In an ancient kingdom where the old forest is feared more than worshipped, everyone knows the same rule: never ask the woods for something you cannot afford to lose.Elen knows the stories. She knows the forest does not answer prayers—it answers debts.But when her young son, Kael, begins slipping toward death, stories become meaningless against the weight of his body in her arms.Desperate, she carries him beyond the forest’s boundary, into the heart of something older than gods and far less merciful.The forest gives Kael his life back.But not for free.As strange changes begin to take hold and the woods press their claim, Elen realizes the forest cannot simply take her son—it must convince him to stay.And she will not let it.Some debts are paid in blood.Others are paid in memory.And the forest always collects.