Chapter 1

The High Fae were facing extinction, their bloodlines withering away.

Valerius, the Crown Prince of the Shadow Realm, was a terrifying force of nature—ruthless and utterly cold.

I am Ella, a mere human who accidentally fell into a Shadow Rift, a mortal girl with nothing but survival on my mind.

Left with no other choice, I snuck into this Crown Prince's bed in the dead of night.

On the day he pierced my chest to take my heart-blood to save the Witch Princess, I faked my death and ran away—carrying his half-Fae babies in my belly.

Years later, I was busy preening the starry wings of my seven little miracles.

He found me, dropping to his knees, as pathetic and desperate as an abandoned hound.

"Ella... do you really not want me anymore?"

......

It all started because I was chasing a stray gray rabbit and accidentally fell into a glowing rift.

I just wanted to catch it for dinner. Instead, I stepped into nothingness and woke up in this godforsaken, alien world.

Before I could even process what was happening, a group of Shadow Guards had me tied up tight.

Growing up in an orphanage taught me one thing: fight to survive.

So when they dragged me all the way there and slammed me onto the cold obsidian floor of the great hall, I just stared at my surroundings, looking for an exit.

But when a griffin the size of a giant bear emerged from the shadows, snapping its blood-stained beak and lunging at me, I thought I was dead meat.

Right then, a terrifying blast of black mist erupted from the throne.

The man sitting there had lost control. Massive black tentacles swept through the hall in an instant, tearing the once-arrogant guards into bloody chunks on the spot.

Even the griffin cowered in the corner, shaking.

Yet one thick shadow-tentacle suddenly whipped out and wrapped around my ankle.

I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for death.

But the moment the horrifying black mist touched my skin, it miraculously stopped. Then, it rapidly retreated.

The man on the throne was panting heavily, his dark silver eyes locking onto me.

Like he'd just found the antidote to a deadly poison.

Queen Dowager Isolde marched in with her entourage.

She gave me a glance.

"This human can suppress Valerius's curse. Keep her as his breeder."

Curse? Breeder? I didn't understand a single word.

I only heard the terrified whisper of a trembling fae servant next to me.

"If you want to live, the easiest way... is to survive a night in Crown Prince Valerius's bed."

Just like that, I was unceremoniously dumped into the Crown Prince's courtyard.

Right at the entrance, a group of extravagantly dressed Fae noblewomen blocked my path.

They clearly despised the sight of me. One of them immediately kicked my ragged bundle of belongings into the filthiest mud puddle.

It wasn't until dusk that I finally got a clear look at the Crown Prince.

He was covered in unhealed scars, and his aura was terrifyingly cold and dark.

But that face... he was breathtakingly gorgeous.

"You're... devastatingly beautiful," I blurted out.

Valerius paused, seemingly amused by me.

He leaned in and inhaled my scent, confirming that my presence did indeed quiet his curse.

But that single interaction completely pissed off the Fae ladies in the courtyard.

From that day on, they escalated their torment.

Whether it was verbally humiliating me as "human filth" or deliberately withholding my winter clothes and food.

I shivered in a freezing side room, starving for days without even a sip of water.

My vision blurred, and my body grew dangerously numb.

I realized with chilling clarity that no one was coming to save me—they were simply waiting for me to freeze and starve to death. If I didn't take matters into my own hands, I wouldn't survive another night.

When the hunger became unbearable, I remembered the little servant's words.

Just one night in the Crown Prince's bed, and I would live. I would get to eat.

So, taking advantage of the guards dozing off in the middle of the night, I snuck into Valerius's master bedroom.

I climbed straight into his massive bed and buried myself under the covers.

It wasn't long before Valerius returned.

He noticed the lump in his bed immediately. He stood by the mattress, his presence overwhelmingly oppressive.

"Come out."

I braced myself and poked my head out, timidly patting the empty space beside me.

"Your Highness, I... should we sleep together?"

Valerius narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint in them.

"Name."

"Ella," I answered honestly.

His large frame hovered over me. The black mist inside him began to churn again, his breathing turning heavy.

He planted his hands on either side of me, veins bulging on the backs of his hands as if he was desperately suppressing the instinct to tear me apart on the spot. "I need you right now, Ella. Can I?"

Need me? I figured he needed my scent to soothe his curse, just like the first time we met.

My mind was solely focused on the trade.

"If I say yes... you'll give me food, right?"

He froze for a second. His rigid jawline relaxed slightly, a flash of surprise crossing his silver eyes before it melted into a low, helpless chuckle.

The thought of food instantly gave me a desperate burst of courage. I nodded, my voice frail but resolute.

"Then do it quickly, please... I just need to eat."

As soon as the words left my mouth, his lips crashed down on mine. It was a scorching, deep kiss filled with frantic desperation.

In just a few strokes, he shredded the remaining scraps of fabric on my body to nothing.

Suddenly, a tearing, agonizing pain jerked me wide awake.

I pushed desperately at his chest.

"It hurts! Stop, I don't want to eat anymore!"

I cried and thrashed beneath him.

He panted low, his scalding breath washing over my neck.

His thumb gently wiped away my tears.

Then he lowered his head, pressing soft, fluttering kisses to the tip of my nose, the corners of my eyes, and my tightly clenched lips, coaxing me like a frightened little beast.

But the curse inside him had found its outlet, causing him to violently swing between fleeting tenderness and beast-like ferocity.

He pinned me down and ruthlessly claimed me for most of the night before finally stopping.

Afterward, completely drained, I clung to him with a death grip.

"A deal is a deal. I want my food."

Valerius gave a resigned sigh and gently ruffled my hair.

Not long after, he had someone bring in several massive platters of piping-hot roasted meat, along with some healing salve.

"From tonight on, you are under my protection," he dropped the sentence.

And just like that, a human like me, who had fallen into the Shadow Realm only days ago...

Bafflingly became the first person to ever sleep with the Shadow Crown Prince.