The Bone King and the Starling

Winterbren is a poor village on the outskirts of Wrath, and its people have just learned who is coming to stay. The bone king, a huge warrior who worships the gods and gives them human sacrifices, arrives with his warriors for a visit.

The narrator is a thrall who lives in Winterbren, which is her home. Her low status has always kept her beneath notice, and she is relieved by that now. Then the king demands a willing female to warm his furs for the length of his stay, and he chooses her.

She has one night to get through. All she can do is pray to the gods that she survives it, and beg the bone king for mercy.

This is a dark romance fantasy told in the first person by the thrall. The heroine is a Black woman, and her place as a thrall is part of the story. Content warnings include graphic torture, non-consensual sex and discussion of early childhood abuse. The author lists a fuller set of warnings on her website, so readers who are sensitive to these subjects should check it first.