The Shepherd King, #1
One Dark Window
by Rachel Gillig
Contents
Chapter Thirty-Four
Overview
Hauth and Orithe try to use Elspeth as bait for Ravyn, but Elspeth’s desperate resistance pushes her infection to its breaking point. After Hauth gravely injures Elspeth, the Nightmare fully takes over, killing Orithe and brutally attacking Hauth.
The chapter marks the fulfillment of Elspeth’s degeneration: Elspeth loses herself to the Shepherd King’s power, but first extracts a promise that the Nightmare will help Ravyn and the Yews save Emory.
Summary
Bound and bleeding in Spindle House, Elspeth listens as Hauth and Orithe confirm her infection and discuss the treason of Ravyn, Jespyr, and Elm. Elspeth fears Ravyn is doomed because Hauth now knows Ravyn concealed her magic. The Nightmare asks whether Elspeth trusts him, and the returning Destriers make the danger immediate.
Hauth orders the room darkened and plans to hold Elspeth hostage so Ravyn will not resist arrest. At the Nightmare’s urging, Elspeth screams to draw attention and attacks both Hauth and Orithe with strength beyond her own. Hauth’s Scythe cannot compel her, and Orithe realizes her magic is far stranger than expected.
Elspeth nearly reaches the door, but Ravyn contacts her through a Nightmare Card, momentarily stunning her. Orithe seizes Elspeth, and Hauth slams Elspeth’s head into the wall. As Elspeth drifts toward unconsciousness, Elspeth warns Ravyn not to come because Hauth and Orithe are waiting, urging Ravyn to find the Twin Alders and save Emory instead.
In the darkness, Elspeth sees memories and visions tied to the Shepherd King: children with blackened veins, a burning castle, Rowans, mist, massacre, and centuries of rage. Elspeth understands she cannot rise again by herself and effectively yields to the Nightmare, asking the Nightmare to act in her place. The boundary between Elspeth and the Nightmare collapses.
Elspeth wakes with yellow eyes, and the merged voice of Elspeth and the Nightmare rejects Ravyn’s attempt to save her. The Nightmare takes control, rips Orithe’s bladed glove from his hand, and drives it into Orithe’s throat, killing him. The possessed Elspeth then corners Hauth, speaks of Rowan betrayal and the Shepherd King’s return, and shatters Hauth’s cheekbone.
As darkness overtakes Elspeth, the Nightmare tells Elspeth this is degeneration and that nothing comes free. Elspeth makes the Nightmare promise to help Ravyn and the Yews save Emory. Elspeth then sinks fully into darkness while the Nightmare’s final words frame them as the girl, the King, and the monster they became.
Who Appears
- Elspeth SpindleBound hostage whose desperate resistance ends in degeneration and surrender to the Nightmare.
- The Nightmare / Shepherd KingTakes control of Elspeth, reveals ancient rage, kills Orithe, and attacks Hauth.
- Hauth RowanHigh Prince who uses Elspeth as bait, injures her, and is brutally beaten.
- OritheKing’s Physician who confirms Elspeth’s magic, restrains her, and is killed by the Nightmare.
- Ravyn YewContacts Elspeth through a Nightmare Card and rushes toward her despite her warning.