Plot Summary
Shadows of the Past
The story opens with a tapestry of myth and history: the fae realms were born from betrayal, creation, and war. Sira, cast out from the Above, forges the Below in darkness, while Aurelia, the Queen, saves remnants of light to create the Enchanted Vale. Their conflict sows the seeds for centuries of strife, shaping the destinies of their descendants. The legacy of stolen roses, divine weapons, and bargains with gods haunts the present, as the fae realms fracture and the threat of the Below lingers. The past is not dead; it is a living force, binding the fates of all who walk the Vale.
Bonds and Betrayals
The narrative shifts to the present, where Rosalina, a human-fae hybrid, is drawn into the fae world searching for her missing father. She becomes entangled with four cursed princes—Keldarion, Ezryn, Dayton, and Farron—each bearing the weight of their own failures and bargains. Rosalina's arrival stirs hope and longing, but also suspicion and jealousy. Old wounds between the princes and the enigmatic Caspian, Prince of the Below, threaten fragile alliances. The bonds of love, friendship, and fate are as likely to heal as to betray.
The Queen's Bargain
The truth of Rosalina's heritage is revealed: she is the daughter of Queen Aurelia, who vanished after making a desperate bargain with Sira to save her beloved. The cost was high—her second daughter, Wrenley, is lost to the Below, and Rosalina's own fate is bound to the survival of Castletree. Aurelia's sacrifice and Sira's vengeance echo through generations, shaping Rosalina's destiny and the curse that afflicts the princes. The Queen's bargain is a chain that binds, and only love and courage can break it.
Cursed Princes, Fated Mates
The four princes are cursed to become beasts each night, their only hope for redemption lying in finding their fated mate. Rosalina's arrival awakens mate bonds with Keldarion, Ezryn, Farron, and eventually Dayton, each relationship fraught with longing, guilt, and the shadow of past betrayals. The curse is not just a punishment, but a crucible—testing the princes' capacity for love, forgiveness, and self-sacrifice. As Rosalina's connections deepen, so too does the threat from the Below, and the cost of breaking the curse becomes ever more perilous.
The War of Thorns
The scars of the War of Thorns—when Caspian's betrayal and Sira's armies ravaged the realms—are ever-present. The princes and Rosalina must navigate a landscape still haunted by loss, suspicion, and the threat of renewed conflict. Caspian's shifting alliances and the lingering pain of his and Keldarion's broken love complicate every alliance. The war is not just a memory; it is a living wound, threatening to reopen at any moment.
The Nightingale's Mask
Wrenley, Rosalina's lost sister, moves through the story as the Nightingale, Sira's assassin and spy. Disguised as Dayton's mate, she manipulates hearts and destinies, her own pain and longing twisted by Sira's control. The revelation of her true identity shatters trust and forces Rosalina to confront the cost of compassion. The Nightingale's mask is both a weapon and a shield, hiding a wounded soul desperate for belonging.
Prisoners and Rescuers
Rosalina is captured and imprisoned, first by Kairyn and then by Sira, enduring isolation, manipulation, and the threat of death. Her mates risk everything to rescue her, each journeying through their own darkness—Keldarion through the labyrinth, Ezryn across the desert, Farron into the heart of the Below. The theme of imprisonment—physical, emotional, magical—runs deep, and the struggle for freedom is as much internal as external.
The Arena's Blood Price
The Sun Colosseum becomes a crucible for Dayton and Rosalina, forced to fight for their lives and the hope of reclaiming Summer. The games are rigged, the crowd's adoration a double-edged sword. Dayton's struggle to break his curse and claim his mate bond with Rosalina is mirrored by the rebellion brewing among the gladiators and citizens. The arena is a stage for both heroism and heartbreak, where victory comes at a terrible price.
The Heart of Castletree
Castletree, the living heart of the Vale, is both sanctuary and battleground. Its health is tied to the princes' magic and Rosalina's fate. The collapse of the Summer Wing, the struggle to restore the roses, and the revelation of George's (Rosalina's father) life being bound to the tree all underscore the theme that home is both a place and a living, fragile thing. Healing requires sacrifice, and the cost of magic is never cheap.
The Below's Green Flame
The Green Flame—Sira's god and Caspian's father—lurks beneath the story, a force of annihilation and seduction. Caspian's struggle with his heritage, Farron's temptation to use forbidden magic to save those he loves, and the threat of the Green Flame's army all converge in the depths of the Below. The abyss is not just a place, but a state of soul, and the choice to embrace or resist its power defines the fate of the characters.
The Hunt for Hope
As Sira's forces threaten to overwhelm the realms, the heroes seek new allies: the Huntresses of Aura, the Queen's Army, the sirens of Aerantheis. Delphia and Nori's journey through the Ribs, Ezryn's plea for forgiveness and unity, and the rallying of the people of Summer all speak to the power of hope and the necessity of community. The search for hope is a journey through darkness, but it is also the light that leads home.
The Breaking of Blessings
The climax is marked by the breaking and passing of the Blessings—magical legacies that define the realms. Dayton's death and Farron's desperate use of the Green Flame to resurrect him blur the line between love and hubris. The consequences of tampering with life and death ripple outward, threatening to unmake what the heroes have fought to save. The breaking of blessings is both an ending and a beginning, a test of what the characters are willing to pay for love.
The Queen's Daughters
The revelation that Wrenley is Rosalina's sister reframes the conflict with the Nightingale. Compassion and rage war within Rosalina as she tries to save her lost sibling from Sira's control. The theme of family—chosen and blood—reaches its most painful and redemptive point. The Queen's daughters are mirrors of each other, each shaped by love, loss, and the choices of their mother.
The Fall of Summer
Sira's vengeance brings ruin to Hadria, unleashing an army of the dead and flooding the city. Dayton and Rosalina's combined magic transforms the people of Summer into sirens, saving them from annihilation but leaving their home in ruins. The fall of Summer is both a tragedy and a rebirth, a testament to the power of change and the resilience of hope.
The Price of Resurrection
Farron's use of the Green Flame to resurrect Dayton is a moment of both triumph and terror. The boundaries between life and death, love and obsession, are blurred. The consequences of this act—what is gained, what is lost, and what is changed—linger as a warning and a promise. The price of resurrection is never paid by one alone.
The Bow of Radiance
The struggle for the Bow of Radiance—Aurelia's divine weapon—becomes the focal point of the final battles. Wrenley's possession of the bow, Sira's manipulation, and Rosalina's claim to her mother's legacy all converge in a storm of magic and will. The right to rule is not inherited, but earned through sacrifice, compassion, and the courage to choose one's own path.
The Last Bargain
Caspian's final bargain to send Rosalina to safety is an act of love and self-destruction. The cost is his own freedom, and the consequences are immediate and brutal. The illusions of power, loyalty, and destiny are stripped away, leaving only the raw truth of what the characters are willing to give—and lose—for each other.
The Storm Before Dawn
The story closes with the survivors regrouping, mourning, and vowing to fight on. The bonds of love—between mates, siblings, friends—are both wound and salve. The dawn is uncertain, the future fraught with peril, but hope endures. The storm has not passed, but the promise of reunion and redemption lights the way forward.
Characters
Rosalina O'Connell
Rosalina is the daughter of Queen Aurelia and a human father, making her both fae and mortal, a living link between the realms. Her journey is one of self-discovery, compassion, and sacrifice. She is fated mate to four princes—Keldarion, Ezryn, Farron, and Dayton—and, ultimately, to Caspian, the Prince of the Below. Rosalina's greatest strength is her empathy, her refusal to give up on those she loves, even when betrayed. Her magic is rooted in change and connection, and her struggle is to balance the demands of destiny with the call of her own heart. Her compassion is both her power and her vulnerability, and her growth is marked by the courage to claim her legacy and choose her own path.
Keldarion, High Prince of Winter
Keldarion is the stoic, duty-bound Prince of Winter, cursed to become a beast each night. His love for Rosalina is fierce, but he is haunted by past betrayals—especially his broken bond with Caspian. As the Sworn Protector of the Realms, he carries the weight of leadership and the scars of war. Keldarion's journey is one of learning to trust, to forgive, and to let himself be vulnerable. His relationship with Caspian is a study in longing, regret, and the hope of redemption. Keldarion's strength is his loyalty, but his greatest challenge is to open his heart fully, even when it risks being shattered.
Ezryn, High Prince of Spring
Ezryn is the fierce, disciplined Prince of Spring, exiled from his realm after a series of tragic choices. His relationship with Rosalina is marked by intensity and guilt, and his rivalry with his brother Kairyn is a central conflict. Ezryn's struggle is to reconcile his need for justice with the possibility of mercy, to find peace within himself after years of violence. His journey with Delphia and Nori, and his ultimate refusal to kill his brother, mark his growth from vengeance to wisdom. Ezryn's love is both a weapon and a healing force, and his arc is one of learning to forgive himself.
Farron, High Prince of Autumn
Farron is the gentle, intellectual Prince of Autumn, burdened by the failures of leadership and the loss of his mother. His love for Dayton and Rosalina is deep and selfless, but his desperation to save those he loves leads him to embrace the forbidden power of the Green Flame. Farron's arc is a meditation on the cost of resurrection, the temptation of power, and the line between love and obsession. His actions to bring Dayton back blur the boundaries between heroism and hubris, and his struggle is to remain true to himself while wielding forces that could unmake the world.
Daytonales, High Prince of Summer
Dayton is the charismatic, wounded Prince of Summer, haunted by the loss of his family and the burden of leadership. His journey is one of reclaiming his realm, breaking his curse, and accepting his mate bond with Rosalina and Farron. Dayton's strength is his resilience, his ability to find hope and humor even in despair. His death and resurrection are the emotional climax of the story, forcing all around him to confront the limits of love and the price of miracles. Dayton's arc is one of learning to accept love, to forgive himself, and to become the leader his people need.
Caspian, Prince of the Below
Caspian is the enigmatic, seductive Prince of the Below, son of Sira and the Green Flame. Never fully belonging to any world, he is both villain and ally, betrayer and savior. His love for Keldarion and Rosalina is genuine but fraught with guilt and self-loathing. Caspian's struggle is to resist the destiny imposed by his parents, to choose love over power, and to find a place where he belongs. His final bargain to save Rosalina is an act of self-sacrifice, and his arc is a meditation on the possibility of redemption for even the most lost.
Wrenley / The Nightingale
Wrenley is Rosalina's half-sister, stolen by Sira and raised as the Nightingale, an assassin and spy. Her life is marked by manipulation, loneliness, and the desperate need for belonging. Disguised as Dayton's mate, she is both victim and perpetrator, her actions shaped by Sira's control and her own pain. Wrenley's arc is one of tragedy and the hope of redemption, as Rosalina's compassion offers her a chance at peace. She is a mirror of what Rosalina could have become, and her struggle is to break free from the chains of her mother's bargain.
Sira, Queen of the Below
Sira is the original outcast, the architect of the Below and the mother of monsters. Her envy of Aurelia and her need to create drive her to ever greater acts of destruction and manipulation. Sira's love is poisonous, her bargains always double-edged. She is both a tragic figure—forever denied acceptance—and a terrifying force, willing to sacrifice anything for power. Sira's arc is a warning of what happens when love curdles into obsession.
Queen Aurelia / Anya O'Connell
Aurelia is the legendary Queen who saved the fae, but her story is one of exhaustion, regret, and impossible choices. Her love for George and her daughters leads her to bargains with Sira that cost her everything. Aurelia's arc is a meditation on the limits of power, the cost of leadership, and the hope of redemption through her children. She is both a myth and a mother, her legacy living on in Rosalina and Wrenley.
George O'Connell
George is Rosalina's human father, whose love for Anya/Aurelia and his daughter is unwavering. His life is bound to Castletree, and his journey is one of searching, loss, and reunion. George is the embodiment of steadfastness, the ordinary hero whose love endures across worlds and bargains. His presence grounds the story, reminding all that the greatest magic is love.
Plot Devices
Interwoven timelines and mythic backstory
The narrative is structured around the interplay of ancient myth, recent history, and present action. The story's emotional stakes are heightened by the constant presence of the past—wars, bargains, betrayals—echoing in every character's choices. Flashbacks, visions, and prophecies are used to foreshadow and deepen the sense of fate and inevitability, while also allowing for the possibility of change.
Curses, bargains, and mate bonds
The central plot devices are magical bargains (with Sira, the Fates, and between lovers), curses that transform and test, and the mate bonds that tie characters together across realms and destinies. These devices serve as both obstacles and opportunities, forcing characters to confront the cost of love, the limits of power, and the possibility of redemption. The rules of magic are both strict and mutable, allowing for surprise reversals and hard-won victories.
Multiple points of view and shifting alliances
The story is told through the eyes of many characters, each with their own secrets, wounds, and desires. This allows for deep psychological exploration and the constant shifting of alliances. Betrayal and forgiveness are recurring motifs, and the reader is never allowed to rest in certainty about who can be trusted. The use of unreliable narrators and hidden motives keeps the tension high and the emotional stakes personal.
Thematic use of setting and transformation
The settings—Castletree, the Below, the arena, the labyrinth—are not just backdrops but living symbols of the characters' struggles. Transformation (physical, magical, emotional) is a constant: characters become beasts, sirens, or something new; cities are destroyed and remade; love turns to hate and back again. The world itself is mutable, reflecting the story's themes of change, loss, and hope.
Foreshadowing and prophecy
Prophecies, visions from the Fates, and the ever-present threat of destiny create a sense of inevitability, but the story's heart is in the struggle to change what seems fated. Foreshadowing is used to build suspense and to give emotional weight to choices, especially when characters defy or fulfill the prophecies that haunt them.
Analysis
Elizabeth Helen's Broken by Daylight is a lush, emotionally charged fantasy that weaves together romance, myth, and the high stakes of war and family. At its core, the novel is about the cost of love—how it can heal, destroy, and ultimately redeem. The story interrogates the nature of destiny: are we bound by the bargains and wounds of the past, or can we choose a new future? Through its complex, deeply flawed characters, the book explores the tension between duty and desire, the pain of betrayal, and the hope of forgiveness. The use of curses and mate bonds literalizes the emotional chains that bind us, while the ever-present threat of the Below and the Green Flame externalizes the darkness within. The novel's greatest strength is its refusal to offer easy answers: every victory comes at a cost, every act of love risks loss. Yet, in the end, the message is one of hope—the possibility that, even in the face of overwhelming darkness, compassion, courage, and connection can break the cycle and bring about a new dawn.
Last updated:
