Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Hollow Moon: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 7

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

The mountains appeared shortly before sunset.At first, Aster mistook them for clouds gathering along the horizon. Dark shapes rose beyond the forest, their peaks lost beneath a low ceiling of gray. But as the road climbed and the trees thinned, the shapes became enormous walls of stone, jagged and black against the fading light.Veyrhold.Aster had imagined the northern fortress many times during the journey. She had pictured towering walls, iron gates, and snow-covered battlements. She had expected something imposing.She had not expected it to look as though the mountain itself had grown teeth.The road wound through a narrow valley, following a river that rushed over dark rocks. Small watchtowers stood at intervals along the slopes. Each bore the same banner: a silver wolf beneath a crown, its head turned toward a pale moon.Soldiers watched from the walls.Aster felt their attention as the escort approached. Some were mounted, others stood with spears resting against their should

Aster did not sleep.She lay beneath the heavy blankets, watching the fire shrink to glowing embers while the six words repeated themselves in her mind.The king is not the one watching.She had burned the note, but destroying the paper had done nothing to quiet the unease it had left behind.Someone had entered her room.Someone had touched the pendant.Someone knew enough about the king's intentions to warn her against trusting him.Or perhaps they wanted her to believe that.Aster rolled onto her side and looked toward the door.The guards had changed shifts twice. She knew because she had heard their boots in the corridor, followed by the low murmur of unfamiliar voices. Each time, she had considered opening the door and demanding to know who had been allowed inside.Each time, she had stopped herself. If someone could enter without the guards noticing, questioning them would accomplish very little. She reached beneath her nightdress and found the pendant. It was still there. Cold