H.E. Edgmon - The Fae Keeper

H.E. Edgmon (he/they) is a questionable influence, a dog person, and an author of books both irreverent and radicalizing. Born and raised in the rural South, he currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with his eccentric little family. His stories imagine Indigenous worlds and center queer kids saving each other. H.E. has never once gotten enough sleep and probably isnt going to any time soon. The Witch King was his debut.

Praise for The Witch King

Edgmons ebullient debut depicts a variety of trans perspectives with tender sensitivity, and quintessential walking disaster Wyatts self-deprecating humor, punk glee, and surprisingly level head are vividly lovable.... Readers will adore this revolution-tinged celebration of trans joy, which refreshingly builds its conflict without jumping for trauma tropes.

Publishers Weekly , starred review

This romantically charged, anti-fascist fantasy presents a diverse cast of queer characters.... The page-turning resolution promises an irresistible duology closer to come.

Kirkus Reviews

A complex fantasy debut, rich in nuanced LGBTQIA+ representation and timely social commentary, perfect for fans of Adam Silvera, Holly Black, and Rin Chupeco.

School Library Journal

Edgmons debut is a spellbinding duology starter, ultimately driven by its core cast of complicated and lovable characters who will keep readers laughing with deftly written, witty dialogue that never veers into clich, and a richly layered world that feels incredibly real, with high-stakes fascism, corruption, and oppression. Readers will be left eager for the sequel to this fiery stunner of a fantasy.

Booklist

An Indie Next List pick
Best Book of the Year pick by Publishers Weekly and the New York Public Library

The Fae Keeper

H.E. Edgmon

For every trans elder who should be here but isnt. Im sorry. I love you. I will not stop fighting.

A Note from the Author

While there was so much of my personal story in The Witch King , there is so much of us and our history as a community in The Fae Keeper . And I wont lie to youits brutal. At times, it was painful for me even to write it. And I guess that makes sense. Queer and trans history, too, is brutal and often painful. This particular story contains violence (including murder), gore and body horror, on-page panic attacks and dissociation, graphic discussions of infanticide, discussions of cannibalism, off-page rape and discussions of childhood sexual abuse, animal death, discussions of gender dysphoria, discussions of real-world racism and transphobia, and emetophobia. Please be gentle with yourself.

But understand, this is still not a queer pain story. Its a story about queer survival, and queer revolution, and queer love. I will never promise you a happily-ever-after, but I will promise you hope, and humor, and a group of people who care enough about each other to grit their teeth and stare down impossible odds side by side. After all, our fight may be bloody, but it isnt one we have to fight alone.

Thank you for fighting with me. Now lets get to work.

H.E. Edgmon

Contents

Two weeks after my boyfriend dies in my arms, we go to the woods in the middle of the night to close a portal to another world.

Emyrmy boyfriend, now less dead and more of a kingbrushes his knuckles against the back of my hand as we weave through honey locusts, moonlight making puppets of our shadows. He doesnt say anything, but theres no need to.

Briar and Jin, walking side by side a few feet ahead, fill the silence for us, their yellow and purple energies batting back and forth at each other as they do.

So, well do this one, and then

Right, these three, yeah. Are we sure about

I dont know. Maybe we should go back to

I was just thinking that, yeah, and I was also thinking

Their conversation is both about me and not, and I only manage to half follow it. Theyre still knocking out the logistics of what were about to do, making last-minute decisions on the sigils theyre going to use to close the door to Faery.

What if it doesnt work? Briar asks, and shes still talking to Jin, but her eyes meet mine when I look her way. I can only face her dark, tender stare without an answer.

Because I dont have one.

This isnt the first time weve tried closing the door. Briar, Emyr, and I have been out here a few times on our own. But Briar and I can barely come up with an ounce of magic between us, and Emyr is a fae Healer . None of us is exactly perfect for the job.

It will work, Tessa snaps, pushing past Emyr and me to force her way to the front of the group. So, thats a pointless question.

My charming sister. We brought her into this endeavor the same time we told Jin, once we realized we were never going to fix the problem on our own. Tonights the first night well try all together.

And it has to be tonight.

In the morning, Briar leaves Asalin, the fae kingdom hidden in upstate New York, for her home in Texas. She and her mother, Nadua, are going to start tracking down their familys changeling contacts, gathering more information on the secret network of their people around the world. Changelings keep their true nature hidden, pretending to be human to avoid fae eyes, not wanting to face the same mistreatment the witches do.

But Emyr is king now, and he wants something better. With Briar and Nadua on his side, maybe we can make allies out of these creatures we didnt even know existed.

Which would be fucking great, because allies are something were desperately in need of. Briar might be leaving Asalin tomorrow, but so are the rest of us. Emyr, Tessa, Jin, and I are heading to North Carolina, to follow up on a lead on the whereabouts of Derek and Clarke Pierce.

The sibling duo who killed Emyr. Who then escaped from Asalin and went on the run.

Under normal circumstances , hunting down his own assassins would not be the kings job. But since one of Emyrs first royal decrees was to finally shut down the Guardthe corrupt fae police force, previously led by Derekin a move that wildly pissed off most of his kingdom, and the people he trusts not to murder him (again) are basically limited to the five of us in the woods right now...

Well, we dont have a lot of options.

Yeah, its gonna be fine. I am trying to get better at sounding all confident and positive about things, even when the hamster in my head is screaming and its wheel is on fire. Ive learned recently that being intentionally shitty about everything is not a personality, actually, or at least not one thats fun to be around.

When Emyrs knuckles graze mine again, I lace our fingers together. He squeezes, his gold energy wrapping like a cuff around my wrist, his claws digging into the fragile skin on the back of my hand. I dont pull away, even when it starts to hurt a little.

Were greeted in front of the door by Boom. The hellhound sits twenty feet away from the opening, red eyes sharp and keen as he keeps watch, black hackles raised along his back. He hates this place.

Which really makes me feel good, you know, about what the hell is over there.

I reach over with my free hand to scratch the top of Booms head, nails scraping the base of his ears. You can go home, bud. You dont have to be here for this.

He huffs, tilting his neck back to nip gently at my fingers, and then returns to his superimportant task of glaring at the door.