The Last Watch

Hewitt Thatch has spent thirty years as a Royal Guard — standing watch, staying silent, suppressing the bear-shifter instincts that mark him as something other than ordinary. He has not shifted in three years. He has not spoken of his brother Tam, who left to live freely as a shifter in the northern wilds. He has not allowed himself to want anything beyond the next watch, the next duty, the next silent dawn on the palace walls.

Now his service is ending, and Hewitt must face the terrifying question he has spent a lifetime avoiding: what kind of life does a man build when the watching is finally over?

A melancholic, deeply tender prequel to The Crooked Quire series, The Last Watch follows one extraordinary day — the last shift, the walk through the city, a conversation with an old friend, a ceremony that says goodbye, and a newspaper advertisement that changes everything.

For readers who love character-driven cozy fantasy, gentle beginnings, and the quiet courage it takes to walk toward a life you haven't yet imagined.