The Moss King & The Briar Crown

Book Details

Summary

When the Thing calls for you in the moonlight from the mist-shrouded woods, only the Four Tenets will save you:If you hear a whistle in the dark, no, you didn't.If you hear a whistle in the dark, no, you didn't.If you hear a baby or woman crying out in the woods, no, you didn't.If you hear a baby or woman crying out in the woods, no, you didn't.Never open the windows and doors at night, especially if something asks you to.Never open the windows and doors at night, especially if something asks you to.If you hear your name spoken by a loved one from the shadows, you definitely didn't.If you hear your name spoken by a loved one from the shadows, you definitely didn't.But in a drunken rage, Briar's father forgets as he chases them out of the window. While Briar hides under their double-wide with a terrified opossum, their father falls for the whistles and crooning voice of their dead mother as the Thing lures him to his doom. Through instinct and lore passed down through the cunning women in their family, Briar survives the night.Dawn breaks on Samhain, and the bloody aftermath of the Thing's visit. While Briar's kin deals with the cops, MeeMaw calls a gathering of the cunning folk to do a work of warding on their holler. Briar escapes to the woods, knowing that the nightmare made flesh would be back for them. Holed up in their childhood hiding place, a tree split by lightning, they play a song on their banjo from a book of summoning songs that had once belonged to their mother. The music is haunting, and a strange longing makes their chest ache.When night falls and the full moon rises, the Thing comes for Briar, as does the strange elk satyr with the sprawling antlers that had haunted their dreams for months. Even if the dream monster they summoned saves them, what could they offer him in exchange? Would his demands be as carnal as the dreams they shared, or could he demand something everlasting?22k-word novellaTropes: Nb/M, fated mates, dark fae fantasy, monster romance, protective ancient fae cervyr MMC, human banjo-wielding witch/cunning folk NbMC, biggest age gap ever, reincarnation, book of summoning songs, opossum familiar who struggles to eat grapes, eldritch terror older than hunger and thirst, Appalachian folklore rules, magical moss-lined tree hideaway, Halloween romance, body dysmorphia rep, gore, folk magic, LGBTQIA+ rep, DV survivor rep, spicy dreams, love that lasts lifetimes, and found familyA full list of TW/CW is available in the book and on the author's website. Originally included as a short in the Book Harvest Anthology 2025. NO GEN-AI - 100% human-made.