Dreamslayer: A Novel
Harper Voyager, 2026
Agent: Jessica Watterson
From the bestselling author of the Five Crowns of Okrith series comes Dreamslayer, the first book in a dark romantasy series in which a devout acolyte must form an unholy alliance with the very monsters she was trained to destroy in a desperate quest for the truth—and her survival.
She was meant to become a dream. Instead, she fell in love with a nightmare.
Acolyte Praer Dundariff is only one year away from her ascension to the dream world, but when her friend dies with a chilling warning, Praer’s world fractures. Praer seeks comfort in the one place she can be her true self: her dreams. Inspired by a beautiful statue in the temple gallery, Praer imagines being in the arms of a dream warrior named Reverie.
But instead of the normal sleepy comfort of Reverie’s embrace, Praer loses control of her dream and Reverie gives her a violent warning never to return. As more temple secrets emerge, Praer abandons Reverie’s wishes and seeks her out in sleep. After all, Reverie is just a figment of Praer’s imagination, isn’t she? But when Praer returns to her dream, she discovers she’s not asleep at all but rather she’s portalled herself, not to the dream realm, but to Hell. Worse, the woman she’s fantasized about for years isn’t a dream at all, but a nightmare incarnate.
Trapped in Hell, Reverie knows that Praer is the only way to break her curse. Along with her other nightmare companions, Reverie drags Praer on a harrowing journey to the gates of Hell. On a death-defying quest to assemble the key to the gate, Praer finds herself caught between destruction and desire. Reverie is her sworn enemy and Praer knows if she can’t resist the pull of her nightmare, more than her heart will break.
Reviews:
"Dark and captivating, A.K. Mulford's Dreamslayer is a unique sapphic romantasy that had me hooked from the start. The story stayed with me long after I finished it, and I am eager to find out what happens next."
—Elayna R Gallea, bestselling author of Tethered
"A.K Mulford delivers an absolutely heart wrenching love story full of sapphic yearning, sharp tongues, and emotional turmoil in Dreamslayer and I may never recover."
—I.V. Ophelia, USA Today Bestselling author of The Poisoner Series
"A forbidden romance between a dream and a nightmare as they embark on a harrowing, gory journey into the depths of hell – Dreamslayer is the Sapphic Dante’s Inferno I didn’t know I needed."
—Steffanie Holmes, USA Today bestselling author of Fangs for Nothing