The Ones Between

THE ONES BETWEEN By Ricardo Marques What happens when a king declares war on beings who were never meant to belong to either the living or the dead? In the kingdom of Zagopety Malandaros Covai, King Albert Mustlenring van Spidour has decided that the enchanted have no right to exist. Under the banner of the Cleansing of the Realm, villages burn, ancient forests are threatened, and innocent creatures are hunted simply for being different. The king calls it justice. Those who suffer call it survival. Deep within the forest, Gatrix, the Green Wizard, gathers a fragile community of enchanted beings, refugees, and unlikely allies. Among them are Rowan, a shapeshifter with a talent for trouble; Kitsune, a mischievous nine-tailed fox spirit; Anguana, the ancient mother of the waters; and a frightened goblin child carrying a wooden toy horse. But compassion has a price. As the king's own family begins to question his rule, soldiers are forced to choose between obedience and conscience. Villages must decide whether fear is worth more than kindness, while the enchanted struggle against a terrible temptation: becoming the very monsters their enemies claim they are. And somewhere along the road, an unusual flower watches the world unfold, offering the occasional truth to the only person who can hear it: you, the reader.