To the meek, to the bold
Be him young, be him old
Be her wicked or good
Comes the end of all roads
Where waits the Wood

“Magic is fickle,” said the wizard.

“Magic is devious,” said the witch.

“Magic is treacherous,” said the witch hunter.

Bendle Carver has heard the warnings, but what choice does he have? His mother has died, leaving him responsible for his younger brother and sister, and the cruel servants of the king will soon come for them, hungry for the easy profit to be made from defenseless orphans.

To protect his fractured family, Bendle tries to conceal his mother’s death, but in a land full of suspicious eyes, such a secret will not keep.

When all other paths give out, the one that remains is the least probable and the most perilous, for it leads to the cursed Night Wood. Within that dark forest, death and time are twisted in an ancient feud between two rival witches. Perhaps one of them has the power to save the Carver children by bringing their mother back to life, but the cost may be higher than Bendle can bear.