The Beast of Blackmoor (Gathering of Dragons, #0.5)

by Milla Vane

[EBookObsessed]

A young knight named Kavic stumbled into a temple of the goddess Vela. He asked her to give him a quest and in return he demanded 10,000 men to help him reclaim his lands in Blackmoor from the vile Baron who has taken the castle and is tormenting his people. If she would do that for him, maybe he would worship her. When Vela turns him away, he takes back his offering and pees in her offering cup instead. Goddesses don’t take well to those kind of things, so she curses him to be a pariah and tells him when he see the woman in red, she will herald the end.

Fast-forward about five or six years, and Mala comes to Blackmoor on a quest for Vela. If she can tame the Beast of Blackmoor, Vela will send her the strength of 10,000 men to protect her land from the Destroyer who is returning. When Mala crosses into Blackmoor, she sees a warrior protecting a caravan of travelers from zombie animals called revenants. She rushes to the aid of the warrior to save the travelers. Garbed in her red cloak of Vela, Kavic knows that the end is coming. He also knows Mala by her face, since he has been dreaming of her every night since he was punished by Vela.

Through persistence, Mala convinces Kavic to join her on her quest until they both come to realize that the Beast to be tamed isn’t the one tormenting the villages, but Kavic himself. No matter how much he wants Mala, he won’t be collared and leashed again.

Normally I wouldn’t have chosen this type of story but I did find myself enjoying it.