Chapter 121

Eve’s POV For a long time, I had known, I had known that the earth listened, it remembered, I had known that the trees remember and if you were still enough you would hear the forest answer Tonight, it did not only answer, it reacted I didn’t plan to wander this far from the quarters. I told Malik I needed air, and that was not a lie, but it also wasn’t the whole truth. The truth was that the walls had started to feel like they were leaning inward, and so I just walked, it was either that or it falls on meI walked bare foot against the cool soil, my fingers brushing against the bark that was now rough with age.I noticed the first sign, however subtle. A branch creaked behind me, it wasn’t the natural groan, it was more like something had shifted its weight too suddenly. I exhaled slowly, you are tired, I told myself, that’s all. And then I took another step, the undergrowth rustle to my left, ferns bending as though brushed by an unseen hand. I stopped completely this time, my h

Last Updated : 2026-01-07

Chapter 122

Astrid’s POVNo one in Blackthorn knew how much I truly saw, to them i was useful only in the way one keeps an old map, only consulted when the path becomes unknown, they called me insightful, a bridge between territories, so much nonsense to make me feel good about what I knew I was to them. But they never suspected that I wasn’t merely advising on Hartmann matters, I had been there over and over again, I wasn’t invited there but I wasn’t noticed either by anyone who mattered, I learned the cadence of their nights and moved in accordance with and honestly, even I wasn’t sure what my motive was…yet I listened.And what I heard there followed me back to Blackthorn like a second heartbeat.The council chamber felt warm tonight with firelight dancing across the walls, the elders sat in their customary arc, I stood behind them, my hands folded loosely, my posture attentive, I actively tried to not appear too eager. It was something I had perfected, and this time, they were discussing the

Last Updated : 2026-01-08

Chapter 123

Malik’s POV Numbers to me might resist clarity at first glance, but they always resolve into truth if you stay long enough, it was one major rule i lived by Except that tonight, I stared too long but still they refused to settle tonight however, the numbers have refused to settle. I stared at the ledgers spread across the long table in the strategy room, my fingers pressed flat against the parchment as if the weight I was putting on it would force everything I was staring at to make some sense. The candles burned low with wax pooling like small white wounds beside the stacks of reports, meanwhile, outside the forest breathed slow and deliberate but inside my chest something had begun to churn, this was even worse than the first time it had happened…much worse At first, I wanted to believe it was seasonal strain, a harsh winter even, those losses that could be explained one way or another I flipped back three weeks and then six and then further, turns out that supplies that should

Last Updated : 2026-01-08

Chapter 124

Eve’s POV I went to the river because it was the only place that still told the truth. blackthorn had many voices, but the most genuine was that of the river, it never softened itself for the elders or bristle under scrutiny the way the forest paths did I went to the river because it was the only place that still told the truth.Blackthorn had many voices, but the river did not lie. It didn’t soften itself for the elders or bristle under scrutiny the way the forest paths did. It moved as it always had unbothered about who ruled or who feared whom, if something was wrong, the river didnt hide it, if you listened close enough, if you looked well enough, it show you in ripples but today it was quiet I stepped down the familiar slope, my boots sinking slightly into the damp earth as the scent of wet moss clung to the air. The moon hung low and distant, it’s reflection stretched thin across the water like a sound that was yet to heal, I wrapped my arm around myself feeling as though the

Last Updated : 2026-01-09

Chapter 125

Dorian’s POVThe message arrived at a time I would later on resent for its ordinariness, I was reviewing inventory tallies in the western hall, a list i had memorized well enough to notice the discrepancies without squinting when the runner appeared at the threshold.“Hartmann,” he said. “They sent word.” That alone was enough to turn my mood sour, I set the ledge Mr aside aligning it with others. “We are not taking messages from Hartmann,” I replied not looking at him. “They insisted, stating that it was relevant.” He saidNothing about Hartmann was ever just relevant, it was always strategic, always spoken with one hand extended and the other hidden behind their back. “Leave it,”I said “They said it’s happening to them too.” He said hesistantly That made my hand still, I looked up then, meeting his gaze. “What is?” He swallowed. “The losses and…the sickness.” I took the message from him at last, the parchment already creased from being folded and unfolded way too many times.