New York Times bestselling author Alix E. Harrow weaves a dystopian fairy tale that follows the town storyteller as she struggles to protect a local demon from the knight hired to kill it.

In this gritty, haunting tale about doing whatever it takes for love, a small-town storyteller resolves to keep the local monster—and her own secrets—safe from a legendary knight.

Nestled deep in the steep hills, valleys, and surrounding woodlands lies Iron Hollow, a rural community beset by demons. Such horrors are common in the outlands, where most folks die young, if they don’t turn into monsters first. But what’s causing these transformations?

No one has the answer, not even the town’s oral historian, seventeen-year-old Shrike. And when a legendary knight is summoned to hunt down the latest beast to haunt their woods, Shrike has more reason than most to be concerned. Because that demon was her wife. And while Shrike is certain that May still recognizes her—that May is still human, somewhere beneath it all—she can’t prove it.

Determined to keep May safe, Shrike stalks the knight and his demon-hunting hawk through the recesses of the forest. But as they creep through toxic creeks and overgrown kudzu, Shrike realizes the knight has a secret of his own. And he’ll do anything to protect it.

Alix E. Harrow is a former academic, adjunct, cashier, and blueberry harvester turned Hugo Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author. Her books include The Ten Thousand Doors of January and The Once and Future Witches, as well as two novellas, A Spindle Splintered and A Mirror Mended, and various short fiction. Harrow is the recipient of the Hugo Award for Best Short Story and the Robert Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and her work has been optioned for film and television.

Alix lives in Virginia with her husband, their semi-feral kids, and her full-time writing career. Stay up to date with upcoming releases by subscribing to her newsletter at https://alixeharrow.wixsite.com/author.