Aelinor: Elven Dark Fantasy Romantasy

Genre: Dark romantasy Tropes: Elves and humans, second-chance romance, magical quest, hidden royal heritage.  Synopsis: Half-elf Nyssa works as a healer in a human settlement near the border of the elves’ most sacred forest. When the border’s magic starts to break down, dangerous fae pests pass through to the human lands. The villagers expect elves to come and save them from the creatures as usual, but only one elf arrives: the notoriously charming ranger, Kellam. And rather than helping the village, he has been sent to ask Nyssa for aid.  A blight has been spreading through the forest, mutating and distorting everything in its path, and damaging the magical boundary between realms. Kellam’s task is to bring Nyssa to Aelinor (the ancient cathedral-like structure at the heart of the forest, formed by the merging of sentient ‘soul trees’). Its elven guardians have summoned her in the desperate hope that her combined human/elf healing techniques can help them find the cause - and cure - of the forest corruption before it spreads to their home. Because if Aelinor fails, the border will fail. And if the border fails, all of the lands beyond it are in danger. Before the pair can reach Aelinor they must fight their way through the increasingly deadly plant life of the forest, from eerie breathing fungi to whip-like thorn vines that can tear a horse in half. This temporary forced companionship is made more difficult because Nyssa and Kellam have…history. They first met — and then parted — a century ago, but Nyssa has never told Kellam why she ran away from him. When Nyssa finally reaches Aelinor she soon discovers that the political factions within its strange walls are just as corrupt and poisonous as the vegetation outside, and that Kellam has been keeping secrets of his own. With time running out, a conflicted Nyssa must work to save Aelinor, but she can only do this by confronting her dark heritage and painful past, and by finally sharing the truth with Kellam. (Includes some profanity, graphic injuries, and body-horror elements)