The Shepherd King, #2
Two Twisted Crowns
by Rachel Gillig
Contents
Chapter Fifty
Overview
Elspeth and the Nightmare share a final farewell in the ruined chamber tied to Taxus’s death, confronting the end of their bond as the last Nightmare Card is destroyed. Taxus apologizes for the darkness he brought into Elspeth’s life, while Elspeth affirms that their painful connection helped save Blunder and was worth the cost.
The chapter closes their shared arc through a final recitation of the story that defines them, transforming the Nightmare from a monster into a tragic, understood figure. Elspeth’s reluctance to finish the tale makes the parting intimate and grief-stricken, even as it signals release.
Summary
Elspeth is surrounded by memories, rhymes, and riddles as the final moments of the Nightmare unfold. The Nightmare sits in the ruined stone chamber where Aemmory Percyval Taxus once lived and died, recognizing the moment as the end of their shared story.
For the first time, Elspeth is the one trapped in darkness, and the Nightmare reaches out to comfort her. Taxus apologizes for spending too long in the dark and for dragging Elspeth into it with him, but Elspeth tells him the cost was worth it because they united the Deck, lifted the mist, righted old wrongs, and came to know each other.
Taxus admits he does not know what it will be like to pass through the veil, but he hopes it will feel as it did when Elspeth first freed him from the Nightmare Card: quiet, gentle, and full of wonder. Elspeth reassures Taxus and offers to tell him a story, as stories once helped Elspeth sleep.
Elspeth begins the familiar tale of the girl in the wood and the Shepherd King, but Elspeth falters when the ending approaches because Elspeth is not ready to let Taxus go. Taxus urges Elspeth to finish, and together they speak the final words, acknowledging that the girl and the King were the same, and that together they became the monster.
Who Appears
- Elspeth SpindleShares a final farewell with Taxus, forgiving him and grieving their bond’s end.
- Aemmory Percyval TaxusThe Nightmare; apologizes to Elspeth and prepares to pass beyond the veil.