![]() This place had begun to eat away at her insides her divine form had been rotting for centuries, soured from within and corrupting her budding life and infinite youth. Her light cost her nothing in the mortal world, but here, it caused great pain. If the ghost went on like that, half of purgatory would flock here and devour her whole with their endless need. The spirit’s cries were hungry and desperate, and Persephone had to hush them. “Maria,” Persephone commanded, “look at me.” “I cannot quit the darkness, it will not quit me. “What is your name, spirit?” she asked, bending to touch the wretch upon the cheek and lift it to its feet. Persephone felt tears wash her feet and water the dead and fallen petals. The spirit collapsed at her feet, kissing the pale posies that, in an endless cycle, bloomed then rotted as she walked. Or perhaps she’d been a nun it was austere and black and absorbed all of Persephone’s shifting radi- ance. “My Lady” came the sad voice of a rotting woman in clothing that may have been Puritan. This damnable purgatory would yet drive her mad, with its wailings and whispers, eternal regrets voiced in endless repetition. Persephone sighed as the portal shut behind her, sealing her again in a world of shadow. There have always been six, born and reborn in each generation. Founded in antiquity by the goddess Persephone and the Muses, the Guard have stood between humanity and the forces of darkness for centuries. In the late 1860s, in Cairo, Egypt, Beatrice Smith and five other young people are summoned to become the Guard. Perilous Prophecy is the prequel to the author’s seminal gaslamp fantasy, Strangely Beautiful! Today, we are delighted to host an exclusive excerpt from Perilous Prophecy, an upcoming Tor.com novel Leanna Renee Hieber. ![]()
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