Chapter 5 Ashgrove secrets

Chapter Five: Ashgrove Secrets

The days after the Hunter's Moon passed in a strange, gentle quiet.

Mara healed quickly-faster than she expected. The wounds on her shoulder and ribs faded to pink scars within days, leaving only a faint ache behind. Kaelen, too, regained her strength, though she still moved with a limp and a stiffness she refused to complain about.

They trained together in the early mornings, blades in hand or claws out, depending on the day. Kaelen had an edge-graceful, sharp, dangerous. She moved like someone born in the forest, a creature molded by both shadow and starlight. Mara often found herself breathless, not just from exertion.

From something else, too.

"I don't need a partner," Kaelen said on their fifth morning spar, circling Mara with narrowed eyes.

"Good," Mara replied, lunging. "Because I'm not trying to be one. I'm trying to win."

Kaelen sidestepped, caught her wrist, and twisted-gently but firmly. "You're still leading with your shoulder."

Mara sighed. "I'm trying not to."

"You're thinking too much," Kaelen said, releasing her and stepping back. "The forest doesn't think. It moves. So do you."

They stood in silence a moment, breath fogging in the crisp autumn air.

Finally, Mara asked, "Why did you come back?"

Kaelen tilted her head. "You asked me to stay."

"I meant after the fight. You could've disappeared again. You almost died."

Kaelen's gaze softened. "I've lost people to the curse. To the hunters. To ignorance. You're... different. The forest believes in you. So do I."

Mara looked away, heart thudding louder than any wolf's footfall.

"I don't know if I believe in myself yet," she murmured.

Kaelen stepped closer. "Then let's find out who you are."

Later that day, Clara returned from the village with news. She dropped her satchel with a heavy sigh, unwrapped a loaf of rye bread, and set a folded letter on the table.

Mara picked it up. "From Raven Hollow?"

Clara shook her head. "From Ashgrove."

Kaelen tensed. "That's impossible. Ashgrove fell years ago. The Order burned it down."

Clara's voice was quiet. "That's what we thought. But this is in your family's cipher, Kaelen. Someone's still alive."

Mara unfolded the parchment. The ink was smudged in places, hurried. But the words were clear enough:

The Hollow survives. Not all Bound are safe. Come to the Ash Tree. Full moon. Don't bring outsiders. -R.

Mara looked up. "Who's R?"

Kaelen's mouth thinned. "My sister."

"I thought you were the last."

Kaelen nodded slowly. "So did I."

The three of them traveled by night, cloaked in mist and silence. The journey to Ashgrove took two days. The deeper they went, the stranger the forest became-less welcoming, more watchful. Trees twisted in unnatural shapes. Birds stopped singing. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

"This place wasn't always like this," Kaelen said as they reached a blackened ridge. "Ashgrove used to be sacred. A sanctuary for Bound. The Order came during a winter moon. Burned the old tree. Scattered the pack."

"Why?" Mara asked.

"Because they feared what we could become."

The ruins of Ashgrove lay in a wide hollow, ringed by scorched stones and moss-choked roots. Broken buildings slumped beneath the overgrowth-homes, watchposts, a meeting hall now caved in with ivy curling through its ribs.

But at the center of the clearing stood a tree.

An ash tree, tall and silvered, with branches that reached like fingers toward the stars.

It was impossible. Clara whispered as much. "They said the Ash Tree was dead."

Kaelen moved ahead slowly. "It was."

A figure stepped from behind the trunk. Hooded. Lean.

"Not all roots die just because the fire comes," the figure said.

Kaelen's breath caught. "Riven."

The figure pulled back her hood.

Riven was younger than Kaelen, though her eyes held no youth. Her skin was darker, her jaw sharp, and her expression guarded. Her gaze settled on Mara.

"So. You're the Bound who lived."

"I suppose I am," Mara said cautiously. "You sent the message?"

Riven nodded. "Because you need to know the truth. There's more than hunters coming. The curse isn't what you think it is."

Clara stepped forward. "Explain."

Riven's eyes flicked to her. "You're not Bound. This isn't your war."

Clara didn't flinch. "It became mine the moment I raised a cursed child alone and taught her how to survive."

That earned her a pause. Then Riven said, "Fair enough."

She gestured for them to follow. Beneath the Ash Tree's roots, hidden by illusion and moss, was a stairway.

They descended into a hollowed cavern where torches flickered blue and ancient glyphs lined the walls. A handful of others were there-three men, two women. All had marks. All Bound.

"This is the Ash Circle," Riven said. "What remains of our sanctuary."

Kaelen looked stunned. "You survived."

"Not without cost," Riven replied. "We lost most of the old ways. Most of our pack. But we kept the lore."

Mara stepped toward the central stone, its surface inscribed with a spiral.

"What do you mean-the curse isn't what we think?"

Riven met her gaze. "It was never a punishment. That's a lie the Orders spread. The truth? The curse was once a gift. A pact between humans and the forest, forged to protect the land from invaders who sought to conquer it. Over time, the magic twisted. Became feared. Forgotten. But you, Mara Blackwood... you're the first to rekindle the old bond in a hundred years."

Kaelen's voice was barely a whisper. "She's the key."

Riven nodded. "The forest chose her. And Alaric's not the only one who knows."

Mara felt cold despite the warmth of the torches.

"So what do we do?" she asked.

Riven reached into her cloak and pulled out a stone-a shard of obsidian etched with a blood rune.

"We prepare," she said. "Because the next moon brings more than just change. It brings war."