Scarlett St. Clair Begins New Fantasy Series with Feminist Twist on Lilith Myth inTerror at the Gates(Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Scarlett St. Clair and the cover of ‘Terror at the Gates’.Photo:Ashli Amador; David Seidman

Ashli Amador; David Seidman

Get ready,Scarlett St. Clairfans — the author has a new series on the way.PEOPLE has an exclusive first look atTerror at the Gates, a new novel from the bestselling author the out this summer from Bloom Books. It’s a feminist retelling of the myth of Lilith, and it kickstarts the new fantasy series Blood of Lilith.InTerror at the Gates, Lilith Leviathan, on the run from her powerful family, arrives in Ninevah, a district of Eden that’s known for its taste for sin. Once she arrives, Lilith uses her magic skills to begin life as a thief, which soon attracts the attention of five wealthy families in the area.

David Seidman

When Lilith comes across an eye-catching blade, she assumes she’s rich, until one of her usual customers dies while looking at it. The only person who can help Lilith is the extortionist Zahariev, head of the powerful Zaerth family.“As their lives intertwine, Lilith realizes Zahariev is more than just a friend, but their devotion to each other is a threat ― to the truth, to the church, and to those who want to tear it all down,” the book’s synopsis reads.St. Clair, whose most recent novel,Apples Dipped in Gold, published in 2024, says that her forthcoming novel was impactful to write, particularly as a writer whose work focuses on female empowerment and sex positivity.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“I sayTerroris a Lilith retelling, and I think that’s true but in the sense that she is an archetype,” the author says. “She made her first appearance in Sumerian mythology as a demon-goddess, then in Judaism as Adam’s first wife and an outcast. In the modern era, she has become a feminist icon.”

Scarlett St. Clair.Ashli Amador

Ashli Amador

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!St. Clair also notes that a novel about Lilith feels particularly timely. “The story is painfully relevant. While writing, there were times when I felt very afraid. I am tackling topics people are very divided on, but we cannot grow if we hide from what scares us,” St. Clair says. “I think these conversations are worth having, especially in an environment where misinformation is so prevalent.”Here’s an exclusive excerpt fromTerror at the Gates. Disclaimer: This excerpt contains graphic descriptions of a sexual encounter. PEOPLE has censored NSFW language that appears in the novel.Ritual was teeming. Glossy tables and velvet couches were already overcrowded, leaving people standing shoulder to shoulder beneath pulsing blue and purple light as they waited for the entertainment to begin.They would come from above, the aerialists, their red silks unfurling in the dark like ribbons of flame, hypnotizing the audience with their strength and grace as they soared, suspended in the smoky air. It was a popular attraction in Nineveh. Those who came down from the other four districts would have the church believe it was this tame performance they’d come to see, but we all knew otherwise.Their descent began like clockwork. On Friday at three, Procession Street, the only road in Eden that connected all five districts, would fill with bumper-to-bumper traffic. The onslaught started with the financiers from Hiram, then the industrialists from Temple City, the merchants from Galant, and the artists from Akkadia. Though once they crossed the border into Nineveh, where they were from didn’t matter. They were all just hypocrites.Crits, the locals called them.Most spent the weekend roaming from club to club on Sinners’ Row, returning to their respective districts to worship at temple early Sunday morning. By Monday, they would be cleansed and forgiven, ready to live piously until the weekend.Forgiveness is an invitation to temptation. It will be our ruin.

I ground my teeth as my mother’s words came unbidden, roaring to life in my mind. Her doctrine was etched into my memory, conditioned to surface anytime I came into contact with anything that contradicted her teachings, though this was one of few I actually agreed with.Forgiveness was an invitation to temptation. I witnessed it every week, which was why I’d decided a long time ago that I did not care to be forgiven.I’d rather be a sinner than a hypocrite.I wove my way through the flock dressed in red, as vibrant as the aerialists’ silks, but unlike them, I went unnoticed. It was a choice. I could draw attention if I wished, but among those present, I had yet to spy anything of worth.And tonight, I needed something expensive.Rent was due, and my landlord had just hiked the price again.My roommate, Coco, short for Colette, had gone into work down the street where she danced at Praise. She’d asked me to stay home, but only because she didn’t like the way I managed to make ends meet.I was a procurer of goods, usually of the religious variety, but I wasn’t picky. I’d sell anything if I could get a good price. The issue was, my job was technically illegal since the church prohibited the sale of holy items.Coco called my methods stealing, but I called it using my resources, which just so happened to bemagic.Honestly, I wouldn’t need to if Zahariev, the head of the Zareth family and Lord of Nineveh, would let me dance at one of his many clubs, but he refused.You would start a war, Lilith,he had said.

I rolled my eyes.You are dramatic, Zahariev. No one has to know who I am.You are the daughter of House Leviathan,he said, as if that explained everything.Besides, I like my balls, and your father would cut them off and feed them to me if he found out I let you dance.Let me.Zahariev.Zahariev.Zahariev.He was a beautiful, frustrating man. I had known him my entire life. He was eight years older than me and had ascended to the head of his family after his father died five years ago. He had always been quiet and controlled, mostly unemotional, as were all Elohai. That was the name of the bloodline that gave each family magic and, with it, the right to rule.Except that was all really bulls—, because the blood of the Elohai — the blood of God — only gave magic towomen.It madeuspowerful, a power we could not even utilize because we were subservient to men.It is what we deserve for tempting the First Man,my mother would say.She liked to quote theBook of Splendor.It was the religious doctrine that ruled our society, that said men should be wary of women.It also meant that unlike Zahariev, who had been trained to ascend to the head of his family, I had been trained to be a wife, and since I was the only child of my house, my father would choose my husband, the next head of House Leviathan.I f—ing hated it, but that was why I’d run away.And while Zahariev might not let me dance, he did let me take refuge in his territory.A hand snaked around my waist, and I was pulled against an older man. I put my hands out, flat against his soft chest. He wore a buttoned shirt, open at the collar and sweat stained. His forehead was shiny, his hair thinning. He chuckled as he drew me closer.“Where are you going, pretty girl?” he asked.

source: people.com