All Chapters of Hallow's Edge: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

We reach the end of the maze. We should’ve run into her by now. Raven should be here, waiting, scared, angry, something. But the path is empty. Too empty. Emily skids to a stop beside me, breathless. “She’s not here. Noah… she’s not here.”My stomach drops. “No,” I whisper. “No, she has to be. She has to...”I turn and sprint back into the maze, tearing through every turn, every dead end, every shadowed corner. Emily is right behind me, calling Raven’s name until her voice cracks. Nothing. No Raven. No footprints. No sign of a struggle. Just… gone. The matebond pulses in my chest, sharp, frantic, wrong.“She didn’t walk out,” I say, voice shaking. “She didn’t run. She didn’t leave us.”Emily swallows hard. “Then what happened?”I already know. I feel it in my bones.“Brad,” I breathe. “He got to her.”Emily’s face drains of color. “Noah...”“We need to find her.” My voice breaks. “We need to...”But the bond is quiet now. Muted. Like she’s far away. Too far.I grab Emily’s hand and pu

The house is quiet. Too quiet. Everyone is gathered around the dining table, books spread everywhere like a paper explosion. But the only sound is the soft rustle of pages as I open the book I found in my room, the one Liam gave me a few days ago and I somehow forgot existed. The prophecy book. My hands shake as I flip to the page that tugged at me the moment I touched it. The page that feels like it’s been waiting for me. The ink glows faintly, silver and blue, like it recognizes me. I swallow hard and read aloud.The Prophecy of the One“Born of dual flame, Child of shadow and light, She who carries both shall rise When the world trembles in fear. Her power will awaken the old, Her choice will unmake or remake the world. The One is not born to follow fate— But to decide it.”The room goes still

By the time we finish talking through the prophecy, my head feels like it’s full of static. Everyone looks exhausted, even Mom, and she’s usually the last one to admit she needs sleep.Grace suggests we call it a night.Liam agrees.Emily yawns so hard she nearly falls off her chair.I nod, ready to collapse. But when I stand, my feet move on their own. Not toward my room. Toward Noah’s. I don’t even realize it until I’m already inside, sitting on the edge of his bed with the prophecy book open in my lap. The pages glow faintly in the dim light, like they’re whispering to me.Noah closes the door behind us, watching me with that soft, steady look he always has when he’s worried. “You’re spiraling again,” he says gently.“I’m not,” I lie. He raises a brow. I sigh. “Okay, maybe a little.”He walks over, sits beside me, and without a word, slides the book out of my hands. He sets it on the nightstand like it’s a dangerous weapon. Maybe it is. Then he pulls me into his arms. Warm. Safe. S

A week. It’s been a full week since my birthday, since the flames, since the prophecy, since the Nothing, since hearing my dad’s real voice for the first time in eighteen years.And somehow… life kept going. Mom and I have spent every day together. Cooking. Talking. Laughing. Crying. Learning each other in ways we never got to before.Emily has dragged me into town twice for “normal girl things,” which apparently includes milkshakes, thrift stores, and her trying to convince me to get a tattoo, since I'm eighteen now.Liam and Grace have been hovering like bonus parents. And Noah…Noah has been my anchor. Our matebond is still new, still glowing, still settling into place like a second heartbeat. Every time he touches me, even just brushing my hand, my magic calms.But even with all of that… I’m still spiraling. Because every night, I hear my dad’s voice in the Nothing. Every morning, I wake up wondering how to save him. Every hour, I feel the Hallow pressing at the edges of my mind. A

I can’t stop laughing as Noah pulls me toward the cabin, our hands tangled together, the matebond humming like warm sunlight under my skin. The sky behind us is streaked with pink and gold, the lake shimmering like it’s holding its breath. Everything feels lighter. Brighter. Easier. Like the world finally paused long enough for me to breathe. Noah opens the cabin door and steps aside, letting me walk in first. The cozy warmth hits me immediately, the soft glow of the lamps, the faint smell of cedar, the quiet crackle of the fireplace he lit earlier. It feels like stepping into a safe place. A place meant for us.He closes the door behind us, and for a moment, we just stand there, facing each other, both a little breathless. His cheeks are pink. Mine probably are too. The matebond pulses gently, like it’s waiting.Noah clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. “Okay. So. Before anything else… I want you to be comfortable. And sure. And not overwhelmed.”I smile. “I’m not overwhe