A priestess in mourning. A pagan god in a sacred grove. When myth and death entwine, what blossoms may bloom?

In an ancient Greek-inspired world, High Priestess Makaria bears the burden of tending to the dead. But when a deadly plague overruns every sacred burial ground, she ventures beyond the known world -- into a forgotten necropolis hidden in ivy and ruin.

There, in a long-lost grove overtaken by thorns and memory, she finds something older than Olympus: a sleeping god of bark and silence, born from earth's oldest faith. His body is wood. His memory is myth. And he offers her a pact -- she may bury her dead, if she helps him remember what it means to live.

As seasons shift and the orchard blooms, so does something between them: slow and sensual, rooted in grief, healing, and forbidden desire. Under Makaria's hands, the grove awakens. Under his gaze, so does she.

But as life returns, so does the question: can anything sacred survive the cycle of death?

A lyrical Hades-and-Persephone inversion about loss, growth, and the strange love that takes root in the cracks.

Tropes: Romantic fantasy · Slow burn · Greek and Celtic mythology-inspired · Hades and Persephone inverted retelling · Priestess/god dynamic · Emotional healing · Nature magic · Grief and rebirth
Spice: Soft (one sweet open-door scene)
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From the Loves Runes collection, in the "One Hour Fantasy" series: fast-paced, emotionally rich romantic fantasy designed for one-sitting escapes.

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• Science Fiction & FantasyFantasyMyths & LegendsGreek & Roman

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• Print Length: 73 Pages
• File Size: 15 KB