The Shepherd King, #2
Two Twisted Crowns
by Rachel Gillig
Contents
Chapter Thirty-Four
Overview
Elm is forced back into Hauth’s room, where Hauth wakes only briefly and fixates on Ione before slipping under again. Elm steals the Nightmare Card, resists both Linden’s cruelty and the King’s attempt to control him with the Scythe, and openly rejects the abusive Rowan inheritance.
After a cathartic ride from Stone, Elm returns with Ione’s dresses and asks her to attend the next feast so they can use the Nightmare Card to find her Maiden. The chapter shifts Elm from fear and dependence toward self-directed defiance, while deepening his alliance with Ione.
Summary
Elm follows Filick to Hauth’s bedchamber, fighting nausea and dread because Elm has not entered the room since childhood. Ione initially refuses to see Hauth, but Elm goes in alone. Inside, Physicians tend to Hauth’s infected, bloodied body while Royce Linden and the King wait for signs of recovery.
The drunken King arrives and orders Elm closer to Hauth’s bed. Elm nearly breaks under the pressure, wishing Ravyn were there to protect him, but Ione enters despite her fear and stands beside Elm. Ione’s support steadies Elm, and the two face Hauth together as the King demands the Nightmare Card.
Ione finds the Nightmare Card in Hauth’s chest, and Linden insults Ione by blaming her cousin and accusing her of manipulating Elm. Elm uses his Scythe to silence Linden. The King tries and fails to use the Nightmare Card to reach Hauth, then throws it down. Hauth briefly wakes, fixes his gaze on Ione, then loses consciousness again.
In the hallway, the King questions Elm about the testament naming the King’s heir, and Elm confirms Baldwyn has it. Elm secretly releases Linden from Scythe control and notes the second Card in his pocket, which Elm stole from Hauth’s floor. When the King presses Elm about his marriage contract and reaches for his own Scythe, Elm uses his Card first, forbidding the King from controlling him and rejecting the family cycle of abuse tied to Scythe wielding.
Elm rides out of Stone in the night, using the Scythe to make the guards lower the drawbridge. Alone on the forest road, Elm releases years of rage, grief, and helplessness, realizing he needed to face his father and the Rowan legacy without Ravyn. Elm rides to Hawthorn House, gathers Ione’s dresses, and returns to Stone before dawn.
Elm brings Ione her own clothing and asks Ione to attend the next feast with him. Elm reveals that he has the Nightmare Card and promises they will search for Ione’s Maiden Card, after which Elm will take Ione anywhere she wants to go. Ione quietly agrees, and Elm leaves her with the dresses so she can feel more like her true self.
Who Appears
- ElmPOV character; confronts Hauth, defies the King, steals the Nightmare Card, and supports Ione.
- IoneEnters Hauth’s room for Elm, retrieves the Nightmare Card, and agrees to attend the feast.
- HauthGrievously wounded prince; briefly wakes, looks at Ione, then loses consciousness again.
- The KingDrunken father of Elm and Hauth; tries to reach Hauth and control Elm.
- Royce LindenDestrier who insults Ione and is forcibly silenced by Elm’s Scythe.
- FilickPhysician overseeing Hauth’s treatment and reporting his condition to the King.