Life eternal—paid for in blood.
 
When Roman captain Maurus is ordered to escort Joseph of Arimathea and a priestess of Avalon to a secret ceremony, he expects only another tedious duty in the wilds of Britannia. Instead, he witnesses a rite that binds the powers of three faiths: the Cup of Christ, the Sword of the Goddess, and the Tear of the Dragon.
 
Fascinated by tales of eternal life, Maurus betrays his oath and steals the sacred cup. But the water he drinks is no blessing—it is blood, and it transforms both him and his men into creatures neither mortal nor beast.
 
Cursed with immortality and a thirst that can never be quenched, Maurus becomes the first of a new kind of predator; one who walks between the old gods and the new, forever haunted by what he has done.
 
A dark blend of myth and legend, The Cup of Life reveals the price of faith, the danger of greed, and the origins of a timeless curse.
 
Recommended for fans of: Tanith Lee, Neil Gaiman, Catherynne M. Valente
 
3250 Words
 
Content Advisory – The Cup of Life
 
Genre(s): Dark Fantasy • Historical Fantasy • Supernatural Horror
 
Age Guidance 18+ – graphic violence, blood-drinking, and child death depicted on-page
 
Content Ratings (Wolf Paw Scale: 0–5)
Language: [no paws] — none
Sexual Content: [no paws] — none
Violence: 🐾🐾🐾🐾 — stabbings, ritual bloodletting, on-page deaths, transformations, and grisly attacks
Dark Themes: 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾 — murder, cursed immortality, blood-drinking, child death, corruption, religious conflict, and moral decay
 
The story contains intense supernatural horror elements and graphic depictions of blood and death. Readers sensitive to child endangerment or body horror should proceed with caution.