What Lurks Between the Fates

About the Author Adelaide Forrest is a USA Today & Amazon Top 10 Bestselling author of dark and gritty romance, such as the Bellandi Crime Syndicate and Beauty in Lies series. Adelaide fell in love with books at a young age and quickly discovered her love for writing soon after. She wrote short stories and then delved into full-length fiction at ten-years-old. Since then, she's created over 350 book ideas and hoarded them over the years. When she isn't writing, she can be found spending time with her two young children, dog, and cat. She enjoys traveling, chocolate, chai tea, and most importantly, being with her family. Also by Harper L. Woods Of Flesh & Bone Series What Lies Beyond the Veil What Hunts Inside the Shadows What Lurks Between the Fates Harper L. Woods www.hodderscape.co.uk First published in Great Britain in 2023 by Hodderscape An imprint of Hodder & Stoughton An Hachette UK company Copyright © Harper L. Woods 2023 The right of Harper L. Woods to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Cover image: Map Illustration © Abigail M Hair All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library Paperback ISBN 978 1 399 71176 0 eBook ISBN 978 1 399 71174 6 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd Carmelite House 50 Victoria Embankment London EC4Y 0DZ www.hodderscape.co.uk For the survivors who rise like the stars. Contents About the Author Also by Harper L. Woods Title Page Copyright Dedication About What Lurks Between the Fates Trigger & Content Warnings Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Glossary of Terms Hierarchy of the Gods & Fae About What Lurks Between the Fates Once, I’d chosen my mate instead of freedom. For weeks, we retraced our steps back to Mistfell and the lingering shadow of the Veil at the boundary between realms. Traveling through the kingdom, I denied the evidence in front of me, unable to fathom that I wasn’t the lost princess of Faerie. Instead, it is Fallon who must fear the consequences of her heritage. Which leaves me with a single, unanswered question. Then, I awoke, caged high above the throne of the Queen of Air and Darkness. Mab is the Queen who keeps all of Alfheimr held squirming within her clawed grasp. She uses the children of Faerie to sustain the magic granted to her by the cursed gem atop her crown, which has carved her from the girl she once was into a dark vessel, obsessed with power. She thrives on cruelty, and wields our love as an instrument for pain. Now, I’ll play the games of the Fae. I’m a curiosity, my presence an enigma that was never foreseen. I may not be Mab’s daughter, yet she still keeps me close, as she forges me into a weapon against humans and Fae alike. Mab may not own me yet, but she controls the life of the man I love. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to see him freed. Even if I have to become the villain to do it. Trigger & Content Warnings The Of Flesh & Bone series is set in a medieval style world where human women are subservient to their male counterparts. The world is a dark dangerous place for women, particularly those who do not conform to societal standards and the purity culture that determines how they live. The Fae realm of Alfheimr is even darker and the violence in this world gets darker and more graphic with each book. There is murder, torture, and elements of assault. As such, some elements may be triggering to certain readers. Please proceed with caution. – Religious purity culture – Verbal & physical abuse (NOT the male lead) – References to grooming behavior & assault of a minor by an authority figure (NOT the male lead) – References to past physical and sexual abuse – Ritualistic Prologue Caldris One of the twin moons flickered as my mate blinked rapidly. She swayed in place as stars shot through the darkness, cruising toward the earth as if the Primordials themselves wept upon all of Alfheimr. My nails dug into the flesh above my heart, feeling the snake that coiled around that beating flesh pull tighter. Mab’s gaze sat heavy upon me, her command bearing down on my soul as I pushed myself to my feet. I did not feel the pain of the wounds already inflicted upon me—only the pain of that flickering bond between Estrella and me. Her consciousness faded slowly as I watched. The pain blooming at the side of her head made my own throb in response. Mab squeezed her fingers tighter, driving me back to my knees with a strangled roar. For