The Shepherd King, #2
Two Twisted Crowns
by Rachel Gillig
Contents
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Overview
Ravyn, Jespyr, and the Nightmare enter the alderwood without Petyr and endure its predatory magic as Jespyr is drawn toward the twin alders. The trees reveal that the lost feed the mist, that Jespyr is now being claimed by infection, and that Ravyn must pass through to the Spirit to seek the Twin Alders Card.
Ravyn refuses to abandon Jespyr, forcing the Nightmare to confront the old wound of losing Ayris to magic. Spurred by Elspeth, the Nightmare breaks from his pattern of surrendering loved ones to the wood, frees Jespyr, and escapes with her through the closing doorway to the Spirit’s pale shore.
Summary
When Petyr tries to follow Ravyn, Jespyr, and the Nightmare into the alderwood, the trees bar him because he is not infected. Elspeth realizes the Nightmare knew someone would need to get lost in the mist to gain entry, and she rages at him for allowing Jespyr to be the one sacrificed to the path.
Inside the alderwood, the forest attacks with roots, branches, animals, and taunting voices. Jespyr runs ahead in a frantic, enchanted state, saying the Spirit is calling her home. Ravyn and the Nightmare fight to keep up, and the wood’s words trigger the Nightmare’s memories of Ayris, his own sister, being drawn to the Spirit centuries before.
Ravyn and the Nightmare tumble into a valley filled with the bodies of people who died after being lost in the mist. Elspeth pushes the shaken Nightmare to rise, and they climb a steep hill to find Jespyr lying beneath the twin alders, her arm streaked with the infection. Ravyn gives her his spare charm, but it does not wake her, and the Nightmare explains that no Card can stop the infection or degeneration.
The twin alders seize Ravyn, taste his blood, and identify him as a Yew. Ravyn states that he seeks the Twin Alders Card to unite the Deck, lift the mist, and heal the infection, but the trees tell him he must ask the Spirit herself. They open a doorway to a pale shore, yet cage Jespyr in roots, explaining that those caught in the mist feed and fuel the alderwood.
Ravyn refuses to leave Jespyr behind, even as the doorway begins to close. Elspeth recognizes that the Nightmare is reliving the loss of Ayris and urges him to rewrite the pattern instead of letting Ravyn become another version of him. The Nightmare cuts his palm, marks the pale alder with Taxus blood, and threatens the trees if they do not release Jespyr.
The alders react violently, throwing Ravyn through the doorway to the pale shore and attacking the Nightmare. The Nightmare cuts Jespyr free and carries her toward the narrowing opening. Ravyn reaches back from the other side, pulls the Nightmare and Jespyr through, and the doorway slams shut behind them, leaving them on the salt-scented pale shore.
Who Appears
- ElspethPOV within the Nightmare’s mind; urges him to save Jespyr and defy his past.
- The NightmareShepherd King and Taxus; relives Ayris’s loss, then frees Jespyr from the alders.
- Ravyn YewSeeks the Twin Alders Card, refuses to abandon Jespyr, and is sent to the Spirit’s shore.
- Jespyr YewInfected and charmless, she leads the group through the alderwood toward the twin alders.
- PetyrAttempts to enter the alderwood but is barred because he is not infected.
- The Twin AldersSentient trees that feed the mist, test Ravyn, and try to keep Jespyr.
- The Spirit of the WoodUnseen power calling Jespyr and awaiting Ravyn beyond the doorway to the pale shore.