The Hawthorn Gate — Gregory Ashe

After months spent fighting growers, eaters, and quickeners, Alex León has won. The eater is dead. Alex's friends and family are safe.
But Terry Bolter, the woman who killed his father, is still alive, and Alex is determined to make her pay.
He only has to find her.

When Bolter practically walks into Alex's arms, though, and a company of mercenaries arrive in West Marshall, things become more complicated. Alex must decide whether or not to protect the woman who took his father's life. He must figure out what the mercenaries want.

And he must face a threat he thought he had vanquished. A threat waiting behind the hawthorn gate.

“The Hawthorn Gate” is a novella set in the world of The Sophistries of June.