Driftwight

D R I F T W I G H TA world wounded by forgotten gods bleeds a mist that steals time. A sentient moor, the Gloomward, swallows years and memories alike. Rhen is a guide who sells safe passage through this white hell. His latest client is Iovis, an elf noblewoman with a bag of suspiciously clean silver and a bundle she guards with her life. She claims to be a botanist. He knows she's a liar. What she carries is not a plant, but the Heartseed-a weapon of ultimate stillness, carved from a dead god's heart.
Her people intend to use it to grow an impassable wall of living stone, sealing the elves away forever and dooming the human kingdoms to starvation. She stole it to prevent this silent apocalypse. Now, they are hunted. Not just by the relentless, frost-eyed Pursuer of the Silven Court-Iovis's former betrothed-but by the Gloomward itself, and by the monstrous Driftwights born from its sorrow. Their flight becomes a desperate journey through petrified forests, toxic bogs, and the geography of ancient grief.
To survive, a cynical human guide and a fugitive elf heiress must forge a bond deeper than trust. They will face the literal heart of decay, challenge fanatics who worship purity, and discover that saving the world might require sacrificing the peace they fought to build. Driftwight is a standalone dark fantasy adventure of desperate flight, monstrous landscapes, and the fragile, defiant love that grows in the rot.
Perfect for readers of Anna Smith Spark, Ed McDonald, and John Gwynne. A tale of thorn-pullers in a world of wounds.