Shadows of Loch Maree: Chronicles the Shadow Vanguard: A Prequel Story

Shadows of Loch MareeChronicles of the Shadow Vanguard: A Prequel StoryAutumn, 1845. A shepherd's daughter is found drowned among the reeds of Loch Maree, her skin torn in patterns no drowning ever leaves. Days later, a second body surfaces. The villagers whisper an old word: kelpie. A water horse, they say, has come hungry from the deep.At Sterling Castle, a letter arrives that Duke Edward Sterling cannot set aside. He and his wife Amelia lead the Shadow Vanguard, a society sworn to guard Britain from what the ordinary world refuses to see. Edward brings a soldier's strength and a strategist's mind. Amelia brings workings that can read a lie in a man's face or the memory left in still water. Together they ride north, and they bring with them Niall Fraser, a probationary recruit barely a month into his training, on the first mission that will ask him to prove himself with more than a ledger and a blade.But what waits in the sea caves beneath the cliffs is not what the legends promised. And the hunters who set the trap that killed two children are not finished with their work.In the darkness of the inmost cave, Niall must decide what kind of man he means to become, before the choice is taken from him forever.Shadows of Loch Maree is a gothic historical fantasy of secret societies, old magic, and the quiet cruelty of men who believe themselves civilized. It stands as a prequel to the Chronicles of the Shadow Vanguard series, and can be read before or alongside Book One, The Inheritance.Perfect for readers drawn to atmospheric Victorian settings, morally serious mentors, found-family dynamics, and fantasy where the real danger rarely wears scales.