Benjamin J. Ryan

Santha Lathagin was raised on stories-of fae and spirits, of old gods and doors best left unopened. But childhood tales offer little protection when whispers turn to scandal, and scandal to accusation. Shunned by her town and burdened by a past she cannot put to rest, Santha longs for more than the familiar cage of the Silver Valley. In the quiet of the forest, she finds it: a rusted key resting atop a slab of stone, encircled by ancient rowan trees.

It is old. It remembers those who came before. And now, it has chosen again.

The key draws her into a world long hidden behind lore and superstition-of fading glamour and fractured courts, of eldritch pacts and laws older than men. With each truth revealed, another price must be paid, and every choice carries a cost. As something ancient stirs in the north, Santha must decide what she is willing to become, and what she is willing to lose.

Beckoning of the Gate is the first book in The Vāyilian Threads, a dark fantasy series of sacrifice, survival, and secrets.