The Shepherd King, #1
One Dark Window
by Rachel Gillig
Contents
Chapter Five
Overview
Elspeth learns more about Emory Yew’s confinement at Stone and suspects royal Card magic may be involved in controlling him. In the garden, she discovers Ione has accepted a Maiden Card from the Rowans, deepening the divide between the cousins and raising the stakes of Tyrn’s bargain.
Elspeth’s attempt to protect Ione fails because Ione insists on choosing her own future, even if that choice binds her to Hauth Rowan. The chapter ends with a major revelation: Ravyn Yew carries the second Nightmare Card, making him far more central and dangerous than Elspeth realized.
Summary
Elspeth wakes near midday to Dimia and Nya hovering over her, eager for gossip about Emory Yew. Nerium interrupts and warns Elspeth away from Emory, while Nya describes Emory as strange, sickly, and often drunk. Elspeth conceals that Emory mentioned yellow eyes, a detail that unsettles her because it suggests he may know something about the Nightmare inside her mind.
When Elspeth asks why Emory lives at Stone, Nerium says Prince Renelm keeps him there to control his temper. Elspeth remembers seeing the red light of Renelm’s Scythe Card beside Emory and realizes the royal Card could be used to control him. After Elspeth’s father announces a garden walk, Elspeth dresses in gray and joins the women, though Nerium and her daughters quickly abandon her.
In the garden, Elspeth looks for Ione, wanting to repair their argument, but finds her aunt instead. Elspeth asks whether anyone else might have survived infection as a child without being caught. Her aunt doubts it, explaining that infected children are brought to Stone’s dungeon and that Elspeth survived unnoticed only because her infection left no visible magic or tell.
Ione then appears, carrying the bright pink light of a Maiden Card. Elspeth realizes Ione has received the Card, likely from Prince Hauth Rowan and possibly as part of Tyrn’s bargain involving the Nightmare Card. Ione lies about wandering the castle, and Elspeth pulls her aside to confront her about meeting Hauth and accepting the Maiden.
Elspeth begs Ione not to use the Maiden and not to accept Hauth if he proposes, arguing that the Rowans are using the Card to control and bind her. Ione, hurt by what she sees as Elspeth’s selfishness and distrust, asks whether Elspeth loves her; when Elspeth says yes, Ione tells her to let her make her own choices. Ione leaves, and Elspeth breaks down among the dying roses.
Alone near the edge of the woods, Elspeth grieves that the Maiden’s magic could strip Ione of the qualities that make her herself. The Nightmare insists that the Maiden is misunderstood and that all magic carries a cost. Before Elspeth can shut him out, Ravyn Yew finds her, and Elspeth sees burgundy light in his breast pocket: the second Nightmare Card.
Who Appears
- Elspeth Spindlediscovers Ione’s Maiden Card, fears Rowan control, and sees Ravyn’s Nightmare Card.
- Ione Hawthorncarries a Maiden Card, defends Hauth Rowan, and rejects Elspeth’s attempt to protect her.
- The Nightmarecomments on Cards, warns of the Maiden’s cost, and recognizes dangerous magic.
- Ravyn Yewfinds Elspeth near the woods and is revealed to hold the second Nightmare Card.
- Elspeth’s auntcomforts Elspeth and explains why hidden infection survivors are unlikely.
- Nerium Spindlewarns Elspeth away from Emory and explains his confinement at Stone.
- Dimia Spindlepresses Elspeth for gossip about leaving the hall with Emory.
- Nya Spindledescribes Emory’s strange behavior, illnesses, drunkenness, and disruptive past.
- Emory Yewabsent but central to discussion; his knowledge of yellow eyes unsettles Elspeth.