One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, #1)

by Rachel Gillig

“It’s the nice ones you should look out for,” Ravyn said. I glanced up at him. “What about you, Captain? Are you too nice for your own good?” He watched me, something I could not read flashing in his gray eyes. “No, Miss Spindle,” he said. “I’m not nice at all.”

It was easier to hate him for being secretive and dishonest than admitting I hated myself for the same reasons.

“And what are we, Miss Spindle?” The intensity of his gaze sent me back a step. “Nothing,” I said. Then, for spite, “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Death by a thousand cuts, he groaned.

the nightmare is a swiftie

“How did you know I was here?” “You weren’t in your room.” He gestured around the garden. “If I was trying to avoid someone, this is where I would go.”

one dark window

nervous because you’re nervous.” “Or because she doesn’t know what you are,” Elm offered. Trust me, she knows exactly what you are, the Nightmare cackled. Watch this. His hiss radiated through me—an animal noise that seized my muscles—an invisible calling to the horse beneath me.

he’s such a brat

“Call me Elspeth,” I said. “We’re about to commit treason together, after all.”

“Of all the things I pretend at,” he said, his thumb drawing small, gentle circles along my waist, “courting you has proven the easiest.”

He slid his knife along the heel of my palm. I gasped, watching a trail of red beads escape the nigh-invisible cut Ravyn had just dealt. He pinched my flesh, pulling more blood to the surface. “Just a small cut,” he murmured. “Nothing too deep. No need to scar these beautiful hands.”

hot

“But that would mean I absorbed your soul when I touched the Nightmare Card. Which makes you… the Shepherd King.”

I KNEW IT

Children are strongest when their eyes are clear. Only then can they make their own choices. Only then are they truly free. Tell them. Tell them the truth.

We were the same, he and I. Gifted with ancient, terrible magic. Woven in secret, hidden in half-truths. We were the darkness in Blunder, the reminder that magic—wild and unfettered—prevailed, no matter how desperately the Rowans tried to stamp it out. We were the thing to be feared. We were the balance.

“It’s not safe to draw too close to me. I’m a liar, Elspeth. A traitor. And someday, there will be a reckoning.” He pulled back, his gray eyes tight with strain. “The highwayman meets the hangman. Always.”

god he’s so hot

“Then be a liar, Ravyn. Betray. Upturn the kingdom that would see you and me and Emory killed. The King keeps you close so he can control you. But you are the only one who can withstand his Scythe Card.”

“It is not they who bring the reckoning, Ravyn. It is you. It is us.”

I inhaled him, leather and smoke and cedar, settling into his arms like a rabbit in its warm, safe den. I had not fit into anyone’s arms like that since childhood.

cries

When the shadows grow long, when our names turn to dust, what we loved, what we hated, will spoil to rust. All will be forgotten, save one truth, unshaken… What did we do when the children were taken?

He looked me in the eye, kissed me hard, and yanked me to the cusp of the bed. “Can I kiss you?” My voice shook. “A bit late to ask, isn’t it?” “Not on your mouth, Elspeth.” His eyes turned wicked as he lowered himself to his knees, kissing the inside of my leg, the tips of his teeth edging over my skin.

Crows cawed from the yew trees, sounding a warning I did not yet understand.

oh no I’m scared

“Only a few moments now,” he said, his eyes turning to Ravyn. “Who wants to tell the truth first?”

OH GOD IM GONNA THROW UP

“But I did care about being more than what I was, Ione,” I said, my eyes stinging. “I wanted to be like you.”

“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.

“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.

STOP!!!!!!

The Nightmare used all our strength to rip the bladed glove off the Physician’s hand—bone snapping and skin sloughing. Then we shoved it, full force, into his throat.

:)

“Long live the King.”