Hatred divides the elves by the color of flesh and the sharpness of steel.
Crossing the border is forbidden. Raemian Starling knows the consequences better than most. As a renowned fighter in the Shay army, she’s fought the Bleck Larin for years. But when she’s captured by the enemy, Rae finds the last thing she would have expected—kindness. Forced to reevaluate friend and foe, she puts her trust in the unlikeliest of places.
Gastel, the youngest Bleck Larin prince, has never left his home, has never met a Shay, and is entirely unprepared when the Shay’s prized warrior is not the monster he'd anticipated. A decision to help Rae return home forces Gastel to face the true power he possesses and the reason his father has kept him hidden from the world.
But time isn’t on anyone’s side. An unimaginable power threatens their world, one that cannot be defeated with a sword alone. Rae may be the only elf capable of confronting her queen and stopping the war, but she’ll need Gastel’s help to bring balance to elvenkind.
Lest their world cease to exist entirely. . .
Hatred divides the elves by the color of flesh and the sharpness of steel.
Crossing the border is forbidden. Raemian Starling knows the consequences better than most. As a renowned fighter in the Shay army, she’s fought the Bleck Larin for years. But when she’s captured by the enemy, Rae finds the last thing she would have expected—kindness. Forced to reevaluate friend and foe, she puts her trust in the unlikeliest of places.
Gastel, the youngest Bleck Larin prince, has never left his home, has never met a Shay, and is entirely unprepared when the Shay’s prized warrior is not the monster he'd anticipated. A decision to help Rae return home forces Gastel to face the true power he possesses and the reason his father has kept him hidden from the world.
But time isn’t on anyone’s side. An unimaginable power threatens their world, one that cannot be defeated with a sword alone. Rae may be the only elf capable of confronting her queen and stopping the war, but she’ll need Gastel’s help to bring balance to elvenkind.
Lest their world cease to exist entirely. . .
She held her tiny elfling in her arms. It was late—or early—she couldn’t entirely tell. Everyone else was fast asleep, but she’d been roused to feed this wonderful creature. He was small and fragile, yet deceivingly powerful. She’d fought and sacrificed and waited for him, and now he was here. Perfect. Cherished.
The light of the waning moon slipped through her bedchamber window, pouring shards of white across her son’s face as she paced. It reminded her of what she must do—the task she alone could finish. There was one last rift bleeding dangerous magic into this world; it needed to be snuffed out. She’d fulfill that which the guild had set out to accomplish, even if it was the last thing she ever did.
Her brother had been at her side once. Now she went alone. He, like all the other guild members, had given his life to the same mission, and the rifts had taken their price. The cost was non-negotiable.
She placed her elfling, her tiny masterpiece, in his cradle, her gaze lingering on his precious face—his eyes closed once again in slumber. She reached for her father’s soul stone resting against her chest, protecting her from the thirst of the rifts. To leave the pendant behind meant death, but she couldn’t leave her son unprotected, and she couldn’t take him with her. Not for this task.
One day, he would be a formidable Anam Wielder, more powerful than she could ever be. He would hold the strength of generations before him, passed down through succession and careful breeding. Only the soul stone could temper that. It would keep the soulfire within his tiny body at bay, locked within his consciousness until he could learn to control it.
So much damage had already been done while she’d been delayed, struggling with pregnancy. A single battle had changed the course of history, destroying thousands of years of peace between the elves. Not since the humans had scarred Rhend had her people known such hatred.
She squeezed her eyes closed and tried to see anything but the white fire that always burned in her mind. If the guild was wrong about the prophecy’s meaning, closing the rifts would be the world’s undoing. It was possible she’d be the catalyst for their end, not the savior.
The doubt was as heavy as death.
She said a prayer to the Elder Gods. Maybe someday the power of the rifts could be better understood and protected from those who’d use it for nefarious purposes, but for now, she needed to close the last of them.
Her sweet son shifted in his cradle. With the lightest touch, she traced a pattern across his forehead and down his nose, over and over until he stilled. She stood a moment longer, memorizing the lines of his face, the tuft of dark hair, his diminutive hands that would someday wield amazing power.
It was time to go.
She knew the way, passing unnoticed across the moors toward the forest line, which loomed like a dark blade of shadows separating the earth from the night sky. She wove between trees and rocks on an ancient path, allowing the sounds of the slumbering forest to ease the anxiety that bubbled around the edges of her confidence.
As she approached the last rift, light bled across the broken earth and stained the tree trunks white. Her death was in that colorless flame. She pressed the toes of her boots to the rim of the burning fissure. Trepidation soaked through the soles of her feet and crept up her legs before sitting like a stone in her gut.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, methodically, then shook out her hands in anticipation.
It was time.
With her palms down, she drew the fire into herself, feeling her life force struggle against the raw essence that melted into the fibers of her flesh. As with closing the other rifts, tingling began in her fingertips, then poured into her hands and up her arms. The rift’s insatiable thirst grated against her consciousness with a sharp dissonance that spoke of sorrow and anguish. It flooded the depths of her being, filling her with doubt, coating her memories in a haze of desperation.
Blood boiled in her veins, pumping like acid through her extremities. A cry ripped free from her lips, but there was no one to hear it. Where once the brilliant white had surrounded her, now there was only a darkness that drew tighter.
This was the cost the soul stone had protected her from: unimaginable pain. Unthinkable pressure as the presence of the rift fought against her mind, desperate to escape its fleshy prison. No elf was ever meant to hold such magic within themself.
She tried to take in a breath, but there was nothing. No air to breathe. No lungs to draw in the air. Her insides had melted. Her vision charred black around the edges until there was nothing left.
Nothing but the memory of her sweet son’s amber eyes.
Initially I was drawn to this novel by the beautiful cover that screamed a dark, nitty gritty world that I could sink my teeth into and that's exactly what this novel delivered. I am really impressed by how much was packed into this story and how deep into the story lines and character development we ventured. Throughout my read I connected to the characters both on a relatable level and also an emotional level which really helped me enjoy the story.
Our characters were quite often flawed in this novel, especially our protagonist Raemian which I personally appreciate because it furthered that deeper connection I shared with her, and made her feel like a real person which always assists in my enjoyment of a book. The side characters brought me joy with a wonderful cinnamon roll character that had my heart soaring multiple times. But also villains who kept me enraged throughout, *ahem* GEMMA.
The world of Rhend is so vast and detailed. Somehow we got intricate world building in a way that was not at all infodumped but instead sprinkled through perfectly with a lot of intrigue set up for further world development in the rest of the series that I look forward to. I would personally pull a similarity from Rhend to Rivendell for the Lord of the Rings fans, as it includes a lot of similar species and backdrops.
I would definitely describe this as a pure fantasy and not a fantasy romance but I did enjoy the very small side line of the slow burn budding romance that had me smiling to myself a lot in this novel especially as a fan of the forbidden love aspect. It is a completely closed door romance so if steamy scenes are not your favourite thing then you will enjoy this. I think the author did a wonderful job of adding in this sweet and gentle development while keeping a focus on the main story at hand and never distracting from the importance of the war.
One of my favourite fantasies I have read in a long while and I couldn't encourage everyone to pick this up more!