The Buried God
A god does not die. It sleeps. It dreams. It hungers.
For a thousand years, the Hollow King has been buried beneath the mountain, his hunger seeping into the soil, the water, the bones of the dead. The priests feed him sacrifices. The land withers. The people forget.
Damon is a gravedigger. He has buried thousands. He has never questioned where the bodies come from.
Until he digs up a woman who is still breathing.
Her name is Vespera. She has been dead for a thousand years. She was a priestess who helped bury the god. And she has one warning:
“The hunger is waking. The mountain is cracking. And you are the only one who can stop it.”
Damon must descend into the darkness. He must face the Council. He must pass three trials — of blood, of bone, of soul.
But the god does not want to be killed.
It wants to be loved.
19. The Village of the Forgotten
23. The Road Back to the Mountain