These Holidays are Hollow

These Holidays are HollowThis is a special Christmas themed novella set in the world of Veil of Shadows: Next Generation. The story takes place after These Thorns Are Sharpest, following Rue, Dacre, and their friends as a quiet holiday celebration turns into a night of frost, forbidden magic, and a book that should never have been opened. What begins with enchanted mirrors and winter warmth quickly unravels into ancient lore, the reawakening of Krampus, and the first stirring

This is a special Christmas-themed novella set in the world of Veil of Shadows: Next Generation.

The story takes place after These Thorns Are Sharpest, following Rue, Dacre, and their friends as a quiet holiday celebration turns into a night of frost, forbidden magic, and a book that should never have been opened.

What begins with enchanted mirrors and winter warmth quickly unravels into ancient lore, the reawakening of Krampus, and the first stirring of the Magpie beneath the Gulf.

While filled with snowbound danger, dark romance, found family moments, and Lucipurr’s usual disdain for holiday cheer, this novella is not intended to be read as a standalone. It directly continues the events of the Veil of Shadows series and contains spoilers for earlier books.

For the full impact of the characters, their bonds, and the creatures that hunt them in the dark, readers should begin with The Sky Is Starless and follow the series in order.

• The Sky is Starless

• The Night is Endless

• The Shadows are Darkest

• The Hollows are Monstrous (Novella)

• These Thorns are Sharpest

• The Holidays are Hollow (Novella)

* * *

Not all gifts are meant to be opened.

On the longest night of the year, one gift includes a book that should have stayed buried. When Rue breaks its seal, the lanterns hiss to blue flame and the Krampus rises to collect a centuries-old debt.

Snow falls. Shadows stir. And something ancient comes to collect its due.

As the Hollow Winter spreads, Dacre fights to save Rue, Chel and Teari are torn between love and duty, and Lucipurr risks everything to keep his mortal safe. Beneath the Gulf, the Magpie stirs–drawn to the light that dares to burn against the storm.

Because the Veil never forgets its debts.

These Holidays Are Hollow is a gothic Christmas novella in the Veil of Shadows world, perfect for readers who crave cursed gifts, ancient winter folklore, slow-burn supernatural romance, and the kind of snow that falls silent before something terrible arrives.