WHISPERS BENEATH THE PINES

punished in real time. Lightning rippled through the dense clouds, casting Pine Hollow into

of the two-story house on Ashmoor

f her housemates, her hoodie sleeves pulled over her hands, and the sheer sights and sounds of the wor

r tried to pass as anything other th

ok with a peal of thunde

er that it wa

e fire in

irthmark there, at the curve of her lower back, just above her hip. Or at least that's what she used

t, it

hand back as if she had

o

no

her entire life. It had never flamed, never throbbed. Just... existed. A secret

il

she had under her mattress, and descended the stairs. Her aunt worked the night sh

re

the old wooden floorboards beneath

nt door, s

he trees outside bent under the weight of the storm. B

wasn't go

calli

ed out int

-

rest, it was the kind of town that existed on the edge of the world and it's liked that way. People here d

grown up brea

through the downpour. She took the path behind the old church, where the grass grew too thick

e stayed a

did

Hollowveil c

ays

asn't whispering.

-

f-swallowed in vines. A crooked wooden sign hung on rusted c

SPA

bed the gate without hesitation, landin

y, everyth

t quite but still. Like it was holding

k a deep

sn't a

at she to

wa

d the rain. Everything was wrong here. Sound didn't travel right. Light bent st

agged "R" in the bark, older than her. Then an

e first to wa

might be

n she s

ll figure at the edge of a clearing, bathed in

pped f

st bent

era

round seemed to ease, and the a

n f

hat unassuming way a blade was strong. His hair was raven-black and tou

glo

t pale blue, not

o be seen even

n't be here

Like the storm had to qu

aking a step back. Her hand drifted to

dn't

the burn

"What do you kn

re ma

s an old truth. Maybe

she snapped. "Espe

aid. "The Hollo

en closed it. Her finger

pau

swered,

ast name, a smir

e c

hell is happening or I walk back to town and pretend this

t get far

nds like

. It's a

ed. "You've bee

es

how l

way

arp twisted

k flare

ryptic crap," she

loser. His gaze

he last o

stopp

last

child of

ing heavier. Like breath. Like presence. The trees groaned a

. But her knees

to scoff.

," Riven said. "One marked child every generation. In exchange, the fores

d n

he said. "The final hear

ou expect me to believe

rifice a

er eyes. "That

ethered. You are what

to be bound

to become what

his voice ma

here. Deep, co

re you?" she

ied. "Now, I am what the fo

eath c

since the first flame. Like this mo

ome here," he said ag

e a choice,"

flashed be

... the

agged.

rees

harply. "They'

ho

Sha

trees-limbs too long, eyes like slits o

st. His touch was sea

un