The Crimson Throne by Sara Raasch and Beth Revis

Here is a summary with spoilers for The Crimson Throne by Sara Raasch and Beth Revis

In a prologue, Mary Queen of Scots is pregnant in her castle, and her guards are preparing for a battle coming her way, as Queen Elizabeth is coming to infiltrate her queendom. Mary has to find a spot to deliver her baby safely.

Mary Queen of Scots has delivered her baby. The kingdom is still fragile, and Alyth Graham wants to make sure to protect her Queen. Though she will protect her, Alyth is not human; she is the half daughter to the Prince of the Seelie Court, the Fae Realm. She is in charge of protecting the border between the human world and the fae, and also protecting Queen Mary from her horrid husband, Lord Darnley. Alyth is among the most powerful protectors in the guardians sworn to support the barrier keeping the Red Caps, a bloodthirsty clan of fairies, away from the Fae Land portals.

Samson Calthorpe has been living on the streets of London. While part of a very prominent family, Samson was cursed by an object from Queen Mary and now cannot be with his family. Though one day his father, Cecil, sees some use for him. He wants to send Samson as a spy to the Scottish Court. Not only do they want him to spy for Queen Elizabeth, they also want him to uncover other faerie relics. Seeing a way out of his terrible curse, Samson takes the opportunity. They create papers for him and come up with a lie to sneak him right into Mary’s court.

While loyal to her Queen Mary, Alyth still has an agenda she has to do for her father’s court. Though she is terrified of him and often sees her father in her nightmares. On a mission for her court, Alyth ends up killing a man using fae magic, and to her dismay, someone sees it all happen. He introduces himself as Samson and says he is a new royal looking for his way up to Mary’s Court. Alyth is immediately suspicious of him, but the two stick together and travel to the castle together.

Samson cannot believe his luck. He ran into Alyth, a woman who claims she is Queen Mary’s handmaid. He starts to think this mission might not be as bad. The two get to the castle and Samson’s job begins. He has to start acting and playing his part. Even more so, he meets Lord Darnley, Mary’s husband. At first, Samson believes that they are on the same side, but as their conversation grows, Samson realizes that he does not much like Lord Darnley.

Though Alyth is highly suspicious of Samson, he is still given permission to have a private meeting with Queen Mary.

Samson starts searching and snooping around the castle for anything to help his curse and for hidden relics. Alyth keeps an eye on him, and she recognizes his amulet. While the two do not agree on much, and they both have things they need to do for their kingdoms, they both agree on one thing. They do not trust Lord Darnley, and they may be able to work together to figure out what he is up to, though part of Samson’s job is to work with Darnley and make him think they are on the same side.

The two have a tentative relationship with each other but are continually drawn to each other. As they work together, Alyth is drawn to Samson and learns about his curse where he will sometimes pass out. She wants to help, so she offers to take him to the fae world. Though during the walk there, she pulls a fae trick on him and binds Samson to her, though Samson does not fully realize what he has done. One of the first things they run into is a fae party, and the two decide to dance together. Their dancing turns into sharing their first kiss, and Samson admits that he has feelings for her. Alyth admits the same. Soon after, once the party effects have worn off, they both admit that their love still stands even without the fae magic.

Alyth takes Samson to the Winter fae Queen. Alyth reports to her sometimes, and she is sometimes a middleman between Alyth and her father. Alyth also asks for help with Samson. The Queen does not have any suggestions about the curse, but tells them to go visit a nearby witch to see if she knows anything.

While talking to the witch, Samson passes out due to his curse, and the witch inspects him. She tells Alyth it is no curse, that he is a Red Cap, and that when he passes out it is a way for people to control him and overtake him. The witch tells Alyth to kill him while he is asleep, as it will be much easier. Alyth does not want to, and the witch tells her it is her sworn duty to do so, but she still cannot kill a man she loves. She waits for Samson to wake and tells him everything she learned. Samson wants Alyth to kill him so he does not do anything terrible without knowing. Alyth still refuses, saying that she cannot kill a man she loves.

The two return back to Queen Mary’s court. Alyth goes to her and tells her to stop the young prince’s festivities, as the Red Caps have found a way to get into her court. Mary does not care and refuses to stop the parties. She claims she finally has a reason to celebrate and nothing will stop her.

Samson goes to Lord Darnley, who is upset with him. He wants Samson to kill Alyth for him, and claims that the girl got under his skin and that there is no love involved with them. Lord Darnley then puts Samson in his Red Cap state and sends him into Queen Mary’s party.

Since Alyth cannot get the party to stop, she decides to go and stay next to Queen Mary to protect her. She sees Samson enter, but his eyes are different. She knows he has been overtaken. He starts attacking and Alyth tries to stop him. She eventually gets him knocked out and he is taken to the prison. Alyth goes to meet with the Queen and her counselors. They decide that Alyth will be the one to interrogate him and figure out what is next, but Queen Mary reveals that she already has a plan set in motion. She hired someone to blow up Lord Darnley in his estate with all of the explosives that are stored there. The man is already on his way to start the fire. Soldiers then come in and say that Lord Darnley’s men came in, took Samson, and he escaped.

Samson realizes that he is missing some memories, which means he was turned into a Red Cap again and there was nothing he could do about it. He wants to find Alyth and have her kill him because he does not want to be responsible for any death, nor does he want to be a puppet for Lord Darnley. Samson then arrives at Lord Darnley’s estate, and he realizes some things are off and that someone is there setting things off. He tries to call things off and tell people to run, but it is too late. Samson feels the heat and passes out.

Alyth realizes that Samson is being taken to the estate and, though it might be too late, wants to go after him. She sees the explosion from far away and hopes that Samson was far enough away. She also realizes that the explosion is probably big enough that it is going to burn down a lot of Edinburgh. As she runs, she finds Samson’s body, and he is still alive. She coaxes him awake. The two have a small moment and she says that she will always protect him. Cecil, Samson’s father, arrives soon after and takes both Alyth and Samson. He tells Samson that he needs to kill Alyth, and Samson refuses.

In an epilogue, the Queen of England is getting ready for battle and knows that her infiltration into the Scottish Court has been working. She has a lot more planning to do.