Chapter 2: The King's Questions

By morning, the rain had stopped. 

It had left Briar Glen looking washed and exhausted. Water dripped from the thatched roofs, collected in muddy hollows along the narrow road, and clung to the branches of the surrounding forest. A thin mist drifted between the trees, turning the familiar woodland into something distant and watchful.

Aster had not slept.

She sat at the kitchen table with both hands wrapped around a cup of tea that had long since gone cold. Across from her, Mara moved quietly around the room, wiping down surfaces that were already clean and rearranging jars that did not need rearranging.

Neither of them had spoken much since the stranger's death.

The body had been taken away shortly before dawn by two men from the village, who had promised to keep it in the old storage room until the authorities could be notified. Mara had insisted they cover the stranger's face before moving him. Aster had helped, though she could still remember the unnatural chill of his skin beneath her fingers.

She could also remember his final words.

The last one... alive.

And the strange vision that had come when she'd touched his blood.

Aster took a sip of her tea and grimaced.

Cold.

She set it down.

"You're going to wear a hole in that floor."

Mara glanced down at her feet. "What?"

"You've walked past that same shelf six times."

"I have not."

"Seven, then."

Mara gave her a look that might have been amused under different circumstances. "You should be resting."

"I tried. Apparently, sleep is difficult when a dead man leaves you with a riddle."

"He wasn't trying to leave you anything."

"He said something was beneath the forest. Then he told me to remember something. Then he said the last one was alive." Aster leaned back in her chair. "It's a rather dramatic collection of final words."

"People say strange things when they're dying."

"Do they usually bleed strange symbols into your kitchen?"

Mara's hands stopped.

Aster regretted the words almost immediately. Not because they were untrue, but because Mara looked as though she'd been struck.

The old woman turned away and busied herself with a cupboard.

"Don't," Aster said softly.

"Don't what?"

"Whatever you're doing. Whatever you're trying not to tell me."

Mara shut the cupboard.

For a moment, she looked older than Aster had ever seen her. The lines around her mouth seemed deeper, and the grey threaded through her dark hair caught the morning light.

"There are things you don't understand."

"Then explain them."

"I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

Mara looked at her.

Aster sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I know you think keeping me ignorant is the same as keeping me safe. But it isn't. Not anymore."

Before Mara could answer, three sharp knocks sounded at the front door. Both women froze. Aster looked toward the entrance. Mara's face had gone pale.

"Stay here," she said.

"Absolutely not."

"Aster."

"If you think I'm going to sit in the kitchen while someone comes asking about the dead man in our home, you've forgotten who raised me."

A strained breath escaped Mara. "Unfortunately, I haven't."

The knocking came again.

Mara crossed the room and opened the door.

The village reeve stood on the step, his boots muddy and his wool coat buttoned crookedly. Beside him were two strangers wearing dark travelling cloaks. Neither looked particularly interested in the weather.

The man nearest the door was tall and broad-shouldered, with a square jaw and close-cropped brown hair. A narrow scar disappeared beneath his collar. His clothing was plain, but the leather fastening at his throat bore the silver crest of Veyrhold: a wolf's head beneath a crown.

The woman beside him wore her dark hair braided tightly against her head. A leather case hung from her shoulder, and a narrow sword rested at her hip.

"Good morning," the reeve said, sounding considerably less cheerful than the words required. "Mistress Renfall. Sorry to trouble you."

Mara did not move aside. "What is it?"

The tall man stepped forward.

"My name is Captain Ronan Ashvale. I serve the High Alpha of Veyrhold."

Aster felt the words settle over the room.

The High Alpha.

She had seen his crest on official notices and heard his name in the stories travellers brought through Briar Glen. Kaelith Draven ruled the northern territory from a fortress of black stone, and his authority extended across every recognized wolf territory in Vaeloria.

Humans like Aster were expected to respect that authority. They were not often invited to question it.

Captain Ashvale's eyes moved past Mara and settled on Aster.

"Which of you found the rider?"

"I did," Aster answered.

Mara turned sharply. "Aster—"

"She found him," the captain repeated, studying her. "And you are?"

"Aster Renfall."

"Your age?"

"Twenty-five."

His expression did not change, but his attention sharpened.

"May we come inside?"

Mara hesitated.

The captain glanced at the reeve, who looked as though he would rather be anywhere else.

"I would prefer not to conduct this conversation on your doorstep," Ronan said. His tone was polite, but it left little room for refusal.

Mara stepped aside.

The two strangers entered. The woman closed the door behind them and removed her gloves.

"I am Sera Voss," she said. "Royal investigator."

She did not offer a hand.

Aster nodded toward the back room. "The man is there."

"We'll examine him shortly."

"He's dead."

Sera's gaze flicked to her. "We gathered that."

"Then I assume you won't need him to answer any questions."

Ronan's mouth twitched.

It was the smallest expression, gone almost as soon as it appeared.

"Perhaps we should begin with the living," he said.

He removed his cloak and draped it over the back of a chair. Beneath it, he wore a dark tunic and fitted leather armor, practical rather than decorative. Aster noticed the faint outline of a knife at his belt.

"Tell me what happened last night."

So she did.

She described the horse arriving without a rider, the injured man found near the road, and the strange wound beneath his ribs. She explained how they had brought him inside and attempted to keep him alive.

She left out the visions.

She also left out the voice.

She wasn't entirely sure why. Perhaps because the memory still made her feel unsteady. Perhaps because Mara had looked so frightened when she'd heard about it.

Or perhaps because some instinct told her that the truth would be dangerous in this room.

"Did the man identify himself?" Ronan asked.

"No."

"Did he say where he was coming from?"

"He mentioned the forest."

"Which part?"

"He didn't say."

"Did he mention anyone pursuing him?"

Aster hesitated.

"He said something was beneath the forest."

Ronan's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Those were his exact words?"

"Yes."

"And what did you understand them to mean?"

"That he was delirious."

Sera opened her leather case and withdrew a small notebook.

"Did he carry any identifying documents?"

"No."

"Letters?"

"Not that I saw."

"Did he have a weapon?"

"A knife. It was beside him when we found him."

"Where is it?"

Mara answered before Aster could.

"We put it with his belongings."

"Where are those?"

"In the back room."

Sera made a note.

Ronan studied Aster for another moment.

"You said you found him near the eastern road?"

"Yes."

"How far from the village?"

"Perhaps half a mile."

"And you brought him here yourself?"

"With Mara's help."

"Did you touch him before he died?"

Aster's fingers tightened around the edge of the table.

"Yes."

"Where?"

"His shoulder. His arm. I tried to stop the bleeding."

"Did you touch the wound?"

"I had to."

"Did you touch his blood?"

The question was quiet.

Too quiet.

Aster looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because I asked."

"That isn't an answer."

The captain leaned back slightly.

For the first time, his expression lost its polite neutrality.

"Miss Renfall, a man wearing a royal signet was found dying in your village. He carried a symbol associated with records that have been sealed by the crown. I am trying to establish what happened to him and whether anyone else is in danger."

"Then perhaps you should tell us who he was."

"That is what I intend to find out."

"Convenient."

"Aster," Mara warned.

Ronan ignored the interruption.

"Did you touch his blood?"

"Yes."

"Did anything unusual happen?"

Aster felt the room grow smaller.

The rain-soaked trees. The burning towers. The woman holding the child. The terrible chorus beneath the black sky.

We were here.

She swallowed.

"No."

Sera stopped writing.

Ronan's gaze remained fixed on her face.

"You answered quickly."

"Would you prefer I take longer?"

"I would prefer an honest answer."

"Then ask an honest question."

Mara stepped between them.

"She is tired. We all are. The man died in our home, and now you arrive asking questions as though we had something to do with it."

"That isn't my accusation."

"Then what is?"

Ronan's expression softened by a fraction.

"I am trying to understand why a royal courier travelled into this region carrying a sealed object and ended up dead outside a human settlement."

Aster looked at him.

"A royal courier?"

"That is what we believe he was."

"Why would a royal courier come here?"

"That is one of the questions I need answered."

Sera closed her notebook.

"Captain, we should examine the body."

Ronan nodded.

"Of course."

He stood, and Sera followed him toward the back room.

Aster started to rise.

"Stay here," Ronan said.

She stopped.

"Why?"

"Because I asked you to."

"That isn't a particularly compelling reason."

"It wasn't meant to be."

Aster stared at him.

The captain held her gaze for a moment, then turned away. Mara remained beside the table until the two investigators disappeared behind the door. Only then did she release the breath she'd been holding.

Aster looked at her.

"You knew."

Mara's face tightened.

"Knew what?"

"That the man was important. You knew the moment you saw the crest."

"I recognized the symbol."

"From where?"

"Old notices. Stories."

"You're lying."

Mara flinched.

Aster immediately wished she could take the words back, but the feeling passed quickly. There was too much fear in Mara's face, too much history pressing against the edges of every answer.

"You knew what he was carrying," Aster continued. "You knew something about that clasp."

"I recognized the design."

"Why?"

Mara looked toward the back room.

"Not here."

Aster's stomach tightened.

"Then where?"

"Later."

"That's what you said last night."

"And I meant it."

Before Aster could argue, the back-room door opened.

Sera emerged carrying a small cloth bundle.

Ronan followed.

"The wound was made by a narrow blade," Sera said, addressing the captain. "The angle suggests he was attacked from behind. There are signs of defensive injuries on his hands."

"Anything else?"

"His ring is missing."

Aster looked up.

"The black stone ring?"

Both investigators turned toward her.

Ronan's voice became very still.

"You saw it?"

"Yes. He was wearing it when we found him."

Sera exchanged a glance with the captain.

"Where is it now?"

"I don't know. I saw it on his hand when we brought him inside."

Ronan looked toward the back room.

"Did you remove it?"

"No."

"Mara?"

"No," Mara said.

Sera returned to the body.

Aster watched the investigators' expressions change. It was subtle, but something had shifted. The ring mattered more than the dead man's identity, more than his wound, perhaps even more than the symbol on his clasp.

"What was the ring?" Aster asked.

Ronan turned toward her.

"An old royal seal."

"Then why would someone steal it?"

"Because it identifies the person who carries it."

"Who was he?"

"We don't know yet."

"But you know what the ring means."

Ronan said nothing.

Aster stood.

"You're very good at asking questions, Captain. You're not nearly as good at answering them."

"Perhaps because I have more information than I can share."

"Or perhaps because you don't trust us."

"Trust is earned."

"And yet you walked into our home expecting us to answer every question you asked."

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Ronan looked toward Mara.

"How long have you lived in Briar Glen?"

"Most of my life."

"And Aster?"

"She has lived here since she was a baby."

"She was born here?"

Mara hesitated.

Aster noticed.

"No," Mara said finally. "I found her outside the village when she was only a few weeks old. I brought her home and raised her as my own."

There was no revelation in the words for Aster. She had known that story for as long as she could remember. Mara had never pretended to have given birth to her. She had simply been her mother in every way that mattered.

But the captain's attention sharpened.

"Where did you find her?"

"Near the eastern forest."

"How near?"

"Beyond the old boundary stones."

Sera looked up from her notes.

"Near the Unhallowed?"

Mara's face tightened.

"Yes."

Aster glanced between them.

The Unhallowed was a place people in Briar Glen spoke about reluctantly. An expanse of ruined land beyond the eastern woods, where broken stones and the remains of ancient buildings disappeared beneath tangled roots. Few villagers went there. Those who did rarely stayed long.

Aster had asked Mara about it as a child.

Mara had always told her to keep away.

"Why does that matter?" Aster asked.

Ronan looked at her.

"Because the Unhallowed is a restricted region."

"It's a ruin," Aster replied. "Not a kingdom."

"It is more than a ruin."

"Then perhaps someone should explain what it is."

"Perhaps," he said. "But not today."

Aster gave him a cold look.

Sera turned toward Mara.

"Did you find anything with the child? A blanket, jewelry, a letter?"

Mara's hands folded together.

"Only a blanket."

"Any markings?"

"No."

"Was there anyone else nearby?"

"No."

"Did you report finding her?"

"Yes. I brought her to the reeve."

The current reeve cleared his throat.

"I remember the registration. It was a long time ago."

"Do you remember who handled it?" Ronan asked.

"Old Master Pell. He was reeve then."

"Is the original record available?"

The reeve nodded.

"I believe so."

"Then we should examine it."

Mara's expression grew guarded.

"There's nothing unusual about the record."

"That remains to be seen," Sera replied.

---

The village registry was kept in a small stone building beside the reeve's office. It contained birth records, property agreements, tax ledgers, and the occasional report of livestock stolen by wolves.

The reeve unlocked a cabinet and withdrew a thick leather-bound ledger.

"Renfall," Sera said.

The reeve flipped through the pages.

"Here."

He placed the book on the desk.

Aster leaned over his shoulder.

The entry was familiar.

Aster Renfall.

Date of birth: 14th Frostfall, Year 612.

Mother: Mara Renfall.

Place of registration: Briar Glen.

Aster frowned.

"That's the date you registered me."

Mara nodded.

"Yes."

"But it's not the date you found me."

"No. I found you several weeks earlier."

Sera pointed to the entry.

"Do you know why the registration was delayed?"

"The reeve at the time said there were complications with the district office," Mara replied.

"What complications?"

"I wasn't told."

Ronan studied the page.

"There's no attending healer listed."

"I found her. I wasn't delivering a child."

"And no birth witness?"

"No."

Sera turned another page.

"There's something else."

She turned the ledger slightly.

The ink beneath Aster's entry was darker than the surrounding writing. The handwriting was neat, but it had been added in a different hand.

A small notation appeared in the margin.

Registration accepted by order of the Elaren district office. Supporting documents withheld.

Aster read it twice.

"Supporting documents?"

Mara leaned closer.

"I've never seen that."

"Are you certain?" Sera asked.

"Quite certain."

"Then what documents were withheld?"

"I don't know."

Ronan looked at the reeve.

"Who issued the order?"

The reeve shook his head.

"I couldn't say. That notation was added after the original entry."

"By whom?"

"I don't know. Master Pell kept the records himself."

"Did he leave any additional documents?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

Aster looked at the page again.

She knew she had been adopted. She knew Mara had found her near the eastern forest and brought her home. She had never expected a birth certificate to tell her who her parents were.

But she had never heard of supporting documents being withheld.

"Why would anyone hide paperwork about a baby?" she asked.

Nobody answered.

Ronan stepped closer.

"Do you remember anything about the night you found her, Mistress Renfall? Anything unusual?"

Mara's eyes moved briefly to Aster.

"No."

"Did you hear anything?"

"No."

"See anyone?"

"No."

"Did anyone approach you afterward?"

Mara hesitated.

"Not that I remember."

Aster turned toward her.

"Not that you remember?"

Mara looked uncomfortable.

"I was frightened. It was a long time ago."

"That isn't what you said before."

"I don't remember every detail of that night, Aster."

Ronan watched the exchange without interrupting.

Sera closed the ledger.

"We'll need to make a copy of this entry and take it to the district office."

"Do you have the authority to do that?" the reeve asked.

Ronan produced a folded document bearing the royal seal.

"I do."

The reeve nodded reluctantly.

Aster looked at the captain.

"Is this really about my adoption?"

"No," Ronan said. "Not entirely."

"Then what is it about?"

He reached into his coat and withdrew a small piece of parchment.

It bore the same symbol that had been carved into the dead man's clasp: a circle divided by a narrow vertical line, with two short marks branching from its center.

Aster's stomach tightened.

"Where did you get that?"

"From the courier's belongings."

"That's the symbol."

"Yes."

"Why is it important?"

Ronan folded the parchment again.

"Because it appears in a set of records that should not exist."

Sera looked toward the ledger.

"And because someone has been removing those records from the royal archives."

Aster looked between them.

"Someone?"

"We don't yet know who."

"Then perhaps the person who killed the courier knows."

"Perhaps."

"And you think I might know something?"

Ronan did not answer immediately.

"I think the courier may have come here for a reason. I think he may have known someone in Briar Glen. And I think your arrival in this village is unusual enough that I cannot ignore it."

Aster felt Mara's hand close around her wrist.

It was not a comforting gesture.

It was a warning.

Ronan noticed.

His eyes moved to Mara's hand, then back to Aster.

"Do you have any memory of the night you were found?"

"No."

"Have you ever been told anything about your birth parents?"

"No."

"Has anyone ever contacted you claiming to know where you came from?"

"No."

"Have you ever noticed anything unusual about yourself?"

Aster thought of the blood.

The vision.

The voice that had spoken from somewhere beyond the room.

She kept her expression still.

"Nothing worth mentioning."

Ronan seemed unconvinced, but he did not press her.

"We have enough for now."

Sera placed the ledger back on the desk.

Aster looked at the captain.

"Do we?"

"For now," Sera repeated.

The reeve locked the cabinet. Ronan moved toward the door, then stopped.

"Miss Renfall."

Aster looked at him.

"I would advise you not to leave Briar Glen until we have completed our investigation."

She gave a short, humorless laugh.

"Is that an order?"

"It is advice."

"From the King's man."

"From someone who has seen what happens when people become involved in matters they don't understand."

"That sounds remarkably like a threat."

"It wasn't meant to."

"Then you should work on your delivery."

For the first time, Ronan smiled properly. It did not make him seem friendlier. It made him look younger.

"Perhaps I should."

He opened the door.

"Captain," Sera said quietly.

He glanced back.

She had moved to the desk and was examining the ledger's binding.

"There's a second mark."

Ronan returned.

Sera lifted the leather cover slightly, exposing a faded impression pressed into the inside of the spine. It was almost invisible beneath the worn leather.

A circle.

A vertical line.

Two branching marks.

The same symbol.

Aster felt the room tilt. She had seen it before. Not on the clasp. Not on the parchment.

In the vision.

It had been carved into the armor worn by the men standing beneath the burning sky.

She gripped the edge of the desk. The sound came first. A low vibration, like a distant bell struck beneath the earth. Then a whisper. Not a voice exactly.

A feeling shaped into words.

Not the first.

Aster jerked backward. Mara caught her arm.

"Aster?"

She blinked. The registry was silent. Ronan was watching her.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"You're pale."

"I haven't slept."

Sera glanced at the symbol.

"Did you recognize it?"

Aster shook her head.

"No."

The lie came easily. That frightened her more than anything else. Ronan seemed unconvinced, but he did not press her.

"Very well. We'll return to the apothecary this afternoon. There are a few more questions I would like to ask."

"Then I hope you bring better ones."

He gave her a final, unreadable look.

"Stay inside the village."

Then he left. Sera followed, carrying her leather case. The reeve remained behind, staring at the ledger as though it might suddenly explain everything.

Aster turned to Mara.

"Now."

Mara closed her eyes.

"Not here."

"Where, then?"

"At home."

"Are you going to tell me what happened?"

Mara looked at her for a long moment.

"Yes."

Aster searched her face.

"Everything you know?"

Mara did not answer.

That was answer enough.

---

They returned to the apothecary in silence.

The body had been removed. Sera had arranged for it to be taken to the nearest royal outpost, and the stranger's belongings had gone with it.

The back room looked almost ordinary again.

Almost.

Aster stood in the doorway, staring at the empty space where the stranger had lain.

"Did you take the ring?" she asked.

Mara turned from the kitchen.

"What?"

"The black stone ring. The captain said it was missing."

"I didn't take it."

"Did you see where it went?"

"No."

Aster studied her.

Mara looked away first.

"Sit down," she said.

Aster remained standing.

"Tell me."

Mara slowly lowered herself into the chair beside the stove.

"When you were a baby," she began, "I made a promise."

Aster felt her pulse quicken.

"To the person who left me?"

"Yes."

"What did she ask you to promise?"

"That I would keep you safe. That I would raise you somewhere far from the ruins. That I would never let anyone know where you had been found."

"Why?"

"She wouldn't tell me."

"Did you ask?"

"Of course I asked."

"And?"

"She told me that people were searching for you. That if they found you, they would take you away."

Aster pulled out the chair opposite her and sat.

"Who was she?"

"I don't know her name."

"Did she say she was my mother?"

Mara's expression softened.

"No. She never said that."

"Did she tell you who my parents were?"

"No."

"Did she tell you why I was there?"

"Only that you had to live."

Aster looked down at her hands.

For most of her life, the story had been simple.

Mara had found her near the eastern forest. There had been no one else. No explanation, no family, no name beyond the one Mara had given her. Mara had taken her home, and the village had eventually accepted her as one of its own.

Aster had asked questions as a child. She had wondered about her birth parents, about whether they had loved her, whether they had wanted to keep her.

Mara had always answered honestly.

She didn't know.

That had been difficult enough to accept. Now there was a dying stranger, a missing royal seal, and a symbol appearing in places where it had no right to be. And someone had hidden documents about her arrival.

"Where exactly did you find me?" Aster asked.

"Near the old ruins, beyond the eastern forest."

"The Unhallowed."

Mara nodded.

Aster looked toward the window.

The Unhallowed was a place people in Briar Glen spoke about reluctantly. An expanse of ruined land beyond the eastern woods, where broken stones and the remains of ancient buildings disappeared beneath tangled roots. Few villagers went there. Those who did rarely stayed long.

Aster had asked Mara about it as a child.

Mara had always told her to keep away.

"Why were you there?"

"I was gathering herbs."

"That far from the village?"

"Some plants only grow near the old stones."

"And you heard me?"

"I heard a baby crying."

Aster swallowed.

"What did you find?"

"You. Wrapped in a dark blanket. There was a woman beside you. She was badly injured."

"Was she alive?"

"Yes. But not for long."

"What did she look like?"

Mara looked down.

"I remember dark hair. I remember blood on her clothes. I remember that she was frightened."

"Of what?"

"I don't know."

"Did she tell you anyone was coming?"

"She said people would look for you. She said I had to leave before they arrived."

Aster felt a chill move through her.

"Did you see anyone else?"

"No."

"Did she have anything with her?"

Mara hesitated.

"Only a small pendant."

Aster looked up.

"What happened to it?"

Mara reached into the pocket of her apron.

For a moment, Aster thought she was going to show her the chain she'd taken from the dead courier.

Instead, Mara withdrew a small, old piece of cloth.

It was dark blue, nearly black with age. Folded inside it was a tiny silver pendant.

Aster recognized it immediately.

The same pendant Mara had taken from the courier's collar.

Her stomach tightened.

"You said you didn't know what he was carrying."

"I said I didn't know who he was."

"That's not the same thing."

"No."

Mara placed the pendant on the table.

Aster stared at it.

The silver had been worked into a delicate circular pattern, with a narrow line running through the center. Two small branches extended from it.

The symbol.

The same one she'd seen in the vision.

The same one pressed into the registry ledger.

"What is it?"

Mara's voice was barely audible.

"I don't know what it means."

Aster looked at her.

"But you recognize it."

Mara nodded.

"Yes."

"Where did it come from?"

"From the woman who left you in the forest."

Aster reached for the pendant.

"Why did you keep it hidden?"

"Because she told me to."

"And the courier?"

Mara looked toward the door.

"I think he was looking for it."

Aster's fingers touched the silver.

The moment they did, the room seemed to disappear.

For an instant, she smelled smoke.

She heard a child crying.

And beneath it all, a voice—old, distant, and terribly sad.

Remember the names.

Aster dropped the pendant.

It struck the table with a soft metallic sound.

Mara caught her by the shoulders.

"What did you hear?"

Aster looked at her.

This time, she did not lie.

"I heard a voice."

Mara went very still.

"What did it say?"

Aster glanced at the pendant.

"Remember the names."

Mara's hands tightened.

"Did you see anything?"

"No. Not this time."

Mara released her slowly. Aster looked toward the window. Beyond the glass, the forest stood motionless beneath the thinning mist.

"Who was the woman?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"Why did she call me the last one?"

Mara's reflection looked frightened in the window.

"Because I think she knew something about you that I have spent twenty-five years trying not to understand."

Aster turned.

"What does that mean?"

Mara looked as though she might finally answer.

Then a horse moved along the road outside.

Across the village, Captain Ronan Ashvale was mounting his horse. Sera stood beside him, speaking quietly. The captain glanced toward the apothecary.

Their eyes met through the glass. Then Ronan turned away. Aster watched him ride toward the eastern road. The direction of the Unhallowed.

"Why is he going there?" she whispered.

Mara came to stand behind her.

"I don't know."

But Aster was no longer certain that Mara was telling her everything. She looked down at the pendant on the table. The silver symbol caught the morning light.

Somewhere beyond the village, beyond the trees and the old boundary stones, something waited beneath the earth.

And whatever it was, it had recognized her.