Between two thorns

Catherine Rhoeas-Papaver was born in the Nether, a mirror-world between the human realm of Mundanus and the Fae realm of Exilium. There, families touched by the Fae keep the social order of 19th-century England, serving ageless masters. She left it all behind for an ordinary life in Mundanus, away from her parents and their rules.

Now she is pulled back to face an arranged marriage and the full weight of high society that comes with it. Cathy has no wish to return, yet the Nether does not let go of its own.

Max is an Arbiter of the Split Worlds treaty, a man with a dislocated soul whose work is to police the borders between the worlds and protect innocents from the Fae. Kidnappings are spreading and his fellow Arbiters have been murdered.

He needs help, and he turns to Cathy to unravel a high-profile disappearance inside the Nether. The book blends urban fantasy with court intrigue, and its manners are polished on the surface and dangerous underneath. Any involvement in Fae schemes could cost every person involved their life.