Beneath the Shattered Moon

The clearing was an island amid the chaos, bathed in the pale glow of a shattered moon. Nora collapsed against a gnarled tree, her breath ragged, heart hammering like a war drum. Harrow's words echoed in her mind—the Pines steal souls. What did that mean for Cole? Was he still alive? Or another whisper lost in the wind? From the shadows emerged a woman, her skin pale as death yet eyes ablaze with an impossible light. "You cannot leave," she whispered, voice both honey and venom. "Not without a price." Nora’s gaze locked with hers. "What price?" "Your blood, your secrets, your soul." A chill slid down Nora’s spine as the woman stepped closer, revealing a jagged scar etched deep across her cheek. Harrow shielded Nora, firm and fierce. "She’s the warden of the Pines, keeper of the lost. You bargain with her at your peril." The woman smiled, a cruel twist of lips, and raised a hand. The moonlight shattered, plunging the clearing into darkness. A scream rent the air—not Nora’s, but Cole’s, echoing from the heart of the forest. Nora gripped Harrow’s arm. "We have to save him." He nodded, face grim. "And survive the wrath of the Pines." As the shadows closed in, Nora made a terrible choice: follow the warden's path deeper into darkness, or abandon her friend to the forest’s eternal hunger.