Anathema
Maevyth Bronwick is banished beyond the boundary of Witch Knell, a forbidden forest where sinners are said to vanish and nothing returns. Forced across the threshold after a tragedy, she finds herself in Eidolon, a cursed realm ruled by dark magic. There she meets Zevander Rydainn, an immortal assassin bound to keep her hidden from the mages hunting her — or kill her himself if he fails. Maevyth's blood carries the key to breaking his curse and to an ancient evil sleeping in the woods, but as their bond deepens into obsession, the same forces that drew them together threaten to destroy them both.
Anathema is the first book in Keri Lake's gothic dark fantasy series The Eating Woods, followed by Eldritch.
A shunned woman forced beyond Witch Knell into the cursed realm of Eidolon.
An immortal, cursed assassin of Eidolon tasked with protecting or killing Maevyth; the novel is dual-POV and he co-narrates alongside her.
Maevyth's adoptive sister; her banishment for a forbidden affair sets Maevyth's rescue quest in motion.
A Corvugon — a bird-like dragon believed extinct — that hatches from an egg Maevyth finds and bonds fiercely with her.
This is the first installment in The Eating Woods, which is a planned trilogy.
The romantic connection is a slow-burn progression, with the two main characters not meeting until approximately the middle of the book.
