Kingdom of Faewood Summary, Characters and Themes
Kingdom of Faewood by Krista Street is a fantasy novel that follows the journey of Elowen, a magically gifted being known as a lorafin, whose powers are both her burden and her worth in a world of dangerous enchantments, warring factions, and shifting allegiances. Imprisoned by a magical collar and treated as property by her guardian, Elowen yearns for autonomy and truth.
Her path collides with the enigmatic Dark Raider, Jax, setting off a chain of events that challenge her loyalty, reshape her identity, and expose devastating secrets about her past. This is a story of rebellion, betrayal, magic, and self-discovery.
Summary
Elowen’s life as a lorafin is one of quiet suffering and restrained potential. Kept under magical control by Guardian Alleron, she wears a collar that suppresses her formidable powers.
Though rare and revered for her calling abilities—used to speak to the dead, locate missing things, or see into the future—Elowen has little freedom, treated more as a magical tool than a person. With the kingdom’s Centennial Matches approaching, she is summoned by King Paevin to perform three demanding callings in one day.
Despite exhaustion, she complies, with each calling draining her further and reaffirming her place as a magical servant to the nobility.
After completing the rituals, Elowen is attacked mid-flight on her way home. Her gentle protector is killed, and she is abducted by the Dark Raider—Jax, a mysterious outlaw with a fearsome reputation.
He claims to need her calling abilities and brings her to his camp in the Wood, where he and his masked companions, all powerful fae males, shift into mythical brommel stags and traverse the land at incredible speed. Though Jax insists he will not harm her, Elowen is deeply wary.
He is not cruel, but he is commanding, and he does not ask—he takes.
Determined not to be used again, Elowen risks triggering her magic despite the collar’s restrictions, which causes immense physical pain and incapacitates her. She feigns prolonged weakness to delay Jax’s plans.
During a stop at an inn in Lemos, she seizes the chance to send a bird messenger to Alleron. Her guardian rescues her at dawn, only for their party to be swiftly ambushed by Jax’s group.
In a stunning reversal, Jax overpowers Alleron and captures him, revealing that Elowen was used as bait. The power imbalance between the supposed protector and the outlaw becomes clear, and Elowen’s trust in Alleron begins to crack.
Now in Jax’s control alongside Alleron, Elowen faces further revelations. She learns that Alleron murdered her birth mother upon discovering her shadow mark, a secret that shatters her.
Jax offers vengeance and exacts brutal psychic punishment on Alleron. Though Elowen is emotionally devastated, she chooses to help Jax in his quest to find someone important to him, using her powers to perform another calling.
This calling draws her into the Veiled Between, a realm of spirits, where she identifies a target residing in the Faewood Kingdom. The ritual nearly kills her, and Jax’s overwhelming magic intensifies her suffering.
Despite his earlier violence, Jax tends to her with tenderness, bathing her and offering comfort. Their connection deepens, but trust remains fragile.
When Jax leaves unexpectedly, promising freedom but failing to return, Elowen believes she has been abandoned. Attempting escape, she uncovers his true identity: Prince Adarian of the Stonewild Kingdom.
Upon his return, Elowen begs for release, but Jax’s companions argue that her knowledge of his identity is too dangerous. Reluctantly, he orders her imprisoned, breaking his promise and destroying the fragile trust that had begun to form between them.
As the emotional toll mounts, Elowen’s grief turns to rage. Her dream of freedom slips further from reach, and Jax—once her rescuer—becomes her new captor.
The psychological complexity of their bond is pushed to its breaking point.
Elowen’s journey with Jax takes another violent turn when Lordling Neeble ambushes their camp, grievously wounding Jax and abducting her. She fears a return to her former life of abuse and servitude, but Jax, surviving due to his brommel stag healing, returns with his allies to decimate Neeble’s forces.
He rescues Elowen and tortures Neeble to death in vengeance—not only for the kidnapping but also for past transgressions, including an assault on Elowen during a previous calling.
This brutal justice brings Elowen a strange sense of closure. Her sense of self begins to shift as she makes choices for herself for the first time—starting with picking her own clothes in a village marketplace.
This seemingly small moment signifies a deeper transformation: she is no longer ornamented property but a woman reclaiming her identity. She continues traveling with Jax and his group, her agency slowly returning as she learns more about herself and the complex world around her.
Jax, while still secretive, grows increasingly respectful of Elowen’s autonomy. He treats her with care, listens to her, and acknowledges her trauma.
Their relationship is filled with contradiction—tenderness born from captivity, trust blooming in the shadow of betrayal. Yet Elowen’s survival, resilience, and introspection give her strength.
She begins to understand her own power, not just as a lorafin but as someone capable of shaping her fate.
As the political stakes rise and the Centennial Matches continue to loom, Elowen stands at the center of a conflict that is both personal and world-changing. The powers that control her may not be those who wear crowns but those who manipulate truth, magic, and memory.
With each chapter, she inches closer to the truth—about her origin, her captors, and the untapped depths of her own strength. The road ahead is uncertain, but Elowen is no longer the passive girl in a collar—she is becoming something more.
Characters
Elowen
Elowen, the protagonist of Kingdom of Faewood, is a powerful magical being known as a lorafin, a rare creature whose gifts are both revered and commodified. From the onset, Elowen’s existence is one of captivity, marked by the magical collar around her neck that suppresses her abilities and symbolizes her subjugation.
Raised under the guardianship of Alleron, she is more a prized possession than a beloved ward, and her life is dictated by servitude masked as duty. Despite her outward composure and apparent compliance, Elowen harbors a sharp intellect, a deep yearning for freedom, and an unshakable resolve to claim her autonomy.
Her inner strength is most vividly seen when she deliberately triggers her own magic in defiance of her restraints, risking pain and death in an effort to reclaim control. Elowen’s evolution is a central force of the story—her emotional and psychological journey takes her from reluctant submission to calculated rebellion, from passive endurance to active self-definition.
Her growing disillusionment with Alleron, coupled with her complex relationship with Jax, marks her transition from a magical tool to a self-aware woman navigating betrayal, agency, and empowerment.
Jax (The Dark Raider / Prince Adarian)
Jax, known publicly as the Dark Raider and later revealed to be Prince Adarian of the Stonewild Kingdom, is a figure cloaked in contradiction. Ruthless in execution yet capable of astonishing tenderness, Jax straddles the line between villain and hero.
His initial act of abducting Elowen paints him as a feared outlaw, but his actions following the kidnapping suggest deeper, more complicated motives. He treats Elowen with a strange blend of detachment and protectiveness, restraining himself from using the same controlling magic that nobles employ.
Jax’s capacity for gentleness, particularly when he bathes and soothes Elowen after her ordeal in the Veiled Between, adds layers to his character, suggesting that his hardened exterior conceals deep personal pain and moral conviction. His loyalty to his kingdom, however, ultimately betrays his personal attachments.
When forced to choose between protecting his secret and honoring his promise to free Elowen, he chooses duty—thus revealing that even his intentions, however sincere, are bounded by his crown. Jax’s moral ambiguity, emotional vulnerability, and internal conflict elevate him beyond the trope of the romanticized rogue, making him one of the most compelling figures in the narrative.
Guardian Alleron
Guardian Alleron is a figure of oppressive authority in Kingdom of Faewood, serving as Elowen’s caretaker and captor. Outwardly, he fulfills the role of mentor and protector, but his treatment of Elowen is rooted in ownership and control.
He uses the magical collar not only to suppress her magic but to reinforce her inferiority and dependence. Alleron’s mask of guardianship shatters when he confesses under magical compulsion that he murdered Elowen’s mother upon discovering her shadow mark.
This act is not only monstrous in its own right but also reveals the depth of his fear and prejudice against anything that challenges the status quo. Alleron embodies institutional power, cloaked in justification and paternalism.
He manipulates, gaslights, and imprisons under the guise of safety and responsibility. Even after his downfall, Alleron remains a psychological presence in Elowen’s mind, representing the long-lasting scars of abuse and betrayal.
His character is a chilling portrayal of how authority can mask cruelty, and how those in power often claim to act for others’ good while destroying their autonomy.
Phillen, Trivan, Bowan, Lars, and Lander
The siltenite fae males who accompany Jax—Phillen, Trivan, Bowan, Lars, and Lander—serve as both enforcers of his will and mirrors to his command. Each is skilled, loyal, and capable of shifting into a brommel stag, symbolizing their elite status.
While they largely operate as a unit, subtle glimpses into their personalities emerge through their actions. Lars, for instance, is tasked with acquiring resources and appears more logistical and composed.
The group’s silence and efficiency point to years of shared history and trust, making them more than mere background characters—they are the muscle and moral compass of Jax’s rebellion. However, their presence also complicates the story, especially when they push Jax to prioritize secrecy over Elowen’s autonomy, leading to her renewed imprisonment.
These characters, while not as deeply developed as Jax or Elowen, play a crucial role in shaping the environment of trust, danger, and political tension that surrounds the main pair.
Lordling Neeble
Lordling Neeble is a detestable figure who represents the unchecked cruelty of the noble class. His ambush and abduction of Elowen are acts not of strategy but of domination.
Neeble’s prior abuses during magical callings and his clear intention to violate Elowen establish him as an irredeemable antagonist. He is driven by entitlement and sadism, using his power for personal gain and pleasure.
His swift and brutal demise at the hands of Jax reinforces the story’s moral alignment—those who exploit the vulnerable must face justice. Yet, his presence also reinforces the contrast between Jax’s dangerous but principled behavior and the nobles’ institutionalized depravity.
Neeble serves as a symbol of everything Elowen is trying to escape: the systematic abuse, the objectification of magical beings, and the arrogance of hereditary power.
Mushil
Mushil, though present only briefly, leaves a lasting emotional imprint on Elowen and the reader. As one of her guards and a rare source of kindness in her controlled world, Mushil represents a flicker of human decency.
His death during Elowen’s kidnapping marks the end of her illusion of safety and the start of her descent into a world filled with danger and shifting loyalties. Mushil’s gentle nature, especially in contrast to Alleron’s control, underscores the potential for compassion even within oppressive systems.
His loss is Elowen’s first brush with personal grief beyond her magical burdens, and his memory lingers as a benchmark of kindness amid a world of exploitation.
Themes
Enslavement and Autonomy
Elowen’s life is defined by control—her identity, her magic, and even her body are dictated by the enchanted collar imposed upon her by Guardian Alleron. This collar does more than just suppress her immense lorafin power; it represents her systemic captivity within a society that commodifies magical beings.
Elowen’s servitude is framed not only through magical restraints but also through emotional manipulation, as Alleron oscillates between fatherly affection and tyrannical ownership. The Centennial Matches, royal ceremonies, and magical rituals she is forced to perform reinforce how her talents are not hers to wield freely but are traded like currency in the hands of those with power.
Her journey, beginning with forced callings and culminating in her decision to attempt escape—even at the cost of her body—underscores her desperation for agency. Jax, initially another captor, becomes a paradoxical figure of both constraint and potential liberation.
His promise of freedom, followed by betrayal, creates a cycle of hope and disillusionment that highlights how deeply entrenched Elowen’s lack of autonomy is. When she finally chooses her own clothes, it seems trivial, but it marks a profound moment: her first self-directed act not governed by aesthetics or power politics.
The theme of autonomy permeates every interaction Elowen has, from magical rituals to emotional relationships, painting a harrowing portrait of a being striving to reclaim her right to choose—something that has been denied to her since birth.
Abuse and Betrayal
Elowen’s entire existence is shaped by betrayal cloaked in affection. Guardian Alleron, who raised her under the guise of love and care, is eventually revealed to be her mother’s murderer and a man who suppressed Elowen’s identity for his own gain.
This revelation is not only a personal betrayal but a devastating unraveling of every truth Elowen has held sacred. Her anguish is intensified when she realizes that even her collar—something she thought might one day be removed—is a permanent prison.
Jax, initially offering what seems like understanding and protection, later contributes to this emotional abuse through his own broken promises. Though he claims to respect her agency, his ultimate decision to imprison her again, driven by political fear and loyalty to his guards, echoes the same violation of trust Elowen suffered under Alleron.
The accumulation of betrayals—familial, romantic, and political—destroys Elowen’s ability to trust and leaves her in a state of emotional paralysis. These betrayals are not momentary conflicts; they are shattering realignments of her understanding of self and others.
Even moments of tenderness become tainted by the weight of broken promises. The theme underscores how cycles of abuse are perpetuated through power, how they distort love into control, and how recovery becomes a war between longing and self-preservation.
Identity and Self-Discovery
Raised as property and molded to perform on command, Elowen’s sense of self has always been filtered through the expectations of others. Her identity is reduced to her role as a lorafin—a rare magical being used for high-stakes rituals—but never allowed to explore what it means to be more than that.
Through her exposure to Jax and his group, Elowen encounters not just new forms of magic but new perspectives on freedom, agency, and choice. Her forced separation from Alleron and time in the woods remove her from the manipulative environment she has always known, allowing the beginnings of introspection.
Her gradual realization that she has never truly made a decision for herself begins with small moments: faking magical weakness, sending a bird courier, choosing her clothes. These are not trivial acts—they are the foundation upon which a new identity is built.
However, her journey is not linear. When Jax betrays her, the identity she was beginning to rebuild crumbles, illustrating how fragile self-perception can be when shaped in captivity.
Her inner battle reflects the complex process of redefining oneself outside the roles imposed by others. As she balances her magical nature, emotional trauma, and the uncertainty of her future, Elowen’s evolving identity becomes a narrative of reclamation—a struggle not to become someone new, but to finally become herself.
Power, Control, and Moral Ambiguity
Power in Kingdom of Faewood is never singular—it is political, magical, emotional, and deeply hierarchical. Elowen’s power as a lorafin makes her valuable, but she holds none of the control associated with it.
Her magic is funneled through collars, adaptors, and command structures that treat it as a resource to be exploited. Alleron embodies the hypocrisy of this system, using paternal care to mask brutal domination.
Jax, on the other hand, operates in the gray zone of moral ambiguity. Though his methods are violent and coercive—abducting Elowen, silencing her, orchestrating ambushes—his motivations often seem grounded in justice, love, and rebellion against tyranny.
This duality complicates Elowen’s perception of right and wrong. The people who offer her kindness still hurt her, and those who promise freedom may impose new chains.
The question of who truly wields power—and what they do with it—haunts every encounter. Even the Veiled Between, the spiritual realm Elowen accesses, functions under its own unknowable laws, reminding her that some powers are beyond comprehension or ownership.
The interplay of dominance, resistance, and morality raises persistent questions: Can one wield power ethically? Is intention enough to excuse action?
And most pressingly, what does true power look like when it is stripped of control?
Freedom and the Illusion of Choice
The longing for freedom saturates Elowen’s thoughts, actions, and decisions. Whether it’s the physical removal of her collar, the emotional release from Alleron’s abuse, or the psychological liberation from her past, freedom is both her dream and her torment.
However, the narrative consistently reveals how elusive and illusory that freedom can be. Even after escaping Alleron, she remains a prisoner to Jax.
Even after developing emotional intimacy, her fate is still decided by others. Her attempt to escape using forbidden magic only leads to further imprisonment, not because of failure but because of others’ fear.
The illusion of choice is made apparent every time Elowen thinks she has control only to discover another layer of manipulation or constraint. Even Jax, who claims to offer her choices, ultimately strips them away when pressured by his royal identity and comrades.
This theme suggests that freedom is not just the absence of chains or collars—it is the presence of agency, respect, and the power to determine one’s own fate. Elowen’s journey illustrates that until those elements are in place, what looks like freedom may simply be another kind of cage, dressed in kinder words but just as confining.