The Shepherd King, #2
Two Twisted Crowns
by Rachel Gillig
Contents
Chapter Forty-Seven
Overview
Elspeth and the Nightmare help Ione destroy Hauth’s pursuing Destriers in the yew wood, then rescue Elm, Erik, and Tyrn from captivity. The victory is cut short when Ravyn is found mortally wounded by Hauth, who has stolen most of the Deck and fled.
The Nightmare captures Hauth and brings him to the stone chamber, where the reunited Cards and the approaching midnight ritual shift the story’s stakes from survival to succession. Rather than killing Elm, the Nightmare intends to crown him as a new kind of king, leaving Elm to act while the Nightmare races back to Ravyn.
Summary
From within the Nightmare, Elspeth watches Ione ride into the moving yew wood with Destriers pursuing her. The Nightmare, acting as the Shepherd King, commands the yew trees to trap and crush the attackers while Ione uses the Scythe to halt the remaining Destriers in place. Together, Ione’s command and the Nightmare’s control of the trees wipe out most of the Black Horse guard.
After the fight, Ione worries about Bess and tries to apologize, but voices interrupt them. Elm, Erik Spindle, and Tyrn Hawthorn stumble into view, bound, battered, frostbitten, and alive. Ione cuts them free, and Tyrn apologizes to Elspeth, but the Nightmare rejects him with disgust. The group realizes that only seven of the eight Destriers have been killed.
The final Destrier, Royce Linden, appears with a shortbow and shoots an arrow that grazes Elm and lodges in Ione’s shoulder. The Nightmare charges, but Elm takes the Nightmare’s sword and kills Linden himself, fulfilling a promise. Ione heals her wound with the Maiden, then heals Elm, Erik, and Tyrn; Elm and Ione’s kiss reveals a changed relationship between them.
The Nightmare senses Providence Card lights moving away from the stone chamber instead of toward it, and Ravyn does not answer Elspeth’s call. The Nightmare races to the meadow and finds Ravyn bleeding in the snow with Hauth’s dagger lodged between his ribs. Ravyn explains that Hauth used the Mirror, stole the Cards, and fled. Though Elspeth panics, Ravyn urges the Nightmare to pursue Hauth and reunite the Deck, promising he can endure a little longer.
The Nightmare hunts Hauth through the wood, calling on the yew trees with the full force of Taxus’s power. The trees seize Hauth and drag him to the ruined stone chamber. There, Hauth drops nine Providence Cards, and the Nightmare retrieves the Shepherd King’s old crown. Instead of killing Hauth directly, the Nightmare waits for Elm and Ione to arrive with the Scythe, Maiden, and Twin Alders.
At the chamber, the Nightmare declares that Hauth is the final Rowan and reveals his intention not to kill Elm but to crown him: neither Rowan nor Yew, but King of the Elms. Elm accepts the Nightmare’s sword and the task before him. With midnight nearly upon them and Ravyn dying elsewhere, the Nightmare leaves the chamber to return to those waiting for him.
Who Appears
- Elspeth SpindleNarrates from within the Nightmare, fearing midnight and Ravyn’s death while witnessing the battle.
- The Nightmare / Shepherd King / TaxusCommands the yew trees, destroys Destriers, captures Hauth, and prepares Elm for kingship.
- Ione HawthornLures Destriers into the wood, uses the Scythe, heals allies with the Maiden, and aids Elm.
- Elm RowanRescued from captivity, kills Royce Linden, reconciles with Ione, and accepts the Nightmare’s sword.
- Ravyn YewFound gravely wounded after Hauth stabs him and steals the Cards; urges the Nightmare onward.
- Hauth RowanFlees with most of the Deck after stabbing Ravyn, then is captured for the chamber ritual.
- Royce LindenThe final surviving Destrier; wounds Ione with an arrow before Elm kills him.
- Erik SpindleElspeth’s father; freed from captivity, battered and frostbitten, then healed by the Maiden.
- Tyrn HawthornIone’s father; freed from captivity and apologizes to Elspeth before being healed.
- Elspeth’s uncleEscapes captivity with Erik and Tyrn, horrified by the Destriers’ bodies in the wood.