos, and Rythos should go look for Daharak while Madinia stays with Cal. Asinia figures Cal won’t trust any of them after trying that and if Vicana finds the grimoire first, they’re going to need help in fighting yet another war, so they need Daharak. 

Cal is, rightfully, pissed off at Madinia. But they continue traveling together. A close call with Kyldare’s men makes him worry for Madinia’s life and….not really forgive her…but move on for now. They end up encountering Kyldare when they stop and set up camp. But he’s alone. He has betrayed Vicana and now he is offering Cal and Madinia an alliance. They question why they didn’t hear him approach and he says a “gift from my goddess”. He says even though he did a lot of shitty things…technically, he never brought fatal harm to her….okay except that one time he shot her, but that was kind of an accident, he was really mad ok? Anyways, his goddess didn’t want her hurt. His goddess wanted Kyldare to keep her safe and contained so that she could meet Cal. Kyldare says he is there now because they are getting ready to walk into a trap and he wants to help them. Madinia wants nothing to do this, neither does Cal, but he asks Madinia to trust him. Then he becomes buddies with fucking Kyldare. Which hurts Madinias feelings - rightfully so. They travel for three days and for three days, Madinia barely talks to Cal. Kyldare helps them not walk right into the trap with Vicana’s men but to sneak up on them. As they approach though, Madinia slaps some cuffs on Kyldare and tells Vicana’s men she wants a trade. Kyldare starts cursing her and looking towards Cal but Cal’s like you never should have touched her. They make a deal with Vicana’s men, which includes the witch that Kyldare betrayed, that they will give them Kyldare, a traitor, if they are allowed to pass. The witch can’t help herself, she wants revenge on Kyldare so she agrees. 

Cal says he knows where the second grimoire is - on the other side of the next village. Instead of camping out, Cal wants to stay in an inn in the village. Madinia realizes that Cal is giving her the gift of one last special night between the two of them before he says goodbye in the morning. Madinia tells Cal she needs a minute and goes outside to the horse stables. Eamonn shows up with Filiora, little girl of the seer Madinia saw in the beginning of the book. Filiora tells her that her aunt made a tonic, for another client, that will help them remember their past life. Filiora had a vision that Madinia needs this. Eamonn has helped Filiora find Madinia and he encourages her to drink it. 

Madinia remembers another time in another world. 

She is an acolyte of a goddess, Anarthys. Two gods walk in - mirror images of each other, one represents light and one dark. The dark haired one, Calpharos, is upset with Anarthys, and Anarthys is upset with him. She says she is a goddess and she is not just cast aside. The Madinia in this life looks up and sees Calpharos staring at her but she quickly averts her eyes. Madinia meets Calpharos later outside. She is a little intimidated by him. She asks him if he would like to take a walk, he says he can’t right now, but he’d love to later. Later though, Madinia gets called to Anarthys. Anarthys accuses her of sneaking out with Calpharos. Madinia denies it and Anarthys pulls a dagger on her. Calpharos twin walks in, begs Anarthys not to do this. She calls him Eamonn and basically tells him to f off. Eamonn says Madinia is the other half of Calpharos soul and if Anarthys kills her, Calpharos will take his revenge. Eamonn attempts to rescue Madinia but Anarthys drags her back by her hair. The temple starts to shake. Eamonn tells her that Calpharos knows and “his rage will destroy” Anarthys. Calpharos comes in, tells Anarthys to let Madinia go, they can settle this between themselves. But Anarthys is furious because she says Calpharos is hers. Anarthys slices Madinia’s throat and Calpharos loses his shit. He begs Madinia’s corpse to come back, if she just comes back, he will find her. Calpharos turns his fury to Anarthys. She tells him that his siblings are coming. Madinia doesn’t get a chance to see what happens because she is thrust back into her body. 

Eamonn tells her that Calpharos used so much of his power to kill Anarthys that when their siblings arrived, he was weakened. They used that time to cast him out. They knew Eamonn was loyal to Calpharos so they took his powers and his true form and banished him to this world. It took him centuries to find Calpharos - only for Calpharos to not know who he is and Eamonn can’t tell him.

Madinia asks Eamonn if she should tell Calpharos who she is. Eamonn says it’s up to her. She chooses not to and to just have a night enjoying him. The next morning when she wakes up, Cal is gone. And he took his horse…and hers. Eamonn shows up and shifts into a horse. He tells Madinia that she is the other half of Cal’s soul, she needs to open herself up to him, and she will be able to find him. Also, because of this, she will be able to access the grimoires power because its also her power. They head towards Cal, bickering the entire time. Eamonn wants her to let Cal take the second grimoire, then steal the link from him so he can’t find the third. 

She makes it to the temple where Cal is. He says he had weird dreams last night, from a past life, but Madinia was in them. She begs him to not take the second, but he doesn’t listen. He takes it and Eamonn yells at Madinia to use her fire and break the link. She does, then she sees that some dude has the third grimoire and can see her. She breaks that connection and sees Cal looking at her. First he’s furious, because she took something, then he’s confused, because he’s like wait…you’re mine? 

Madinia starts running out of the temple, to Eamonn (and our) confusion. Why is she leaving him?Then she hears Vicana calling for Cal. And she realizes that Vicana is Anarthys. She doesn’t stick around, even though Eamonn is yelling at her, she takes Fox and heads back to the village. Eamonn is like why are you leaving him? Madinia says it's awfully convenient that Eamonn didn’t choose to wake Madinia up when Cal left. Everything Eamonn has done is to help Cal get the grimoires. If he does, he can use his powers and help restore Eamonn to his true form. Except, her entire world might suffer if Cal gets all three grimoires. 

She races back to the village where Asinia is waiting. She has found Daharak and they all get on her ship. Eamonn is begging her to not leave, she is making a huge mistake. But right now, Madinia is hurt. Cal still chose the grimoire over her and she knows she won’t be able to stop him from doing whatever he wants if he gets that third. They barely get away before Cal is there. He is FURIOUS. He mouths “I will find you”. 

Madinia says she knows where the third grimoire is and they can get to it first. Asinia says it's a good thing Prisca is on her way. They are going to need her and Lorian.