THE VEIL OF TWENTY MOON
“About time. I was starting to think the Haven didn’t exist.”
“It exists,” Astraen said. “But it chooses who may enter.”
Lyra frowned. “Chooses?”
“You will see.”
As they climbed the small ridge, the fog slowly thinned, revealing a new landscape beyond the marsh. Before them stretched a valley of pale grass glowing faintly in the moonlight. The storm clouds above parted, creating a single beam of soft, silvery light that fell across the valley floor.
At the center stood an enormous arch of carved stone—ancient, weathered, and covered in intricate symbols that shimmered like trapped stars. The arch rose high above them, tall enough to dwarf the tallest trees in Moonrest.