One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, #1)

by Rachel Gillig

Ravyn held out an open palm to them and waited. The Nightmare leaned forward, honing my eyes. We watched both men, bruised and bloody, place their White Eagle Cards onto Ravyn’s open palm. The moment the Cards touched the Captain’s hand, the white color disappeared.

What the fuck?? Hold on!

The salt stung my nose and her spite filled the air. I woke in the chamber, the Twin Alders Card there. And so, my dear kingdom, my Blunder, my land, The Cards fall to you, paid by my hand. For her price, it was final, our bartering done. I created twelve Cards… But I cannot use one.

Hmmmm

“What is your magic?” Ravyn did not answer with words. Instead, he held his right hand out between us. Slowly, he unfurled his fingers. There, nestled in the palm of his hand, devoid of light and color, were the two White Eagles. He gave me a fleeting glance. Then he turned his palm over and let the Cards fall. The moment the White Eagles left Ravyn’s skin, their color returned. I winced, blinded by light. The Cards fluttered to the ground, falling like two white beacons. They landed between our feet, their color and light as strong as any Providence Card.

Oh boy

“You can’t use them?” The Captain was statue still. “No. But neither can they be used against me. Such is the nature of my magic. Cards like the Chalice—the Scythe—have no effect on me.”

AND ELSPETH CAN USE ALL OF THEM OMG

“Cards lose their magic the moment they touch my skin. The Mirror and the Nightmare—and perhaps the Twin Alders—are the only Cards I can still use.”

BRO WHAT

Ravyn looked down his nose at me. I felt his hand press against the small of my back. “Trust me,” he said. “Pretending is half the work.” I met his gaze. “But I don’t trust you, Captain. How could I trust a man who hasn’t been forthright with me?”

Now is definitely NOT the time to kiss, but I definitely want one

My eyes turned to Emory, who had slipped out of his chair. When the boy saw me, his gray eyes widened. “The Nightmare,” he said, quoting The Old Book of Alders, swinging his finger at me as if he were conducting an invisible orchestra. “Be wary the dark. Be wary the fright. Be wary the voice that comes in the night.”

Uh oh

Before I could say anything—before I could even shiver—Emory heaved, hunching his back, and coughed blood on the stone floor. Shame, the Nightmare said. I was just beginning to like him.

Sir 😂

Weariness was king, and I his servant.

I carried my own lies by omission, kept my own secrets. Dark, dangerous secrets. Which perhaps was why Ravyn Yew enraged me so deeply. It was easier to hate him for being secretive and dishonest than admitting I hated myself for the same reasons.

“Jespyr, who is that?” Her eyes traced the man in armor. “Supposedly, he’s the Shepherd King. We’ve plenty of his likeness in this castle, collected by centuries of Yews.” I frowned, searching the wool. It felt like a forgotten dream, looking at the man with gilded armor. A reflection in water too murky to make out. The Nightmare paced behind my eyes, guarding himself with a heavy, resolute silence.

Is the Nightmare the Shepherd King?? 👀

Be wary. Be clever. Be good.

She opened her mouth to say something else, but she seemed to catch her tongue. Her eyes widened and she stared at me, her gaze caught on my face. I squirmed. “Jespyr?” “Sorry,” she said, blinking. “The light in here is playing tricks on me. For a moment your eyes almost looked yellow.”

Uh oh

Providence Cards are a gift. Their magic is measured. Neither they, nor those who wield them, risk degeneration. Still, be wary. Be clever. Be good. Nothing comes for free, especially magic. Providence Cards are a gift.

The twelve call for each other when the shadows grow long— When the days are cut short and the Spirit is strong. They call for the Deck and the Deck calls them back. Unite us, they say, and we’ll cast out the black. At the King’s namesake tree, with the black blood of salt, All twelve shall, together, bring sickness to halt. They’ll lighten the mist from mountain to sea. New beginnings—new ends… But nothing comes free.

THE MIRROR Be wary the violet, Be wary the dread. Be wary the glass and the world of the dead. You’ll fast disappear. You’ll tremble in fear. Be wary the glass and the world of the dead.

The Captain of the Destriers is dark and severe. Perched atop yew trees, his gray eyes are clear. Be wary his magic, be wary his fate. The Yews and the Rowans do not ready friends make.

On his belt rested the ivory hilt of his dagger, and when he drew it, my muscles tensed, the memory of the blade’s tip at my heart still vivid. But the blade did not touch me. Stepping to my side, Ravyn took the rose by the base and lifted it from the bramble of thorns, freeing it with a single cut. He held it for a moment and said nothing, the silence between us loud enough to drown out even the most enthusiastic morning birds.

Oh he’s a lover boy omg 😩🤧🫠

I looked at the rose, then back at his face. Trees, that face. Austerity and beauty. An imperfect, breathtaking statue.

Stupidly handsome

“It’s just a flower. Flowers don’t play games.” He offered it again, once more asking my permission. “May I?” This time, I nodded. He stepped to me and placed the rose atop my head, weaving its stem into the willow crown with strong, deft fingers. When he pulled back, his hand grazed the hair along my cheek.

MY HEART GAH

“You and I already carry strange magic. We’re the very things the book warns against, Miss Spindle.” He smiled, gesturing away from the house into the garden. “We needn’t be afraid of a little salt in the air.”

The stone chamber—enveloped by moss and vines—stood tall at the edge of the mist. How strange it looked, alone in the ruins, unmarked but for one dark window situated on its southernmost wall.

“One dark window” ROLL CREDITS 🎬

The purple light moved closer. I turned, watching the light. A moment later, Ravyn reappeared, close to me, a mischievous grin on his mouth. “You’re the only one I can’t sneak up on,” he said. My heart quickened, seeing his stern mouth turned by a smile.

What a flirt 😩🫶🏼

“But it’s just a voice, not a creature at all.” “How do you know?” “Because when he speaks—relaying my worst fears over and over in my mind—it’s not a stranger’s voice,” he said quietly. “It’s mine.”

So she’s the only one with a voice in her head and Ravyn negates the cards 👀

Elm’s riding was much the same as his overall demeanor. Pitiless and abrasive. By the time we entered the Black Forest, I felt so battered and winded I might have fallen off the horse a dozen times more. When we dismounted, the Prince let out a wheezing breath. “Trees!” he coughed. “Grip tight enough? It felt like I was wearing a corset.”

He’s growing on me 😂

“The Old Book says magic sways, like salt water on a tide. I believe the Spirit is the moon, commanding the tide. She pulls us in, but also sets us free. She is neither good nor evil. She is magic—balance. Eternal.”

“I came back to the road—alone—the next night. I kept to the forest for three days, hoping to catch a glimpse of you, to speak to you if I could.”

I adore him already

“There are so few of us, Miss Spindle. You are more special than you know. And it pains me to think I might have hurt you. I’m—sorry.” He paused. “Trees, I’m sorry.”

What a man 😭

When our hands touched, heat moved into my cheeks. “Call me Elspeth,” I said. “We’re about to commit treason together, after all.” The elusive half smile, cautious though it was, overtook Ravyn’s mouth. When he shook my hand, his calloused skin caught along my palm.

I LOVE THEM

THE IRON GATE Be wary the moss, Be wary the fence. Be wary the gate and the mist, dark and dense. It’ll stop all your tears. It’ll steal all your years. Be wary the gate and the mist, dark and dense.

I ran, my eyes cast backward for a final glance at the glow of the Iron Gate… And careened straight into my father.

Oh no

“It’s just that, sometimes when I look at you, I feel like I know you—understand you. And other times…” His brow furrowed. “Your eyes flash a strange yellow color. I feel a stillness about you I do not recognize. A darkness.”

Ope

I cast my thoughts inward, searching for the Nightmare, who, since the mayhem in the wood, had remained still. Strange, how quiet he felt when I was with Ravyn. Almost as if he was gone altogether. Almost.

Because Ravyn negates him!!

It felt good, provoking him. Better than it should.

He looked like a petulant boy, forced to endure niceties, brooding in all black. Painfully, unfairly handsome. He must have felt me watching him, because when he raised his gaze to mine, light returned to his eyes, the elusive half smile tugging at his mouth.

MY HEART

“You broke a wrist,” Ravyn said to his cousin. “You should at least be able to make me bleed.” Hauth launched the dagger through the air, clipping Ravyn’s jerkin just shy of the collar. I flinched, searching Ravyn’s tunic for blood. But the Captain of the Destriers pivoted, his foot loud as it landed on Hauth’s ribs and sent the heir to the throne back into the dirt. Then Ravyn stomped, full force, on the High Prince’s hand. A sickening snap echoed through the yard, followed by Hauth’s brutal scream.

WHAT A MAN OMG

“What just happened?” The Prince shrugged, his green eyes lingering on Ione’s shape in the distance. “Hauth broke your wrist, Ravyn mangled his hand. Balance.”

Because he liiiikkkkeeesss youuuuuuu

“Just a small cut,” he murmured. “Nothing too deep. No need to scar these beautiful hands.”

Oh he’s DOWN BAD

“Is this you pretending, Elspeth?” he said, the tip of his nose grazing mine. “Because if it is…” His breath stirred my eyelashes. “You’re very good at it.”

YES YES YES 😩🤧

I wanted him to run his hand over my mouth again—to feel the texture of his rough, hardened skin. My body was screaming, a mindless, impatient call for touch. His touch.

He drew me out of my Nightmare-infested mind into myself.

MY HEART 😭🥹

I ripped away from Ravyn, fighting to suppress a scream. But when I looked back at the stone, the knight was gone.

ELSPETH NO

Enough, Nightmare! Tell me the truth. Who is that man? Why do I keep seeing him? He is a vestige of the past, haunting the chamber he built for the Spirit of the Wood, nothing more than a memory of a man who once was. His voice grew harder. A man I once was.

So the Nightmare IS the Shepherd King!!

But it felt incomplete, my collection yet whole. And so, for the Nightmare, I bartered my soul. I put a hand to my mouth, fingers shaking. My voice came out hollow. “But that would mean I absorbed your soul when I touched the Nightmare Card. Which makes you… the Shepherd King.” A growl, a sneer—oil, bile. His voice called, louder than it had ever been, as if he was closer. Stronger. Finally, my darling Elspeth, we understand one another.

I FUCKING KNEW IT

They stopped speaking as Jespyr and I approached, their eyes turning to me. Warmth moved across my chest, swimming up my neck into my cheeks. When no one spoke, Jespyr let out a snort. “Clearly they’ve never seen a woman before.” I tried not to look at Ravyn, the memory of last night encasing me, the feel of his hand in my hair—his mouth on mine—still a shadow on my skin. I felt his eyes tracing me. When I finally raised my gaze, I caught the tail of a smile roving across his mouth, his eyes lingering on the rose in my hair.

And I’m just supposed to believe he doesn’t have feelings for her? PUH-LEASE

Something else drew me to the Captain of the Destriers. Something I had, caught up in our game of pretend, overlooked. Something ancient—born of salt. 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.

“I resisted,” Ravyn said, “because I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that first night on the forest road. And I realized at Equinox that the closer I let myself get to you, the less I’d want to be the King’s Captain—the less I’d want to pretend. And it’s dangerous for me, for my family, to stop pretending.”

Oh yeah he’s DOWN BAD in the best way possible 😭 I love a man that yearns

“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 I love him 😭🥹

This was him, letting me in—showing me the true Ravyn Yew. A man just as terrified of the future as I was.

🥹🥹🥹

“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.”

YES