Merula

The law is sacred. But so is the truth.

In Blackwater Hills, even the gods keep secrets.

What if you were born with a secret so dangerous, even the gods wanted you dead? In the secluded forests of northern Maine, USA the tribe of Corvus the beast god guards an ancient truth: some are born with the power to change shape—and those who are must never be allowed to live.

On a cold October morning, the veil between worlds grows thin. Samuel Singleton vanishes through a portal into the Shadowlands, a realm ruled by a fearsome witch goddess and haunted by things that should not exist. When he returns, something in him is... wrong. Primal. Dangerous.

Deep within the stone walls of Blackwater Castle, newly consecrated priestess Cadie Maxwell is haunted by doubts about a brutal law that demands the death of all shapeshifting males. Questioning everything she's been taught, Cadie flees beyond the Great Shield that hides her homeland from the world —searching for answers, and the truth about the god she once served without question.

In the quiet town of Ashland, Cadie meets Jonathan and Sarina Lance, siblings desperate to find their missing father, a famous novelist whose trail leads straight back to Blackwater Hills. But what awaits them beyond the Great Shield is not the novelist—it is Samuel, delirious and transformed, with darkness rising inside him.

As Cadie unravels a hidden history of lies and betrayal, she must choose to protect the sacred laws that bind her people—or risk everything to save the man who may doom them all.

Some secrets were buried for a reason. Some gods are better left sleeping. And some fates cannot be outrun.

Readers' Favorite 5 Stars

One of ReadFreely's 50 Best Indie Books.

An IHIBRP 5-Star Recommended Read.

Winner of the Virtual Fantasy Con Award for Best Dark Fantasy.