Maiden of the Hollow Path

MAIDEN OF THE HOLLOW PATHCopyright © 2023 by Shar KhanAll rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations em- bodied in critical articles or reviews.This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.For information contact : [email protected] and cover design by : Arpita SolomonBook formatting by : Derek MurphyInterior art by : Lindsay NidEdited by : Nicole NeumanMaps by : Saumya SinghISBN: 9798392862986First Edition: June 2023CONTENT GUIDELINES : Maiden of the Hollow Path mentions themes of violence, gore, child death, abuse of power, sexism, mild racism, drug abuse, and religious sacrilege. There are heavy depictions of self-harm, alcoholism, PTSD, sexual assault and emotional grief as well as internalized ableism and mild use of ableist terminology. This is a series that ends on cliffhangers, so do be weary upon starting TABLE OF CONTENTSPREAMBLE TO THE ACCURSEDCHAPTER ONE: THE RETURNEDCHAPTER TWO: DIVINE INTERVENTIONCHAPTER THREE: BROKEN WARDSCHAPTER FOUR: A FALCON LEADING WOLVESCHAPTER FIVE: WEAVERS IN THE SKULL CATHEDRALCHAPTER SIX: GOLD COINS AND COCKROACHESCHAPTER SEVEN: ERHAANI HARVESTCHAPTER EIGHT: WORTHLESS NOOSECHAPTER NINE: THE THING ABOUT OUR ENEMYCHAPTER TEN: IN SINGEMARCHAPTER ELEVEN: A MAN AND WOMAN AT DAWNCHAPTER TWELVE: FLOWER OF CORRUPTIONCHAPTER THIRTEEN: ODD ALLIANCESCHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE CHILD OF WIDOWMERECHAPTER FIFTEEN: OF CURSES AND BLESSINGSCHAPTER SIXTEEN: TYRANNICAL TRADITIONCHAPTER SEVENTEEN: PESTILENCECHAPTER EIGHTEEN: BAD BLOODCHAPTER NINETEEN: THE BEGUM OF WARD 8CHAPTER TWENTY: A GIRL NAMED KAILANICHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: THE NIGHTINGALECHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: THE PRINCESS & THE PIRATECHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: GALEMIRECHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: YLACHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: THAT GIRL IN WOLCENCHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: TO THE DEATHCHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: WARNINGSCHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: THE FINAL SHAPECHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: MODEST BLOODCHAPTER THIRTY: GIVE HIM WARCHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: PRAHANICHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: THE MAN WHO GIVETH DEATHCHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: THE CATALYSTCHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: LIKE CALLS TO LIKECHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: GRAVESTONECHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: VOWS FROM VALHEIMPREAMBLE TO THE CORRUPTEDCHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: SIBLING RIVALRYCHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: THE GILDED GIRLCHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: ZAROORATCHAPTER FORTY: THE PRINCESS & THE PIRATE (PT.II)CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: UP TO PARCHAPTER FORTY-TWO: BAD HABITSCHAPTER FORTY-THREE: LORD OF SLUMSCHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: DEVIL OF THE SANDSCHAPTER FORTY-FIVE: TWIN TANTOSCHAPTER FORTY-SIX: THAT NIGHT AT ROSEBLOODCHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: RED REBELCHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: ASUNDEREDCHAPTER FORTY-NINE: THE PARAGON’S SAVIORCHAPTER FIFTY: WELCOME THE RESISTANCECHAPTER FIFTY-ONE: DUNGEON DWELLERSCHAPTER FIFTY-TWO: A LORD’S DOMINIONCHAPTER FIFTY-THREE: LOVER’S QUARRELCHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR: LIKE DOMINOESCHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE: THE ENTRUSTEDCHAPTER FIFTY-SIX: PERCEPTIONCHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN: CHASMS IN THE COURTCHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT: LIKE A KINGCHAPTER FIFTY-NINE: A PAINFUL REINTRODUCTIONCHAPTER SIXTY: MENDING WOUNDSCHAPTER SIXTY-ONE: FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESSCHAPTER SIXTY-TWO: GATES OF PARADISECHAPTER SIXTY-THREE: WHISPERING SECRETSCHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR: AZGHALCHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE: THE PIRATE IN THE ROOMPREAMBLE TO THE POSSESSEDCHAPTER SIXTY-SIX: TWIN REFLECTIONSCHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN: TOGETHERCHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT: SCHOLAR, SOLDIER, BASTARD, KITSUNECHAPTER SIXTY-NINE: JINN-TOUCHEDCHAPTER SEVENTY: NOBLE VARIANTCHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE: BLINKING LIGHTSCHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO: HUMANITYCHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE: SLUMBERCHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR: AS IF NOTHING WAS WRONGCHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE: AN EXCHANGE OF GOLDCHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN: AN EYE FOR A LEGCHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT: AS HUSBAND AND WIFECHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE: KING OF THE DEADCHAPTER EIGHTY: KAILANICHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE: THE FIRST PRINCECHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO: CONSIDERATIONSCHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE: A FEAT OF PIRATESCHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR: APPEARANCESCHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE: THAT THING ABOUT SPIESCHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX: SILVER GOBLETSCHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN: IN THE DEAD OF NIGHTCHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT: THE AFTERMATHCHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE: THE BEGINNING OF THE ENDCHAPTER NINETY: PRIYACHAPTER NINETY-ONE: BIG BROTHERCHAPTER NINETY-TWO: KNOWLEDGE IS FRIGHTENINGCHAPTER NINETY-THREE: THE MOON & HIS FALCONCHAPTER NINETY-FOUR: THE JINN QUEENCHAPTER NINETY-FIVE: THE INNER SANCTUMCHAPTER NINETY-SIX: TEISH PHUL PUSHPACHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN: ASCENSIONCHAPTER NINETY-EIGHT: WELCOME THE REVENANTCHAPTER NINETY-NINE:PURITYACKNOWLEDGEMENTSABOUT THE AUTHOR PREAMBLE TO THE ACCURSEDSHAHINA Rukhezzi had a soft heart for some, but they were long dead and so was she. Made from the wrath she’d held in the pit of her soul; it was unleashed like a torrent over the Summer Court. Not only did it engulf those who begged mercy, but it engulfed her too. She’d remembered what it felt like; when skin began to decay and burning hot coals simmered cold. She was prepared to die with frazzled nerve endings and each breath burning her lungs. And yet she was here, alive, with all manner of scar proving those trials. The House of Falcons believed she reflected the monstrosities of her heart, but the people? The people never thought of her as anything but justified. For now, when she rode Galagar through the First Gates with her head held high, she’d amassed a thousand marigold garlands to welcome her home.If only they’d known why. CHAPTER ONE: THE RETURNEDTHERE are a few things one should know about the Rukhezzi, and it’s how much they hate their own. For all wished to take the Lotus Throne, yet it was open to just one. In recent years, not even the Great and Immortal Maharaj was given sanction to sit upon that seat, and so it drew cold and weary, the gilded black armrests growing tired and lonely. It called for something more, fashioned from tsavorite and inlaid with crystalline petals, it glowed ominously under the morning sky.The open domed roof let broken sunlight bless its cathedral, and the magnificent golden steps leading to the center of the crown remained marred and eroded.Shahina stared at it for a long moment, looking abnormal in its wake. She was shrouded in the shadows of the day with a broken amethyst pendant spun in hand. She looked down at the half-cracked jewel that pulsed only slightly, a rarity she hadn’t seen in eight years. Taking one step forward, the jewel pulsed even faster almost as if it were telling her something.“Worry not. It’ll be ours someday.” Her voice was low and drawn with husk. Once, long ago, she could bark all manner of orders and her people would fall in line. Now, it was just a trait; something that followed her tincture of alcohol and mythium pipes, both of which, had been void to her for quite some time.In the little time spent on Amari soil, she’d already had her first taste of liquor and with it, came the compulsion of utmost want peppering her horizons like storm clouds set to conquer. Yet despite the lingering atrocities,