Chapter 5 The Blood Beneath The Trees

Evelyn's heart thundered in her chest as Ash stepped toward her, the dim attic light casting long shadows across his face. The journal still lay on the floor, splayed open to the words that refused to leave her mind:

She is the Hollow's bride.

Her throat tightened. "What does that mean?" she demanded, her voice rising with panic. "Bride to what?"

Ash's expression darkened. His eyes, usually so unreadable, flickered with something like pity. Or fear.

"The Hollow isn't just a place," he said quietly. "It's a being. A will. A hunger. Maybe it was once a god, or something older. It sleeps beneath the forest, dreaming. Watching. And long ago, it made a pact with your bloodline."

Evelyn shook her head. "A pact?"

"Your ancestors were desperate," he explained. "The land was cursed-plagued by spirits, famine, sickness. People died screaming in their beds. The Blackthornes made a deal to protect the town. And in return..."

He paused.

"In return," Evelyn whispered, dread blooming in her chest.

Ash met her gaze. "In return, your bloodline agreed to offer a vessel. A daughter. Every few generations, the Hollow chooses one to bind itself to. To keep the seal closed. To sleep."

Her breath caught.

"It claimed me."

Ash gave the faintest nod. "You died that night in the forest. But the Hollow wouldn't let you pass on. It marked you. Pulled your soul back before it crossed over. You belong to it now."

Evelyn took a step back, the attic walls suddenly too tight, too close. "So that's it? I'm already dead?"

"No," Ash said quickly. "Not yet. But the longer you stay tethered, the more of you it takes. The voice in your head? The dreams? That's the Hollow, whispering. Preparing you."

Her legs trembled, and she reached for the wall to steady herself. "Is there a way to stop it?"

Ash hesitated, his jaw tightening.

"You have to go back," he said finally. "To where it happened. Where the forest took you. Where the Hollow touched your soul."

"And then?"

"Then you make a choice," he said. "You can accept the bond. Become its bride in truth. You'll never age. Never die. But you'll be its. Forever."

Her stomach turned. "And if I don't?"

Ash looked away, his voice low. "You can sever the link. But doing so will tear open the seal. Everything the Hollow's held back-the dead, the spirits, the things buried beneath this town-they'll be unleashed."

Evelyn swallowed hard, her voice barely a whisper. "And what happens to me if I sever it?"

Ash didn't answer.

His silence wrapped around her like cold fog.

She didn't need him to say it.

If she broke the pact, she would die.

Truly this time.

Outside, a wind howled through the trees. The Hollow was waking, and its bride would have to choose-save herself, or doom them all.