Britannia meets The Mist―with a touch of Evil Dead―in this illusory fantasy horror about a kingdom left to darkness…
Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Katherine Quinn’s To Kill A Shadow, which is out November 28th!
Jude Maddox knows nothing of love or even light. He knows only his grim duty as the Hand of Death, to lead the Knights of the Eternal Star into a land filled with nightmares and certain demise. It’s only when he sees her ―a young woman with wild, amber eyes who’s as fierce, defiant, and swift as the shadow beasts themselves―that he feels the warmth of life in his blood…
The other Knights may fear their lethal commander, with his hard, merciless demeanor. Outcast Kiara Frey sees only a leader, a man who knows how to survive. Someone like her . But wanting him is as treacherous as the shadows themselves…and just as seductive.
With a kingdom on the verge of collapse, the Knights must now venture into the darkest heart of the land and uncover the secrets of the misted shadows, where evil will prey upon their minds and feast on their flesh.
It will betray their senses.
It will surpass their nightmares.
Most of them will die.
But they have no other choice. Because the only way to fight the darkness… is to become it.
I lingered underwater longer than necessary when rinsing my hair, relishing the eerie silence. My heart thundered in my ears, the only sound in the murky stillness. Down there, I could imagine I was back home with Liam and Micah and my favorite stretch of woods. Beneath the safety of the water, I could pretend nothing had changed, even if change was all I’d yearned for.
My lungs refused to let me fantasize for long.
Bursting to the surface, I sucked in air, reality crushing me with every sharp inhale.
It was the growl of a curse that had me jerking my head around, my wet hair coiling around my shoulder. I couldn’t help the gasp that escaped my lips.
Behind me, with his hands stilled on the button of his trousers, stood a bare-chested Knight.
I joined him in his cursing, dipping below the water and covering my breasts with my scarred hands—though that was hardly necessary, as I doubted he could see through the dense layer of mud and foam.
I was helpless to do anything but ogle him, my eyes traitorously slipping to his toned stomach, which I was stunned to see was covered in pink scars and raised lesions. They traveled across his rippling abs and dotted his pectorals, some of the wounds not fully healed.
But his face…
In the low light of the torches, I took in his features—a masterpiece and a thing of ruin. He was young, likely a year or two older than my eighteen years.
Straight raven hair tumbled across his forehead, playfully curling around his ears. The hazy yellow glow of the flames highlighted his cutting jaw and high cheekbones, which could have been weapons all by themselves. And his lips, well, I’d never seen a man with such full lips before, yet somehow, they fit him well.
But it was the left side of his face that added to his unearthly beauty. Two red scars—starting above his eyebrow and ending at his razor-sharp cheekbone—cut across his eye, which was nearly devoid of a visible pupil and held a milky-blue hue. The color was unlike anything I’d ever seen before, but beneath the clouds of roiling ash and shadows, beyond the mystery of his stare, was a spark of fire, its light fighting to break free from the darkness.
A look I sometimes recognized in my own reflection. He captivated me wholly and without apology.
“What are you doing here, recruit?” he barked, dropping his hands to his sides, a look of surprise granting him a boyish glow.
I squeaked in reply, water sloshing around me as I angled my feverish body, all the while scolding myself for admiring him.
“I was told I could come here after dinner and bathe. In private,” I enunciated, regaining what little composure I had left.
There wasn’t much to work with.
The Knight showed no visible reaction to my words, but his eyes flickered to the stone floor. I might have been mistaken, but his pallid cheeks appeared washed in pink.
“I see,” he ground out, a note of agitation deepening his voice. Hesitantly, he raised his gaze, his tone severe as he said, “Well, I usually reserve this time for myself.”
“Then it appears as though we have a problem.” I spoke without thought, though fire burned in his brown eye as though he secretly enjoyed the challenge as much as I did.
He was a distraction, and gods knew I needed one.
He shoved his hands deep into his trouser pockets, leaning back on his heels. I kept my attention on his brooding face, denying myself glimpses of his strapping physique.
I wondered who he was. If he were some grunt or an illustrious officer. Based off his many scars alone, I suspected he’d been with the Knights for some time.
“For a recruit, you’re awfully brave,” he muttered, his nostrils flaring slightly.
I shrugged. “Isn’t that the whole point? If I wasn’t brave, what use would I be to the king? Though, I suppose even the brave die out there.”
His right eye darkened. “Perhaps brave isn’t the right word for you, then,” he remarked dryly, assessing me with cold detachment.
Cocking my head to the side, my smile grew shrewd, and I savored every thrum of my wildly beating heart. “If you’re insinuating that I’m dim-witted, then maybe it’s you who should embark on some inner reflection.”
Dropping my hands from my chest, I rose dangerously close to the top of the dense water. That tinge of pink on his cheeks deepened.
I had his full attention.
The Knight held my gaze, his milky-blue eye a cloud of mystery. Something flashed across his face, and I might have believed it to be intrigue, had I been in my right mind.
I doubted a recruit had ever spoken to him this way, especially face-to-face. But a little scarring wasn’t enough to frighten me, of all people, away, and the adrenaline that came with challenging him gave my lungs new life.
“I’m more than open to share.” I smiled, feeling bold and altogether unhinged. “If you’re still wishing to utilize your scheduled bath, that is.” It was a taunt, nothing more, but my heart plummeted as I awaited his response.
“I take it back.” His muscled arms rippled as he crossed them over his chest. “I do believe there to be a third option, little recruit.”
“And what is it you think now?”
The Knight and I faced off, neither one of us breaking contact. But I never received his answer. Instead, he turned around abruptly, giving me his equally muscled back. An onyx tattoo twisted around his shoulder, three interwoven circles with odd, vine-like branches curving around the loops. It was a shame he was too far away for me to get a decent look.
“I’ll be back in five minutes. I expect this room to be empty upon my return.”
I stared, open-mouthed, as he marched away, his steps heavy.
Either I hadn’t learned my lesson, or I simply wasn’t done playing, but I opened my mouth one more time.
“Wait!” His boots froze, though he kept his back to me. It wasn’t an altogether displeasing view, I hated to admit. “What’s your name?” Besides Sir Tall-Rude-and-Growly?
His shoulders tensed, the only sign he heard me. “Commander Jude Maddox.”
Shit. All air rushed from my lungs.
The commander.
I’d just verbally sparred with the damned Hand of Death, the same man who’d taken me in place of Liam. I hadn’t recognized him without his helmet.
“Five minutes, recruit, and this better not happen again.” And then Jude—Jude Maddox, Commander of the Knights—was gone, leaving me speechless for the first time in my life.
