The Secret I Hid in Labyrinth of Shadows

I have a confession.

I hid something in Labyrinth of Shadows that no reader has found yet.

Not a plot twist. Not a foreshadowing detail. Something older than that — a real, historically documented sacred geometric pattern embedded into the geography of Merona's journey across ancient Gaul. A pattern that scholars, mystics, and historians have spent centuries trying to decode.

And I encoded it into a fantasy novel because it is my family's story.

When I sat down to map Merona's elemental training journey — the path she takes through fifth-century Gaul to master wind, earth, fire, and water before arriving in Paris to meet the king — I did not choose those locations randomly. I spent a month researching the ancient sacred geography of southern France, the routes of the old pilgrim roads, the geometry that connects mountains and rivers and ruined citadels in the Languedoc.

I chose those locations because a researcher named Henry Lincoln spent decades proving they form a perfect pentagram over the land.

And I chose that king — Clovis I, first king of the Franks — because he is my grandfather.

Not metaphorically. Not spiritually. Genealogically.

Over the next seven posts, I am going to tell you everything. The real history behind Labyrinth of Shadows, the sacred pattern hidden in Merona's journey, the Merovingian bloodline that connects my family to the story I was born to write, and what it all means for the rest of the series.

But first — go back to the book. Look at where Merona goes. Count the elemental training locations. Draw lines between them on a map of southern France.

See what shape you get.

I'll be here when you're ready.

— Michaela

Labyrinth of Shadows: The Witch's Rebirth Part I is available at michaelariley.com

Next post: Henry Lincoln and the Pentagram Over Gaul