Princess Faraine Cyhorn of Gavaria is in quite the pickle. Although she's only been in the Under Realm a short while, she finds herself a prisoner of King Vor the Shadow King, in the city of Mythanar, despite the fact that she came here as his wife-to-be. Well, her sister Ilsevel did, and Vor was pretty angry when he found out the sisters were swapped on him after Ilsevel's death using an ancient Gavarian law and a bit of magic. It's convoluted, but Vor was angry enough to put Faraine's head on a chopping block over the deception and fortunately, he backed it down to imprisonment until he can figure out next steps. There's also the fact that he loves Faraine and was only marrying her sister for the better peace treaty, so there's that.
While Vor has ended up with the bride he truly wanted, he doesn't like being made a fool of, and since Faraine is not a favored child of her father, King Larongar, will he still uphold the agreement to send his Miphate mages to help with what is happening in Mythanar? Who knows, since clearly the human king can't be trusted. And Vor has many more problems on his hands besides Faraine. There's the fact that someone close to him poisoned him with concentrated raog poison, which caused him to fly into the rage that almost cost the girl her head. There's also the fact that a wicked gaseous form of raog poison is being belched up from far below the Under Realm and is infecting cities all around Mythanar, driving their inhabitants into an insane rage and then suicide. When will it come for Vor's beloved city and people of Mythanar?
While Vor waits for word from King Larongar on the alliance, a few other things take place. For one, there are rumblings in Mythanar, mini earthquakes that are increasing in intensity and have to do with whatever lies deep below the Under Realm, and also with the release of the raog. More and more cities are also being infected with the deadly gas and falling as a result of it. Further, those trolde folk who subscribe to the religion of the Deeper Dark, which include Vor's stepmother, Queen Roh, are happy to give themselves over to whatever happens and quite frankly, would prefer to turn to stone altogether, as it seems a preferable end for them. However, there's something odd afoot, with the occasional blood sacrifice, and it's just one more thing to cause Vor concern.
When Vor finds himself flying into yet another rage and almost harming Faraine, he realizes he has been poisoned once again, and this comes on the heels of Faraine almost being murdered by one of Vor's ministers, who was also poisoned with raog. Poor Faraine might just be safer going back home, but can Vor bear to lose her again, despite the crazy circumstances that brought her to him?
When Vor sends his half-brother Sul on a mission to find out what may have happened to a town that has fallen silent, part of him hopes that will clear Sul of being a poisoning suspect and the other part, well, that depends on whether Sul is working against Vor or not. Suffice it to say that things don't go as planned, good trolde men die, and Vor and his right hand woman, Hael must go save Sul... if he is even still alive.
Back at the palace, and before Vor must go help Sul, Faraine and her blue-tinged maybe-husband grow closer, despite Vor's best attempts at distance from the girl, and Faraine also learns that the ancient Urzul crystals scattered about the royal gardens call to her and the pendant hanging from her neck. She longs to discover why the crystal she so relies on to ground her when her gods gift is bombarding her with everyone's emotions, has come from this strange land that she's only visited for the first time. It's a mystery for sure, but her connections with the Urzulhar Circle, the gigantic circle of powerful crystals and the oldest site in Mythanar, will definitely come into play when Mythanar and its denizens come under heavy attack. Will Vor and Faraine survive the onslaught to give themselves time for their love to blossom? Only time will tell, but something dark and powerful continues to stir beneath the Under Realm and it is definitely getting more angry.
Once again, an additional chapter is available at the end of the story, something new for this paperback release. It focuses on Hael, Vor's right hand who also happens to be in love with his half-brother, Sul. The scene that plays out between Hael and Sul occurs as Sul is being sent off on his mission for Vor and while not necessary, it shows a bit more of the dynamic between the pair, as Hael presses for answers about Vor's poisoning, while Sul attempts to distract her. It's a nice little extra and fans will enjoy the insight and, ahem, the fleshing out of their story.
On the whole, Vow of the Shadow King is another good entry, but a bit more steamy than the first book. It's also got a lot more trope-y romance such as Vor's brutish behavior towards her (poisoned as he was) and her visceral response to it. It's not really my thing, in general, but the story is still quite good and I am interested to see where it goes and how things play out. Look for the third and final installment soon!
