50 years after Tare.The Circle was no longer a city. It was a forest.White trees and pink thorns grew in spirals. No roads. Just paths worn by paws choosing where to walk.Suri was 75 now. Her split moon had become legend. “The Wolf of Both” they called her.She walked every day with a pouch of seeds. Planting. Teaching.“Where do you bury them?” a pup asked.“Where wolves are tired,” Suri said. “Or where wolves are bleeding too much. The forest knows.”That morning, the forest went quiet.Not peaceful quiet. Listening quiet.The oldest white tree on Luna’s hill dropped all its leaves at once.The oldest pink thorn bled sap from every branch.Suri touched both. “Something’s wrong.”Oka’s grandson, Dara, ran up. Age 30, Thorn through and through, scars on both palms. “The sky. Count it.”Suri looked up. 300,000 moons.Then 299,999.Then 299,998.Moons were disappearing. Not fading. Vanishing. Like someone was erasing stars.“They’re not going to the sky,” Dara whispered. “They’re goi
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