Kohl

The holiday season has arrived — and so has the kohl.

Nelly Ortega has been an outcast most of her life. A witch with a highly in-demand and finicky ability, she’s spent decades forging her own path in an overcrowded world. Her new job feels like the perfect end to a long search for home, but the tiny orcish community she’s been transferred to isn’t exactly open to strangers. Immediately marked as an outsider, she finds herself disdained by nearly everyone, including her outrageously attractive orcish neighbor.

Clark Wilson has never had any trouble making friends. An easy-going, hardworking sort of orc, he spends most days training horses and thinking of new ways to help out the witch he can’t seem to get out of his head. That’s why it comes as a bit of a shock when his new neighbor goes out of her way to avoid him. Normally he’d shrug it off, but he can’t let the thought of her being all alone in her little cottage over the holidays go.

In an effort to get a little closer to the witch that makes his instincts zing and hopefully bring her some holiday cheer, Clark is determined to give her a Moon Gift. It’s a great plan until everything goes sideways. Snowed in, Clark and Nelly learn a little bit about the giving season — and each other.

Kohl is a holiday novella in The New Protectorate universe series. It can be read as a complete standalone. A full series list as well as a character directory and content warnings can be found on the author’s website.