Your Blood, My Bones

Wyatt and Pedyr grow up together at Willow Heath, until Wyatt turns thirteen, and her mother takes her away. She returns five years later after her father’s death to literally burn it down, but is drawn inside where she finds Pedyr chained up in the basement, having suffered horribly at the hands of her father. She learns his repeated deaths help to safeguard the estate from supernatural creatures.

Pedyr knows how to end his torment and return home, which requires the death of the last remaining Westlock heir. Wyatt wants to save the estate as its magical wards fade; Pedyr wants to go home, but only he can help reign in her magic and reinstate the safety net, but trust is nigh impossible with conflicting goals.

While not a series, fans who read The Whispering Dark will be rewarded with crossover characters. There is a decidedly Peter Pan vibe woven in this tale. Wyatt has a youngish voice for eighteen and is an unreliable, unknowledgeable narrator, leaving much of the magic and world building unexplained. However, it is a dark gothic tale, with a slow burn to the finish, and a savory sweet romance amidst a horrific fantasy world.