One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, #1)

by Rachel Gillig

Death at his door, and the boy still understands you better than the rest of these fools.

“So everyone except me and the magically disturbed woman?” “Disturbed?” the Nightmare and I called at once.

You cannot undo what already begins. He paused, his voice serpentine as it flickered past my ears. You cannot erase the salt from the din. But if you won’t let me out… you must let him in.

I pressed my head to his chest, lost to the sound of his heartbeat against my ear. It stretched on and on, an eternal beat, a false promise.

Emory’s hand shook. When he spoke, his voice was strange—slippery. “There once was a girl,” he said, “clever and good, who tarried in shadow in the depths of the wood. There also was a King, a shepherd by his crook, who reigned over magic and wrote the old book. The two were together, so the two were the same…” He did not have to say the rest. I knew it by heart. “The girl, the King…” I breathed. The Nightmare’s voice burned through my mind. And the monster they became.

This game is a war, darling, the Nightmare called. And the Chalice—the truth—is the greatest weapon of all.

“Are you still pretending?” I said, reveling in his gaze. Ravyn gave a surprised laugh and, in front of everyone, leaned in and kissed me. “I never was,” he whispered into my lips.

Are you going to let him suffer like this? the Nightmare whispered. I shut my eyes tighter. What will he think of me? Does it matter? Of course it matters. He matters. So don’t lie to him.

god i love the nightmare

Behind my eyes, the Nightmare waited. Be kind to him, I whispered.

“Be safe,” I whispered to the wind as Ravyn Yew disappeared beyond the gate. Had I known they’d be the last words I’d say to him aloud, I might have chosen them differently.

Be wary. Be clever. Be good.

Do you trust me, Elspeth? I blinked through the blur of tears. Do I have a choice? My darling, you’ve always had a choice.

THIS HAD MY EYES WELLING WITH TEARS