Novel & Cerita Under The Oak Tree Ch 7

“Hold on to me. Don’t let go, okay? Just like before. Do you remember?” She nodded and held on. The branch beneath my feet cracked as I shimmied back toward the trunk, lowering one foot down to the next. But the one I was going to put my foot on fell away before I could touch it, sending up a plume of sparks. Nora coughed and buried her face in my hair. I looked down, gauging where to put my feet. The base of the tree was burning properly now, bark peeling back from the heat, the roots going black. The branch split another inch under my feet. Nora’s hands tightened around my neck.

Chapter 43 Blood *** POV: Denvereaux Thorne “So, you still have the guts, huh? Fine, then. Let’s go somewhere.” Her words have a deeper meaning than what she wanted to convey. And if he wasn’t that nervous about what she was leading – he wouldn’t have appreciated the beautiful flowers that they had passed by. And when they stopped on a huge cherry blossom tree – surrounded by different ornamental bushes with flower buds that were ready to bloom – he swallowed hard as if something about it made him scared.

His stories brought laughter, sometimes tears, but each one was a testament to the life we'd once known, and the life we were trying to rebuild. As the sky began to adopt hues of twilight, casting long shadows across the forest floor, Zane stopped at a small clearing. In its center stood a massive oak tree, its branches stretched out like welcoming arms. He motioned for us to sit at its base, our backs resting against the sturdy trunk. Taking a deep breath, Zane began,

They stood in a half-circle around the old tree, their eyes reflecting the faint gold that glowed beneath the soil. One stepped forward. “Show us,” they said. I knelt by the tree, brushing away the snow, then the earth, until the root gleamed in the moonlight. The air thickened. The seven moved closer. One reached out as if to touch it. Without thinking, I put my hand over theirs. “This isn’t yours to take,” I said. They smiled faintly. “Then keep it. If you can.” The test began without warning. The snow melted in an instant, replaced by heat so fierce it made the air shimmer. The garden’s colors twisted, deepened—petals folding in on themselves, leaves curling, the soil cracking.

The time I was wasting. Evans was still out there. I straightened and stepped over the unconscious outlaws, looking around. I noticed it then. A tree. In the center of the clearing, there was a single, enormous oak. The wood underneath was scarred with something that made my stomach turn, and its bark was split. Blood. Not merely splashed. Not merely smeared. **Sculpted.** Three sharp, deep phrases that seemed to have been sunk like inhuman claws into the wood.

I understood the fact that they had to stay very far away from the other wolves since they were dangerous and outcasts but staying this far away was outrageous. After slipping for at least five times, I finally got to the tree where he described. It was an oak tree, its leaves were shredded, giving it a very naked look. The surroundings smelt of smoke and waste, I wanted to flop down on the nearest branch and relax a little but I couldn't risk soiling my clothes, so I stood as I waited for him with the bag of money in my hands. A bird hooted from the top of the tree making me jump in fright.

- he admitted. - I understand.- I said, and suddenly something flashed through my mind.- You're the boy I saw then...- I said, and seeing Oliver's lost gaze, continued.- After first coming to this house, I touched the bark of an old oak that grows right next to the wall separating the forest from the house. When I do something like that, trees or other plants show me what they saw happening around them, in their lifetime.- I explained in more detail.- And the oak showed me your family, you, your sister... I didn't watch it till the end though, since I felt that the oak wanted to show me some bad events, so I didn't immediately associate it all with you.- I added later with a slight guilt wri

And far north, the third tree went dark. *End of Chapter 55*

“He hasn’t released me.” “He will.” The certainty in her tone leaves no room for doubt. “What if he never does?” Her head tilts slightly. “He will.” Silence hums between us. “Where?...Where can i find you?” I ask. The clearing shifts. The trees blur and rearrange. The vision expands outward like a map unfurling. I see forest stretching westward denser, darker. A narrow trail barely visible beneath overgrowth. A river cutting through stone. Then a massive oak tree. Its trunk is split clean down the center, blackened along the jagged seam as if lightning once struck it from sky to root. The top half leans precariously but still lives, branches heavy with leaves.

MAXINE We made our way to the old oak tree near the lake. The moon was hanging low in the sky. It cast a pale glow on the water. I could see the massive oak tree in the distance, its branches twisting like fingers. This was where it was all going to end. We reached the base of the tree. The ground beneath our feet is uneven and covered in fallen leaves. Mr. Grayson pulled out the scroll from the small box containing the last piece. He brought the other pieces from his bag one after the other.