Holt made his way to the hut at the center of the flames, the one where almost nothing remained, as I looked among the bodies to see if I could find any survivors. There were bodies impaled there and left to bleed into the black river below, hanging limply with eyes facing up, toward the indifferent stars. I barely restrained my nausea as I glanced over the edge of the bridge to the jagged stone teeth that curved to the sky. The red stain of blood covered the bridge, turning the sun-bleached wood a deep wine. I rolled forward, absorbing the shock as I looked around. I jumped down from Azra as we crossed, ignoring Caldris’s sharp curse as I slipped through his grasp and landed upon the wooden bridge. Riders jumped from their horses, submerging any container they could grasp to gather water to douse the flames.Īt my spine, Caldris summoned the cold of a winter storm, filling the air with snow as we rode into the fray. The first riders of the Wild Hunt reached the bridge, their horses galloping over it as they went toward the flames. Soon, they’ll want me to pay the price the magic requires. Once, the people of Northrek blamed me when the Veil fell. They have orders to resurrect Mistfell’s shimmering barrier, but, once again, there’s a greater cost than what has been revealed.

The Mist Guard have been sworn to keep us from crossing into Alfheimr, and from treading Faerie soil, even if innocents must pay with their lives. Now, another secret crouches, poised to change everything. With the Wild Hunt as our guard, he points us back to where it all began: the village of Mistfell and the boundary where the Veil once shimmered in the wind. His intentions are a mystery, his desires impure, and he seeks to shackle me to his side for all eternity. The legend we only speak of with hushed words, in shuttered rooms, for fear of drawing his wrath once again.

Then, I discovered the truth of who he is.Ĭaldris is whispered in the Nothrek wind. But Caelum’s true identity is terrifying enough to bring me to my knees. He consumed my mind and my body, then finally claimed my heart for himself. He enraptured me with his smooth temptation, leaving no corner of my being untouched. Once, I fell in love with a man who deceived me.įor weeks, he stood by my side, twisting his words into pretty half-truths.

What hunts inside the shadows book