SHADOWS OF THE LAMP • BOOK 4

The Fae Masquerade

By Vesper Starforge

At the Fae masquerade, every beautiful mask is a trap.

Edwin Blackthorn has spent three months in hiding with Julian Thorne, carrying evidence against the Guild that is too dangerous to use and too important to abandon. In gaslamp London, enemies still move behind polished doors, altered loyalties, and respectable names. Then Lord Ashworth’s invitation arrives in silver ink, sealed with glamour and addressed to the part of Edwin that the Fae world refuses to leave untouched.

Julian recognizes the danger in the summons before the masquerade has even begun. His protective devotion and storm-fire magic have carried them through pursuit and conspiracy, but the Seelie Court plays by older rules than any London institution. For Edwin, the invitation offers not only peril, but the lure of belonging, power, and an inheritance written in blood and glamour.

At Ashworth Manor, winter roses bloom out of season, aristocrats smile too perfectly, and missing guests return colder than before. Behind the masks waits a conspiracy of changelings, court politics, magical bargains, and a hidden gate between London and a realm that remembers every debt. To expose the truth, Edwin and Julian must move through beauty designed to deceive and danger dressed as elegance.

But the deeper they step into the masquerade, the harder it becomes to know which face is real and which promise can be trusted. The Seelie Court wants what Edwin carries, the Guild wants him silenced, and every answer draws the men closer to a power that could claim them both. When glamour turns every certainty into a lie, their bond may be the only truth strong enough to survive.

The Fae Masquerade is an MM gaslamp fantasy romance mystery featuring an established male-male partnership, Fae court intrigue, changeling deception, gothic London atmosphere, supernatural suspense, and romantic loyalty tested by beautiful, dangerous magic.