A gothic royal horror set in the Kingdom of Chandory.
When Queen Emily hears her husband’s voice in the wrong place, Crown Princess Morgann Blackthorne sees what no one else does: something wearing the king’s face has taken root in the castle.
What begins as a desperate flight to warded refuge at Hythebourne becomes a battle against an ancient hunger born of blood, power, and old bargains buried beneath the throne. The thing that calls itself king can mimic love, reach through dreams, and feed on fear, shame, and memory. It wants Emily as its queen, Morgann as its conquest, and the crown itself as a body.
Hidden behind salt, running water, and older magic than the Church ever allowed to survive, a fiercely bound family must decide whether to keep running or return to the crypt where the nightmare began. To destroy the creature, they will need silver, mistletoe, prayer, old wards, and the kind of love that refuses to become obedience.
Shadow of the King is a gothic royal horror about chosen family, inherited violence, and the terrible things that happen when power feeds on pain.
Themes
Chosen family
Gothic horror
Royal politics
Trauma and survival
Inheritance and memory
Love versus obedience
Dark fantasy
The Kindom of Chandory 