OceanofPDF.com
Contents
Foreword
Map
Preface
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
About the author
OceanofPDF.com
Copyright © 2026 by Aria Ashbrook.
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
No generative AI used, ever.
Published by Hellhound Press Limited.
Cover design by Christian Bentulan.
Developmental and line editing: Victoria O Editorial.
Copy editing: Laura McCallen.
Proofreading: Elizabeth at Arrowhead Editing.
OceanofPDF.com
Content Advisory
This enthralling dark romantasy includes scenes of violence, death, grief, adult language (and actions), and the sort of emotionally poor decisions that only seem reasonable at the time.
Characters were harmed in the making of this story. Emotional support tissues are recommended.
If you’re a spice lover, welcome. If you’re a fade-to-black reader, consider this your warning that some scrolling may be required.
Please note that all of Aria’s works are written in British English. Any unfamiliar spellings, phrases, or turns of speech are intentional rather than errors. Consider them part of the British charm.
If you’re still game, then let’s begin…
OceanofPDF.com
Foreword
If you're a person that needs to read in order, then you can grab the FREE prequel novella, Veil of Web and Ruin before you dive into Web of Vows and Vengeance by signing up for the free book on the website https://www.aria-ashbrook.com
Otherwise, hoard it like a bookdragon for when you need a little something for the book hangover.
OceanofPDF.com
For those that dream of lightning.
OceanofPDF.com
OceanofPDF.com
I should have known a man who kissed like a storm would only ever leave destruction in his wake.
OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 1
They say vengeance is a blade best kept sharp, and my dagger has been honed with every betrayal.
Shadows flicker in the torchlight as I count the silhouettes guarding the building where my hopes rest, my pulse skittering higher and higher.
There are no priestesses inside the temple tonight. No devotees of Etta giving the Great Goddess their libations and wealth as they breathe in the heavy incense and beg her forgiveness for all their sins. Instead, twenty-six knights and their twenty-six dire wolves prowl the silent ring of the citadel, waiting for the brave, the dumb, and the desperate – those foolish enough to risk life and limb for the chance to win the gifting.
This is the third night of my watch and the last chance I’ve got. I left it to the last moment to make my offering. The denizens from the other cities have already made theirs, and tomorrow they’ll announce the few chosen by the Goddess. There won’t be another Retterheld in my lifetime as there’s never more than one in a century.
It’s now or never.
I’ve spent the previous two evenings tracking their movements, their patterns. Watching, calculating, learning. The first night, I watched from the very edge of the wall, noting how long each loop of the temple took, where the knighted guards paused, and how often. And just as I expected, there is a rhythm and a pattern to it. Openings where, if I’m fast – which I am – I’ll be able to get into the temple unseen.
Last night I crept closer, finding a small back window left ajar. That’s going to be my way in. Sure, there’s the slight issue in that the window is at least twelve feet off the ground, but climbs like that don’t bother me. When the only way you can get fresh eggs is by clambering up spruce trees and raiding siskin nests, you quickly become a skilled climber. Starvation encourages many nefarious skills. I regret none of my lessons though, only the circumstances that led me to them.
Over the past three nights I’ve seen five people successfully make it into the temple to give their offerings to Etta in the hope that she’ll accept them into the Retterheld. Men and women who have succeeded in scaling the walls or crawling through the gutters, only to walk – or strut – out the main door soon after, their fingertips dyed black as a sign of their success. I’ve seen many more fail. Heard their screams, heard their rattling final breaths. They won’t haunt me, not when I’ve already become inured to death; living in the slums is one long – or short – death sentence.
Not that every applicant to the Retterheld dies. The richest would have already passed on coins to guarantee that healers happen to be nearby. But even if you make it into the temple, the Goddess still has to choose you. To deem you worthy. Only then can you actually call yourself a Rettling. A name I will get or die trying.
Another howl, another scream. I wince in sympathy. Mother was one of those healers once, standing ready with spells and potions. There was a time when it felt like she could heal all but death itself, but when it came to it, even she couldn’t defy Mortidem. And now, here I am, in rags and desperation, risking everything for my sister.
‘You can’t stay here all night, Rose,’ I mutter to myself as I catch a shadow creeping along the outer wall of the third ring. If I’ve spotted the other supplicant, chances are good that one of the guards has seen them too. I wait for a cry to ring out, but there’s none. I’m unsure whether I feel relieved or disappointed.
