One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, #1)

by Rachel Gillig

“I’ve been saving it.” His eyes flickered to Ione. “For a rainy day.”

I feel like this is the understatement of the year . For a rainy day is crazy

My uncle sat, round and gray, as he always sat at the head of the table. But there was something strange about his eyes—something about his smile that I had not seen before. Something false.

Does this mean he has The Nightmare in his head too like she does? *EDIT* No he is a liar and a dirty dirty cheat and he SUCKS

“It’s a monster,” Lyn whispered, reaching out to touch it. “Don’t!” Aldrich cried, pulling his brother’s hand back. “It’s too old. You’ll rip it.”

Hmmm i wonder if Aldrich knows what happens if you touch it *EDIT* no in fact no one knows bc no one else has that power

But the Card did not tear.

“Providence Cards cannot be destroyed,” he said to his sons. “They are woven by old magic.”

Oh perfect

“Gifted,” my uncle muttered. “Infected with it, more like.”

This tells me he also has the Nightmare if he knows how awful it is....but idk

“How did he fashion them?”

Huh

“The mist spread, isolating us from neighboring kingdoms. Worse, children who tarried in it grew sick with fever, their veins darkening. Those who survived the fever often carried magical gifts like those the Spirit used to bestow, only more unruly—more dangerous.”

“But these children degenerated over time. Some grew twisted in their bodies, others in their minds. Few survived to adulthood.”

They call for the Deck and the Deck calls them back. Unite us, they say, and we’ll cast out the black.

The Deck of Cards? Providence cards?

But nothing comes free.

Unite all twelve Providence Cards with the black blood of salt, and the infection will be healed. Blunder will be free of the mist.”

Knew it

“No King ever will,” my mother had mused. “Not until someone finds the Twin Alders Card and the Deck is completed. Until then…”

The old witch has a point.

So this is always the nightmares voice

Like my mother had.

Did her mother have the infection? I missed that part

The Hawthorn tree carries few seeds. Its branches are weary, it’s lost all its leaves. Be wary the man who bargains and thieves. He’ll offer your soul to get what he needs.

“Father asked, when he presents the Nightmare Card to the King, that I come with him.”

oh no

Says the girl who talks to the monster in her head. Not exactly Princess material, are we, my dear?

“You’re a decent liar,” he said, turning back to the mist. “You’ll fit right in.”

Uh fit in where

The Black Horse made its beholder a master of combat. The Golden Egg granted great wealth. The Prophet offered glimpses of the future. The White Eagle bestowed courage. The Maiden bequeathed great beauty. The Chalice turned liquid into truth serum. The Well gave clear sight to recognize one’s enemies. The Iron Gate offered blissful serenity, no matter the struggle. The Scythe gave its beholder the power to control others. The Mirror granted invisibility. The Nightmare allowed its user to speak into the minds of others. The Twin Alders had the power to commune with Blunder’s ancient entity, the Spirit of the Wood.

“You must swear, Captain, no matter the circumstance, you will never use that Nightmare Card on me again.”

know no one’s going to ask me what I want, the Nightmare said, snide to his bones, but just in case you were wondering, the answer is no. No, I am decidedly NOT agreeable.

“You lied to me,” I said, the heavy weight of dread filling my chest. “Why would the King want my uncle’s Nightmare Card if his own Captain already possessed one?” My breath whooshed out of me. “Unless… he does not know.” “Quiet,” Ravyn cautioned.

Look past twisting branches, dig deep to its bones. Is it Providence Cards he seeks—or is it the throne?

“Good. Now pick your jaw up off the floor and follow me.”

“Have you met my stepmother, Captain?” I whispered, the remnants of my anger distilled in a single tear that fell to my cheek. “Lovely woman.”

“For the cure, I’ll help you find the Twin Alders.”

Emory Yew, the King’s captive, was gone.

Coldness crept up my spine. I see a yellow gaze narrowed by hate, the boy had said to me. I see darkness and shadow. And I see your fingers, long and pale, covered in blood.

Ravyn Yew. Infected.

The moment the Cards touched the Captain’s hand, the white color disappeared.

Don’t you see? He cannot use Providence Cards. Or at least, not all of them.

“I’d call an admission of treason exceptionally forthright for one day, Miss Spindle,” he whispered.

Shame, the Nightmare said. I was just beginning to like him.

“It relieves the burden of a pretend courtship—which, as I understand, is abhorrent to you.”

He leaned forward. “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?” Something flared in Ravyn’s gray eyes. Not anger—but just as strong.

“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.”

How strange it looked, alone in the ruins, unmarked but for one dark window situated on its southernmost wall.

Go in, he said. Go in where? My eyes caught on the ivy-laden room. There? Yes. Why? I want to see it. There is no door. Only— A window. His voice swarmed in my ears, near and far at once, slick with oil. That’s all she ever required. Who? The Spirit of the Wood. The hair at my spine prickled. You’ve been here before?

“When I use the Nightmare Card too long, I don’t see a creature. But I hear him. Does that answer satisfy you, Miss Spindle?”

“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.”

To my silence, the Captain of the Destriers smiled. “Come now, Miss Spindle. Surely you’ve seen a party of highwaymen before.”

The Nightmare shot hot air out his nostrils. By the trees—They’re just leggings, Elspeth.

Hahaha i kinda like the Nightmare he is funny

look like a bloody stable boy.

How you look is—and perhaps always has been—utterly irrelevant.

“Then we’ll come back,” Elm said. “And you can tell us all about the Well Card in your father’s house.”

“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.”

And it pains me to think I might have hurt you. I’m—sorry.” He paused. “Trees, I’m sorry.”

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

The berry of rowans is red, always red. The earth at its trunk is dark with blood shed. But a Prince is a man, and a man may be bled. He came for the girl… And got the monster instead.