Rings of Fate Summary: Fake Engagement Romantasy
TL;DR
A crown prince with legendary magic fused into his bones.
A sharp-tongued barmaid who agrees to a fake engagement for gold and protection.
Together, they must cross a desert kingdom to find the only person who can break his curse before an invading army destroys everything.
Rings of Fate by Melissa de la Cruz is a New Adult romantasy set on the continent of Albion, where elemental winds called the Anemoi shape kingdoms and ancient magic lingers in bloodlines.
The novel follows Prince Dietan and Aren Bellamore as they navigate political intrigue, dark magical monsters, and their own buried traumas.
What You Need to Know?
- Genre: New Adult Romantasy / High Fantasy Romance with alternating first-person POVs
- Core Hook: A cursed prince fuses the Rings of Fate into his spine as a child, gaining uncontrollable wind magic. He hires a barmaid to pose as his fiancée while secretly hunting for a sorcerer who can remove the curse.
- Central Relationship: Prince Dietan and Aren Bellamore move from a business arrangement to genuine love as they survive bandit attacks, desert storms, imprisonment, and a palace revolt.
- Key Themes: Duty versus personal choice, facades versus true character, class prejudice, trauma and guilt, and resistance against tyranny.
- Structure: Four parts, 54 chapters, an epilogue, and an appendix detailing the history of Albion.
Characters In This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Aren Bellamore | A twenty-five-year-old barmaid at the Raven’s Beak tavern in Evandale who becomes Prince Dietan’s fake fiancée. |
| Crown Prince Dietan | The Crown Prince of Loegria who carries the fused Rings of Fate under his shoulder blades, granting him uncontrollable wind magic. |
| General Marcus | Dietan’s loyal general and childhood friend who falls in love with Sonja Bellamore. |
| Lord Jared Gruffudd Mackenzie | Dietan’s aristocratic best friend and the 8th Duke of Glamorgan who becomes betrothed to Ophelia Bellamore. |
| Ophelia Bellamore | Aren’s eighteen-year-old twin sister, an artistic beauty who marries Lord Jared. |
| Sonja Bellamore | Aren’s eighteen-year-old twin sister, a graceful dancer who falls in love with General Marcus. |
| King Osian / Prince Namreth | Dietan’s banished great-uncle, a tyrannical sorcerer who rules the city of Engel and wields the Unseen Death. |
| Princess Katharine of Penrith | The exiled princess and warrior leader of a hidden desert rebel village in the Great Waste. |
| Jingu | Princess Katharine’s devoted wife and fellow leader in exile. |
| Arnfried | Katharine and Jingu’s son, operating undercover as a servant in Castle Engel. |
| Lydia | Aren’s Loegrian bridal attendant and body double who is kidnapped and murdered by Penrith assassins. |
| Bing | A one-handed cook at Castle Engel and leader of the kitchen resistance who sacrifices his life for the escape. |
| Siena | A fifteen-year-old scullery maid in Castle Engel who aids Aren in obtaining the poisonous devil’s breath flower. |
| Lord Breadalbane | The Marquis of Evandale who attacks Aren and colludes with dark forces. |
| Veteria | A reclusive, blind elder sorceress living near Evandale who reveals the true nature of the Rings of Fate. |
| Cedric & Liesl | Dietan’s deceased childhood best friend and past lover, both accidentally killed by early outbursts of his Whisting magic. |
Rings of Fate Summary: The Full Story
Spoiler Warning: This section contains major plot points, including the ending.
In the Alarician village of Evandale, twenty-five-year-old Aren Bellamore works as a barmaid at the Raven’s Beak tavern to support her elderly father and her twin sisters, Ophelia and Sonja. She dreams of traveling once her sisters are married.
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Crown Prince Dietan of Loegria arrives in Evandale under the guise of a public “Wedding March” to select a noble bride and satisfy a treaty between Loegria and Alarice. In truth, he seeks Veteria, a reclusive sorceress rumored to know how to unbind magic.
Twelve years earlier, a ten-year-old Dietan touched the legendary Rings of Fate, causing them to fuse irreversibly under his shoulder blades.
The Rings grant him terrifying wind magic called the Whisting that surges uncontrollably during nightmares or strong emotion, threatening his life and those around him.
Dietan meets Aren in disguise at her tavern. That evening, Lord Breadalbane drugs and attacks Aren in an alley. Dietan intervenes, instinctively releasing a burst of wind magic to knock out the assailants.
When Dietan gets lost in a storm searching for the sorceress, Aren tracks him down and leads him to Veteria’s cottage.
Veteria reveals that the Rings chose Dietan and warns that only King Osian, the mysterious ruler of the city of Engel deep in the Great Waste, possesses the knowledge to strip the magic from his body.
Soon after, a monstrous Kilandrar attacks the Raven’s Beak in search of the Rings. Dietan publicly proposes a fake engagement to Aren during her sister’s betrothal party to create a cover story for traveling across kingdom borders.
Aren agrees after seeing a royal guard killed by a Kilandrar, accepting Dietan’s deal of gold, travel, and protection for her family.
Dietan, Aren, General Marcus, and their royal escort travel south toward Loegria. In the port town of Fawnsreach, Aren’s bridal attendant and body double, Lydia, is kidnapped by enemy agents mistaking her for the prince’s bride.
Guilt-ridden, Dietan attempts to send Aren home for her safety, but Aren refuses to abandon the mission. While crossing the Bandai Bridge, bandits ambush the convoy.
Dietan’s Whisting flares, blasting a thief over the precipice while accidentally breaking a soldier’s arm.
The party discovers a Loegrian village burned to cinders by Penrith raiders and Kilandrar, followed by the gruesome sight of Lydia’s tortured corpse placed in the road as a warning.
That night, Dietan opens up to Aren about his deep trauma: his uncontrollable magic previously killed his childhood best friend, Cedric, and his first love, Liesl. He maintains a false reputation as a philanderer while remaining strictly celibate to avoid harming anyone. Aren comforts him, and their mutual trust deepens.
Reaching the border city of Alba, they visit the Temple of the Oracle, where a priest receives a divine vision and commands Aren never to leave Dietan’s side. As they attempt to cross the damaged bridge leading into Estyrion, a horde of Kilandrar attacks.
Dietan stays behind to fight them alone, channeling his magic to collapse a section of the bridge. The canyon swallows the monsters, but the destruction leaves Dietan and Aren isolated on the Estyrion side, separated from Marcus and the guards.
Dietan and Aren trek into the blinding, scorching desert of the Great Waste after stepping through an illusionary crystal mirage. Dehydrated and near death, they are rescued by a veiled warrior who turns out to be Princess Katharine of Penrith and her wife, Jingu.
Katharine warns Dietan that King Osian is a tyrant who enslaves travelers to build an indentured army. Undeterred, Dietan and Aren ride toward Engel. They survive a massive sandstorm only to be intercepted by an arrogant emissary who controls the Whisting and forces them to surrender their weapons.
Upon entering the gleaming, golden city of Engel, Dietan and Aren find it eerily deserted. They are led into Castle Engel and locked in a dungeon cell.
Brought before King Osian, they discover his true identity: he is Prince Namreth, Dietan’s banished, power-hungry great-uncle.
Namreth forces them to drink henbane-infused truth water.
To spare Aren from being tortured or held for ransom as a royal bride, Dietan uses the truth serum’s literal parameters to state that their engagement was a fake ruse and that he doesn’t love her, declaring her “nothing” but a common serving wench.
Heartbroken and unaware of his strategic lie, Aren spits on Dietan and is dragged away to serve in the castle kitchens, while Dietan is thrown back into the dungeon to be brutally whipped and repeatedly healed in a cycle of torture aimed at forcing him to surrender the Rings.
Working in the kitchens under the gruff one-handed cook Bing, Aren discovers a secret network of servant tunnels and meets an underground castle rebellion consisting of servants and exiles, including Siena, Lambert, Tess, Rosamond, and Katharine’s hidden son, Arnfried.
When Lambert reveals that Dietan is being tortured daily in the dungeon, Aren realizes Dietan lied during the henbane interrogation specifically to save her life, and she admits to herself that she loves him.
Aren hatches a daring escape plan. She sketches the blue devil’s breath flower for Siena, who retrieves it from the royal gardens. Aren bakes a dose of the paralyzing poison into a biscuit and slips it to Dietan in his cell, instructing him to “die.”
The poison slows Dietan’s heart rate and breathing to an imperceptible level, causing guards to declare him dead and toss his “corpse” into the morgue.
As Bing sacrifices himself to set off a distraction in the castle, Aren uses the secret tunnels to reach the morgue, revive Dietan with hartshorn, and drag his battered body out to a waiting escape carriage.
Aren nurses Dietan’s fever in a stable before they reach a rebel safehouse, where they are reunited with General Marcus and Lord Jared. Recognizing that Namreth intends to march his army across Albion, Dietan and Aren organize a counter-strike.
Disguised in servant silks and animal masks during a grand royal victory banquet, the rebels poison the military commanders’ desserts. Chaos erupts when a general dies prematurely. Namreth enters the hall and unleashes the Unseen Death, suffocating rebels and guests alike.
When Namreth turns his lethal magic on Aren, Dietan’s grief and desperation trigger the Whisting in full force. Dietan and Namreth lock in a catastrophic duel of wind cycloning across the hall.
Namreth uses the Unseen Death to choke Dietan, compressing his lungs.
Refusing to let him die, Aren breaks free from Marcus, runs into the eye of the storm, and kisses Dietan, breathing her own air directly into his mouth. Their romantic bond and combined life force allow Dietan to master the Whisting.
The Rings flare, stripping Namreth of his stolen magic and reducing him to a withered old man who collapses and dies.
With the curse broken, the scar on Dietan’s spine heals, and the physical Rings of Fate—one silver for Loegria, one gold for Alarice—unbind from his body and fall harmlessly into his hands.
Two weeks later at Lundenwic Castle in Loegria, Aren is reunited with her sisters Ophelia and Sonja, who are happily engaged to Lord Jared and General Marcus, respectively.
Walking through the palace gardens, Dietan gets down on one knee and presents Aren with the real gold Ring of Fate, proposing genuine marriage. Aren joyfully accepts.
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Who Should Read Rings of Fate?
This book may appeal to readers who enjoy New Adult romantasy with dual first-person perspectives, fake engagement tropes, and a blend of humor and high-stakes fantasy.
The story features a prince-and-commoner romance, a cursed protagonist, and a quest across kingdoms and deserts.
Readers who appreciate fast-paced plotting with alternating viewpoints, romantic tension built on mutual trust, and heroines with sharp wit and practical skills may find this book matches their interests.
The narrative includes scenes of torture, trauma, and magical violence alongside romantic and humorous moments.
Those who enjoy elemental magic systems, political intrigue, and resistance-against-tyranny storylines set in richly detailed fantasy worlds may also find this book suitable. The novel is the first in the Curses and Crowns series.
Books Like Rings of Fate
The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz: Also written by Melissa de la Cruz, sharing royal intrigue, secret deadly curses, high-stakes fantasy quests, and sharp romantic tension between mismatched partners.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas: A high-fantasy romance revolving around ancient magical curses, dark elemental monsters, class disparities, and a devoted female protagonist fighting for her family.
Mayhem and the Mortal by Shanora Williams: A high-chaos romantasy centered around an assassin, a baker, and an evil sorcerer, featured in the publisher’s promotional material at the conclusion of Rings of Fate.
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Book Snapshot
- Genre & Subgenre: New Adult Romantasy / High Fantasy Romance
- Core Narrative Tropes: Fake Engagement / Marriage of Convenience, Royalty x Commoner (Prince & Barmaid), Forced Proximity / Quest Road Trip, Cursed Chosen One / Fused Magic, Grumpy x Sunshine (Role-Reversed)
- Tone & Atmosphere: Sassy, adventurous, romantic, and humorous, blended with high-stakes epic fantasy tension and dark magical peril
- Primary Conflict: Internal: Dietan and Aren overcoming personal trauma, class barriers, and trust issues to accept their mutual love. External: Journeying to the Great Waste to remove the fused Rings of Fate from Dietan’s body before the evil forces of Namreth and the Usurper conquer Albion.
- Pacing Style: Fast-paced, episodic quest plotting with dual alternating first-person viewpoints (Aren and Dietan); progresses from small-town banter to cross-kingdom travel, desert survival, dungeon imprisonment, and an explosive palace revolt.
- ISBN: 978-1649376954 (ISBN-13) / 1649376952 (ISBN-10)
- Pages: 512
- Book Structure: Divided into 4 Parts, comprising 54 Chapters, an Epilogue, and an Appendix detailing the history of Albion:
- Part One: The Prince and The Barmaid (Chapters 1–17)
- Part Two: The Wedding March (Chapters 18–30)
- Part Three: The Great Waste (Chapters 31–42)
- Part Four: The Prince Is Dead (Chapters 43–54) & Epilogue
- Appendix: The History of the Lands of Albion
- Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
- Publication Date: January 6, 2026
