Eden hadn't told Kade about the glow. The light had faded from her hands before sunrise, leaving behind a faint ache in her bones and the kind of fear that didn't have a name yet but she knew one thing for certain: Whatever was happening to her, it had started the night she looked the wolf in the eye and it was getting stronger. Vanessa noticed something, of course. Over breakfast, the older woman's gaze lingered on Eden's wrists too long, like she was seeing a layer beneath the skin. "You look pale," Vanessa said softly, sliding a plate of eggs and toast across the table. "Did you sleep?" Eden nodded. "I had dreams. That's all." Vanessa didn't press but her lips thinned. "You should talk to Old Mara. She reads dreams or she pretends to and sometimes that's enough." Eden lifted an eyebrow. "And where do I find this dream witch?" Out past the graveyard, where the road curves north and the air feels wrong." "Comforting." She's strange but not cruel and she owes your aunt a debt." Kade, silent as always, watched Eden from the doorway. He hadn't come inside. He never stayed longer than he needed to. The house and the warmth made him tense. "You sure you want to go out there alone?" he asked. Eden met his eyes. "Do you ever say yes to anything?" His mouth twitched. Almost a smile. "I'll take that as a no." The graveyard loomed like a forgotten prayer. Ancient tombstones leaned toward the earth, as if trying to bury themselves. Mist curled between the markers. Trees creaked without wind. Kade walked beside Eden in silence, his boots barely making sound on the soft moss. When they reached the iron gate at the far end, it groaned open on its own. This place is older than the town," he said quietly. "Some of these graves were here before Silverthorn had a name." "Did the Hollow come after?" "No, the Hollow came first." They followed the crooked path to a small house made of stone and stained glass. Charms dangled from the eaves-bones, feathers, bits of colored thread. A wind chime made of teeth clinked softly in the breeze. "Mara's inside," Kade said. "She doesn't like visitors." "I'm getting used to that." Eden stepped to the door and knocked. There was no response. She was about to turn away when the door swung open. Old Mara was taller than she expected. Thin as a root, wrapped in shawls and time. Her eyes were cloudy but sharp, like they saw through skin and secrets. "You glow in the Hollow," Mara said without preamble. "Come in."
Inside, the air smelled of sage and smoke. Runes lined the walls. Dried herbs hung from the rafters. A massive wolf skull sat on the mantle, its empty sockets fixed on Eden. "You saw her," Mara said as Eden sat across from her. "The ghost in the trees. The girl who doesn't belong to the living." "Wren," Eden whispered." She was the first warning. The Hollow lets her speak to the ones it marks." Eden swallowed. "Am I marked?" Mara leaned forward, not marked, you are claimed." That sent a chill down her spine. "There's something in you," Mara continued, tapping Eden's forehead. "Something buried, old, sleeping and your blood remembers." "My aunt" "Was clever. Too clever. She wanted to rewrite the curse but curses aren't words, child. They're roots. They grow and they tangle." Eden took a shaky breath. "What do I do?" "You open your eyes." Mara reached for a bowl of dark water. "And you see." The vision hit her like cold lightning. Eden's reflection rippled, then changed. She was standing in the woods, barefoot, the moon full and red above. Her arms glowed faintly. Her breath came in foggy bursts. Around her were wolves. Not Kade's kind. These were shadow thin, wrong and their eyes bled black. Their teeth shimmered like glass.
One stepped forward. "The cycle completes. The blood awakens. You are the last Vale. You are the door." Then it lunged. Eden jerked back, heart pounding, hands blazing with pale fire. The bowl shattered. Mara didn't flinch. "The Hollow stirs." "I saw wolves and monsters. They called me the door." "The Blood Moon thins the veil. You're not just cursed, Eden. You're a key." Eden's mind reeled. "Key to what?" "To whatever lies buried beneath Silverthorn." They left Mara's house as the sun dipped below the horizon. The wind was colder now. Sharper. "I need to know what happened to my aunt," Eden said as they passed the graveyard. "She knew that she left the book for me but she's still missing." Kade's jaw was tight. "Disappearing is easier than dying here. Sometimes the forest takes people whole." "But why her?" "Because she tried to break the cycle." They walked in silence until the road split. Kade turned toward the woods. I need to check something," he said. "There's a cabin out past the lake. One of the old Thorne sites. If the Hollow's active, there might be signs." "I'm coming with you." He hesitated. "It's not safe." Eden folded her arms. "You've said that every day since we met. Guess what? I'm still here." He gave her a look of half exasperation, half admiration. "Fine. But stay close and if I tell you to run, run." The path to the lake was overgrown, barely visible. Twilight bled into the trees, turning them into shadows. Kade moved ahead silently, more wolf than man in the way he stalked through the underbrush. Eden followed, breath sharp, nerves alive. Then she saw it, the cabin was in ruins, roof caved in, walls blackened, symbols were carved into every beam warding runes, protection circles and some scorched clean off. "Someone burned this place," Eden whispered. "Not someone," Kade said, crouching beside a clawed wall. He turned a shard of wood in his hand. "The Hollow didn't like what was here." Eden stepped inside. A mirror had survived on the far wall though cracked, but still intact. As she passed it, something moved behind her. She spun but nothing. But then, the mirror shifted. Eden stared, her reflection didn't match her movement. It stood still, watching. Its eyes turned black. Then it smiled and the glass shattered. Kade was at her side in a second, his body between hers and the broken mirror. "Did it touch you?" he asked, voice low. "No. But it saw me." He pulled her out of the cabin. "This place isn't safe. Not anymore." "What was that?" "A memory. A warning. The Hollow's trying to scare you off." "Well, it's doing a hell of a job." They returned to the woods under full dark, the path fading behind them. Kade walked faster in tense, listening and then Eden heard it too. Footsteps but not theirs from both sides of the path. rustling, breaking twigs and breathing. "We're being followed," she whispered. Kade's voice was low and lethal. "Run." he said, She ran. Branches clawed at her skin. The trees blurred past. Kade was behind her, then beside her, then gone again-flitting like shadow and smoke. The growl came first, low, deep and hungry. Then the shape crashed from the trees. Not a wolf. Not a man. Something in between. Its mouth opened too wide. Its spine jutted at the wrong angles. Eyes like coals. Eden stumbled back. Kade slammed into it. Claws met claws. Fire met fury. She watched in horror as Kade shifted fully bones snapping, skin tearing and met the creature head-on. They crashed through trees, howling, tearing, bleeding. Eden raised her hands and the light returned. A pulse of white and blue energy burst from her chest, slamming into the creature. It screamed a sound that didn't belong in this world-and vanished. Kade collapsed to his knees. Eden rushed to him. "Are you okay?" He looked up at her, chest heaving, eyes still glowing gold. "You burned it," he whispered. "The Hollow doesn't touch fire. You're-" "What am I?" she demanded. Kade reached for her hand, gripping it tight. "You're not just a Vale. You're the spark. The one who can end it."