Book Two – Chapter 9
The Moon Festival
Two weeks passed in peace.
For the first time in years, Ashford Estate echoed with laughter instead of mourning.
The training grounds were busy every morning. Warriors from Ashford and Black Hollow trained together, learning one another's fighting styles instead of competing for dominance.
The former members of the First Circle worked alongside them, earning trust one day at a time.
Not everyone forgave them.
But everyone saw that they were trying.
Healing, I had learned, was not a single moment.
It was a choice made every day.
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One evening, Elder Rowan approached me as I walked through the gardens.
"The council has agreed."
"About what?" I asked.
He smiled.
"Tonight we celebrate the first Moon Festival in over a century."
I stopped
