Sloe Moon: Stoneharp

the Sloe Moon series

Volume 1: Tall Trees

Volume 2: Stoneharp

Available soon:

Volume 3: Crooked Hill (November 2024)

Volume 4: Eastbay (March 2025)

Volume 5: Halfway

Volume 6: Goldenlake

Content Warnings

Strong language, sex, violence, injury detail, mentions of rape, mentions of suicide, death, death in battle

Copyright © 2024 C. M. Kuhtz

Wollschweber Publishing

www.wollschweberpublishing.com

All rights reserved.

Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission of the publisher, author, or artist.

Credits

Copyediting: B. N. Laux

Production: C. M. Kuhtz

Cover illustration: Casey Gerber

Cover design: C. M. Kuhtz

Logo design: Dorit Osang

Map design: C. M. Kuhtz

Chapter illustration: C. M. Kuhtz

No AI has been used in the creation of this book.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-7394032-2-5 paperback

ISBN 978-1-7394032-3-2 ebook

Contents

Dedication

Maps

dramatis personae

Book One

1.the wrath of a wizard

2.the right questions

3.breathe

4.the hard way

5.now we know

6.feel the same way

7.supposed to go back

8.try to get it right

9.a privilege

10.a formidable enemy

11.shifted again

12.why you are here

13.dusty nook

14.i will wait

15.nothing like that

16.against the faint light

17.stay put

18.make me understand

19.to know where you are

20.limitations

21.too optimistic

22.the next attempt

Book Two

23.the things he needed to change

24.do both

25.from every angle

26.something like this

27.the coldest … the warmest

28.something fierce

29.your blessing

30.the worst time

31.a choice

32.unsavoury ends

33.highly suspicious

34.under control

35.pray hard

36.carried not by the strongest

37.reason to lie

38.fight for a space

39.at least try

40.bringing them with me

41.author note & acknowledgements

about the author

for all of us who are unheard

dramatis personae

Pronunciation Guide

Vowels

A—as in ‘marvel’ (ā)

E—long, as in ‘elusive’ (ē) or short and flat (ə), as in ‘energy’

I—like ee, as in ‘feel’ (ee), though sometimes more like a flat e (ə)

O—round, as in ‘over’ (ō)

U—like oo, as in ‘moon’ (oo)

Consonants:

C and Q—like k, as in ‘crown’ (k)

J and Y—like y, as in ‘yay’ (y)

S—soft, as in ‘zebra’ (z)

W—like v, as in ‘village’ (v)

Cathil (Kāthəl) Cloud—favourite son of the leader of the Clouds and famed warrior.

Cirvi (Keer-vee) Cloud—a wizard.

Cjanis (Kyā-nəs) Cloud—one of Cathil Cloud’s sisters. Also a wizard.

Julas (Yoolās) Raven—a distant cousin of Sloe’s.

Nalan na Nileon (Nālān nā Nee-ləōn)—a commoner, related to the da Nileons.

Nivael da Nileon (Nee-vā-ēl dā Nee-ləōn)—a man of the Eastern Cities and Prince of Crooked Hill.

Norvid da Nileon (Nōrvət dā Nee-ləōn)—Nivael’s cousin.

Olas da Ozanil (Ōlāz dā Ōzā-neel)—a man of the Eastern Cities and negotiator.

Oyel da Ozanil (Ōyēl dā Ōzā-neel)—Olas’ uncle, Norvid da Nileon’s negotiator.

Qarim (Kāreem) Badger—Sloe’s father, until recently presumed dead.

Qes (Kəz) Badger—Sloe’s cousin and best friend.

Qarim (Kareem) Badger—Sloe's father, long presumed dead.

Qati (Kātee) Badger—one of Qes’ cousins.

Qerla (Kēr-lā) Badger—the first wizard of Goldenlake.

Qor (Kōr) Badger—one of Qerla Badger’s apprentices. Also Qes’ cousin.

Rali (Rālee) Owl—a wizard.

(Rāvəl) Owl—the commander of a garrison of warriors in the west.

Raz (Rāz) Owl—Rawil’s niece.

Rion (Ree-ōn) Owl—Raz’s brother.

Rovan (Rōvānn) Owl—the commander of the Beakdig garrison. Rawil’s ex-husband.

Saon (Zā-ōn) Moon—Sloe’s ex-boyfriend.

Silid (Zee-ləd) Moon—Sloe’s oldest sister and heir to their mother.

Siw (Zəv) Moon—Sloe’s sister, closest to them in age. A wizard’s apprentice.

Sjunil (Zyoo-neel) Moon—Sloe’s aunt and wizard of Tall Trees.

Sloe (Slō) Moon—youngest child of the leader of the Moons.

Sloe's mother—the leader of the Moons.

Sor (Zōr) Moon—Silid’s child, living with Sloe in the Other House.

Tala (Tālā) Mouse—the ruler of the Mouse family.

Tarvi (Tārvee) Mouse—Torgall’s twin sister, Cathil Cloud’s sister-in-law.

Tjal na Tialin (Tyāl nā Tee-ā-leen)—a man of the Eastern Cities.

Torgall (Tōrgəl) Mouse—Cathil Cloud’s husband.

Werid (Vērət) Wolf/Werid of the Far Side—a wizard from the Eastern steppes.

Yuna (Yoonā) Elk—a wizard running the administration office of the Stoneharp. Qarim Badger’s ex-girlfriend.

Book One

the wrath of a wizard

Do we need to go in?

We’d ridden for a whole day, and I could barely feel my fingers. Still, I would’ve preferred staying out in the bitter wind of the plains to entering the settlement sprawled out in the dip below us. Clawdig looked grimy and mud-spattered in the rain thawing the landscape, and our horses squelched through the trampled grass. A few days before there’d been snow as far as the eye could see. Qes made a weird movement to swing the long, wet curls out of his eyes.

Sloe … he said, a warning for me to pull myself together.

Qes and I had only just found each other again but had spent much less time talking on our day’s trip from the coast than I’d hoped. Neither of us had an easy time of it when we were apart. We both had the scars to prove it, and the events of the last week had exhausted me to the bone. In Clawdig I hoped to be given a reasonably dry place to sleep, but feared the altercation awaiting me before I could finally rest. It turned out that travelling across the muddy plains in streaming rain was the easy part of my day.

Beakdig had housed a garrison, while Clawdig was more of a family settlement with familiar structures like a Roundhouse, taller than the other dwellings clustered around it and thatched with sodden bundles of grass. Other rectangular buildings were grouped around it and a high fence secured all, sharpened posts placed so close to each other that not even a mouse could’ve squeezed through. Compared to the other villages I’d stayed in during my time in the west, Clawdig wasn’t positioned on a natural elevation on the plains. It seemed strangely vulnerable as Qes and I stared down on it from the ridge we’d paused on.

This is the last village of the Owls before the Mouse territories, Qes said, his voice croaky. Your aunt hasn’t chosen it because of the glamour.

So I can see.

I’d thought myself unlucky for having to spend my winter in Beakdig, but in the great scheme of things, I wasn’t an important person. Sjunil, my aunt and wizard of our family, was entitled to much better accommodation. Warriors in the garrisons were kept reasonably well-fed, but other members of the families were much less looked after. Dealing with a wizard at variable levels of crankiness was one thing—dealing with a hungry wizard bored out of their skull very much another.

I noticed Qes was watching me think. What?

I had almost lost hope, he said. Weeks and weeks I have feared for your life, picturing you strung up by your heels with your throat cut, only for me to find you alive after all. I’m glad you’re still breathing, Sloe. So glad.

Tears blurred my vision and I thanked the gods for the rain. I feared for your life, too, I admitted. It feels like a miracle that we’re together again.

I still don’t understand why you refused to go home. A muscle worked in his left cheek. You can’t possibly still be in love with the prince?

I had to think about his words. No, I’m not in love with him. This is something different, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful. The prince and I have a difficult relationship, but … there is respect, even if it’s not quite friendship.

Why? he asked, trying to dislodge a curl that the rain had glued to his forehead.

Maybe this just happens when you go through stuff side by side. There were incidents …

Incidents?

He came to my aid when some of the Clouds tried to rape me.

Qes’ black eyes went wide. I’m sorry. That explains things a bit better. He looked down on the village that seemed to hold its breath for our arrival.

Can you please not tell Sjunil about it? I’m not sure how she’d react if she knew.

He nodded. Promise. Though she should know that the Clouds are capable of treating a member of the Moons with such cruelty.

I’ll find my own way to hammer that fact home. I reached across and took his wrist under the sky-blue cloak that once had been mine, that my first love had given me when I’d left Tall Trees. The colour suited Qes well. It drew attention to his large frame, his bulk, and made him look like a person who needed to be included in decisions.

He drew out a noise with his tongue against the roof of his mouth and his black horse took the first steps into the valley. My piebald mare followed without further encouragement. Our mounts hoped for a sheltered spot and an armful of hay, for hours of rest in which to dry off, while the fine hairs on the back of my neck prickled in anticipation of getting yelled at.

We made our way carefully, the wet saddles creaking under our arses. The guards at the gate stood up straighter as we came closer. I knew news of our arrival would have spread through the settlement. My heart started galloping faster and I had to concentrate hard to slow my breath. I shoved the reins under my left leg and fumbled for the silver amulet I wore with the right.

Brother Brook, please help me not disgrace myself. The wrath of a wizard is a frightening thing to behold but please make me bear her displeasure—at least until I can crawl away and hide …

Qes exchanged a few words with the guards I couldn’t quite hear, then the gate opened so slowly that I ached to scream at it.

The yard the gate led into was empty. No one wanted to face the rain just because of us. Qes led the way through the village, keeping to the left of the Roundhouse’s roof towering over us. We came to another square, with rows and rows of wet benches where assemblies were likely held in the summer months, and a roofed construction of planks for horses to be made fast and left for a while.

Qes slid from his saddle and wrapped the reins around the posts. He avoided looking at me, for which I was grateful. I patted Cirvi’s piebald neck to gain a few more moments of peace, then followed my cousin’s broad back as he walked to the yawning entrance of the Roundhouse. We could see the flickering light of fire in a brazier and a few faces grouped around it. One of them I knew well, but it was not my aunt.

Werid?

Werid of the Far Side had probably never been so far from home. They hailed from the steppes in the east and were the only member of the Wolf family I was likely to meet in my life. They were swaddled in furs, their glorious auburn hair heaped in braids upon their head.

Oh, Sloe. They rushed at me and kissed me with a loud smack, on both cheeks, their mouth burning into my icy skin. Then they hugged Qes. Well done.

He blushed. You’re welcome, Werid.

I will bring you to her. Their long fingers dug into my arm, allowing no resistance.

‘Good luck,’ Qes mouthed at me.

Sjunil Moon was propped up on one of the sleeping platforms in the House of Women. In the west, people were much less particular about Werid and me visiting the women’s space. Ever since making my choice, I’d followed strict rules at home but living for weeks on end in the House of Men in Goldenlake made me hesitate before I stepped into the fragrant darkness. The house had been cleansed with incense which almost made me sneeze.

My aunt’s eyes were closed. In the weeks since we’d seen each other last, her hair had become greyer. The chequered blanket she always wore as a cloak was spread over her legs. The house was empty, with no apprentices around to take care of her.

Werid sat on the edge of the platform and gently placed one of their hands on my aunt’s shoulder. Sjunil? Qes came back.

Her eyes flew open. It took a moment until they focused on me, standing in the shadows behind her fellow wizard. Oh, fuck. Don’t cry, Sloe.

I sniffled, desperately trying to hold on.

It’s nothing, she hissed and tried to sit up a bit more. Just the cold and the horrible food.

Werid made a disapproving face.

Siw didn’t say that you are ill, I protested.

Would you have come quicker if you’d known?

My aunt was a person you lied to at your own peril. Probably not.

Anyway, Siw didn’t know. Werid took care of me and did a good job, considering neither of us has apprentices to help. I’m almost back on my feet. The last few weeks were a bit … stressful. She narrowed her eyes. I want to hear everything, Sloe, she warned me. And afterwards I will decide how to handle your prince. He managed to disappoint me thoroughly. Make some room for them, Werid. She pushed the other wizard away from her, then squinted at me again. You look hungry, she said.

Werid sighed. I’ll see if I can find something for you both. Don’t get your hopes up, though—Clawdig isn’t famous for its culinary delights.

I told Sjunil about the weeks I’d spent on the road, and how the Clouds had brought me to Greycliffs as a prisoner. The tears started to fall as I recalled how I’d become involved with Cjanis Cloud’s plans to change the power dynamics within her family and how I’d utterly failed to realize that I’d put my hopes in a wizard too power hungry to consider who she hurt along the way. I spoke of the prince and how he’d been given to the Owls in exchange for an alliance with former enemies and my part in trying to keep him safe. How I’d been hurt by my sister’s husband-to-be in my attempt to do so, and the promise I’d made to Rawil Owl, the old commander, to find a wizard to teach me how to walk the path.

I’d expected to be shouted at for ignoring my aunt’s order to return to her, and because I hadn’t managed to disentangle my heart, not to sit at a bedside facing one of the people I loved most dearly looking strangely frail, with so much of her usual resolve stripped away.

I pulled the sleeve of my good arm across my face to keep the snot in check. Sjunil still hadn’t said anything; she let me spill my guts, an encouraging expression on her lined face.

… and now I’ve said farewell to Raz and Rawil and came here, I finished with a dry sob.

She pointed her chin at my shoulder. Show me the scar, she said.

I obeyed hesitantly. She carefully stroked the mending flesh on my upper arm with her thumb. I always thought that boy needed to be reminded of his destructive side, she murmured. I hope he has apologized to you?

Profusely. I needed to silence him in the end.

Siw will keep him on a short leash, my aunt prophesied. To be honest, I was surprised that he seemed to be fine with the situation in the end. Maybe because Qes was so gracious about it.

My face started to itch because the tears were drying. Will Mother allow Siw to marry him? I asked.

Of course she will. In time, Siw will decide whether she would like to continue her studies, but this means that I’m in need of an apprentice and you have a promise to fulfil.

I swallowed painfully. You would still take me on?

She pushed herself up, her calloused right hand patted my cheek. Can you really see that working out, Sloe? A long time ago, I thought it would be the best path for you to take but … we’re both older and we find ourselves far away from the forests.

I felt a sting of irritation. Why would you bring it up then?

Let me think about it, Sloe. We have a bit of time until we are expected back in Tall Trees.

Until you are strong enough to travel? I asked pointedly, and she grinned at me.

The plan looked a lot different, she admitted, but Werid has always been stubborn, and they wouldn’t allow me to leave the west. She yawned like a fox. They have risen in my estimation, as well as earning a place on my shit list. Some people are just talented like that.

I know what you mean.

It’s different with your prince.

He’s not—

He probably is. Do you trust Rawil Owl?

I thought for a moment. More than I trust myself.

Her left brow arched. I really must make an effort to meet them.

But I don’t trust their ex-husband and unfortunately, he is the one calling the shots in Beakdig. The prince won’t be safe until he has been exchanged and joined his people at the Stoneharp.

Sloe … Our wizard sounded weary.

You said it yourself—we need to wait for you to get better. It’s not far now, and I need to see it. Not because of him … because of …

There’s nothing left of your father that could be found within its walls, Sjunil sighed. It would just be another plan doomed to disappoint.

But I want to see it! Can’t you understand that I’ve always wanted to, even when Silid told me the first wondrous tales of the far west, of all the miraculous feats the families have once accomplished? How can we claim to know ourselves if we aren’t allowed to explore remnants of them at least?

‘Remnants’ is a good word for what the Harp is, Sloe. A lot of it is uninhabitable, a pile of rubble and weeds. Whatever it once was, how desperately the council of the west wants to cling to this puffed-up version of the past, no one really knows what it meant to the people who built it. These secrets have been lost to us for a long, long time and no one looks at it and understands their own life any better. The Harp isn’t a place to find ourselves—it’s a place to find more questions.

Maybe that’s exactly what I need?

She scoffed. No one needs more fucking questions. Lying here, wasting time, I can’t think for all the questions. She tried to rub the small of her back. How are you doing with Brother Brook? Have you found him amenable?

I clutched at the amulet. I’m still alive, aren’t I?

She nodded. That counts for something, I suppose. Have you attended to his needs?

I find myself praying at the oddest moments. I pushed the ornament back into my tunic. And so far, he seems to listen.

He always was a tricky one, but so was Qarim Badger. I found them well-suited to each other. Can I forbid you to go north again?

I shook my head. You know it doesn’t make much sense to ask.

She took my hand. Please, hold off a while at least. Let’s talk and wait for better weather.

the right questions

I’m coming with you.

Qes pushed a bowl of soup in my direction, and though I wasn’t hungry, I forced myself to eat anyway. Talking with Sjunil had been painful. I felt raw and ready to wallow in a goodly amount of self-pity. Thank you. I’d hoped you would offer.

At least I know my way around—a bit, he added quietly.

I drank the last dregs of the soup and grimaced.

We sat beneath the sloping roof of the Other House, huddled close to the wall to avoid the fat raindrops splashing into the yard. Clawdig seemed to be empty again, as if a lot of the villagers preferred to spend their winter in other settlements, further from the border. The territory between the family lands was a dangerous place to be in when warriors were bored. In summer, the view over the grasslands must’ve had a certain beauty to it, but we were trapped in a muddy hole that no one was actually interested in. Even the pigs kept out of the rain and it was rapidly growing dark.

Qes cradled his empty bowl between his knees. How did you and Raz get together? he asked. If you don’t mind me knowing.

We tried to be friends first but we both were lonely, so she suggested we could try a more creative solution to the problem.

But it went wrong?

Not at first. She’s the best kisser in the world—that helped. I think in the end we disappointed each other.

Because you didn’t tell her about your thing with Tjal?

I wonder why I didn’t want her to know. Perhaps I needed to impress her too much and couldn’t be honest about it. We both wanted a distraction and maybe it never was meant to be much at all.

It obviously meant something to you, Qes said. She was your first woman, right?

I nodded miserably. Have you ever slept with a woman?

He shook his head. No. I’ve thought about it a fair bit but I’m not sure that it’s for me—is it really so very different?

I smiled. In Tall Trees, Qes had always been the one giving me advice. It is. In a nice way, though.

He sighed. Maybe one day. I think I need an early night.

Good idea. Who knew that bawling my head off would be this draining?

Werid and I were the only inhabitants of the Other House. It smelled of disuse and neglect, though Werid had tried their best to fill it with cleansing smoke and the faint whiff of incense clung to everything in sight. The piles of blankets felt damp, but I picked some up and aired them out in front of the small brazier.

The wizard found me ready to go to bed. They brought a few treats over: dried bilberries pressed into cakes—a luxury they must’ve kept back for quite some time. To give you a sweeter welcome, they said, pulling up their fur cloak to keep it off the clay floor.

Thank you. I bit into the offered cake and closed my eyes in bliss. They are excellent.

I’ve brought them all the way from Goldenlake. These are the last ones, and it would be too selfish not to share them.

Goldenlake seems so long ago. I tried to savour every little bite.

It was long ago.

Have you ever been this far west before, Werid?

No. It’s been an education, to say the least.

Why did you come?

Because your aunt needed help. Your abduction was a terrible shock for us all and she took it badly. I believe she will recover quickly now that she has seen you with her own eyes. You seem different.

A lot has happened.

You were hurt.

Yes.

Werid nodded, the pinned-up mass of hair swaying slightly. But the Owls came to your aid?

Cjanis Cloud came to my aid, or that’s what she wanted me to believe. She had her own plans and wasn’t particularly bothered to spill blood to further them.

‘Cirvi Cloud,’ Werid mouthed.

I still dreamt of the moment at the Owl gate, when a guard had stabbed the older wizard and he’d died, slumped in the saddle of the same horse that had brought me to Clawdig. There was a lot of blood, I said quietly. I know he didn’t care for me, that his death helped to keep me safe, in fact—but it still feels horrible.

Choices, Werid said. Cjanis was always quick to choose.

I left her behind in the end and Rawil Owl took us to the coast. They promised to keep the prince and his negotiator safe for me.

That was a very noble thing to do.

Rawil Owl might be the noblest person I have ever met.

That is an interesting endorsement. Werid’s eyes glittered in the light of the brazier. You think the Owls can be counted on?

That particular Owl can be counted on. I don’t know about the leaders.

We will know soon enough. If the Clouds are back with the Moons and the Owls are joining the alliance, perhaps there doesn’t need to be a fight after all. They sighed. "But then every matter in which Cathil Cloud is involved will end