RAVETHORNE🐺

Chapter Two

Whispers Beneath the Pines 🎍

Adelaide Nightvale

“Careful.”

Eudoria’s warning came barely above a whisper.

“If you step on the young one, the mother will come hunting.”

Before my boot could crush the tiny creature beneath it, she caught my arm and gently pulled me backward.

I froze.

A small black scorpion crawled through the carpet of dead leaves, its delicate legs moving almost gracefully beneath the fading light.

My fear quickly gave way to curiosity.

“Is it a Black Titan?”

Father had told me countless stories about the creatures that lurked within Ravethorne Forest.

But none were spoken of with quite as much dread as the Black Titans.

They were the largest scorpions known to exist—and, according to every story I'd ever heard, the most venomous.

“Yes,” Eudoria answered with a weary sigh. “And whenever you find one of the young…”

Her eyes swept across the surrounding trees.

“…the mother is never far away.”

I immediately took several steps back.

“Farther,” she added.

I obeyed.

Once we were safely away from the tiny scorpion, Eudoria and I settled beneath the shade of an ancient pine. Its enormous branches stretched above us like crooked fingers, whispering softly whenever the evening breeze passed through them.

For a while, neither of us spoke.

We simply watched the forest sway.

“I wish I could attend the Bloom Hunt,” Eudoria murmured eventually.

There was a wistful smile upon her lips.

“I'd love to see all those finely dressed nobles. Perhaps I'd even catch a glimpse of the young master of House Ravenor.”

I smiled, though there was little amusement behind it.

We both knew why she could never leave the forest.

Earlier that morning, just as I had been preparing to leave for the Ceremony of Roses, the thorn embroidery on my ceremonial gown had torn.

Father knew absolutely nothing about sewing.

I was hopeless with a needle.

And Gwendolyn…

Well, Gwendolyn would sooner destroy the entire gown than mend it.

So I had hidden the dress inside my basket and hurried through Ravethorne Forest in search of the one person I knew could fix it.

Eudoria.

As always, her clever fingers had worked their magic.

She repaired the torn embroidery so perfectly that even I could barely tell where it had been damaged.

Then I had rushed all the way home, changed into the gown, and hurried to Veryrfall.

I had arrived barely in time.

“I don't suppose you know some kind of magic that can change your face?” I teased.

“You could attend the Bloom Hunt with my cousins while I wait here.”

Eudoria laughed.

But there was little joy in it.

“You think we Forsaken know black magic?”

She shook her head.

“If we truly possessed such power, do you think we'd still be living here as outcasts?”

Her voice softened.

“We would have reclaimed the throne long ago.”

She gently patted my hand.

“My naïve Adel.”

I frowned.

“Then why were your people banished?”

The question had lived inside me for years.

Everyone had a story about the Forsaken.

Some called them witches.

Others claimed they were servants of dark magic.

There were even those who insisted they descended from cursed bloodlines.

Yet Eudoria was nothing like the monsters people described.

She was kind.

Gentle.

Patient.

She possessed more compassion than most of the noble ladies I had met in Yorkhaven.

She deserved so much more than this lonely existence among the trees.

Her expression softened, but she didn't answer.

Instead, she said quietly, “Run along now, dear Adel. It's getting late.”

She glanced toward the darkening forest.

“And Ravethorne is far more dangerous after sunset.”

I stood reluctantly.

“I'll miss you.”

She laughed and gently pushed me away when I tried to embrace her.

“You silly girl. You come here almost every day.”

“Not tomorrow…”

I hesitated.

“…or the day after.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“I'll be staying at Aunt Sibylla's. My cousins and I are attending the Bloom Hunt together.”

Every season, our families gathered for the Ceremony of Roses and the Bloom Hunt.

It had become something of a tradition.

“Then go,” she said warmly. “I'll still be here when you return.”

Her smile softened.

“You can tell me everything.”

“I certainly will.”

I waved goodbye before turning toward the path home.

The deeper I walked into the forest, the more alert I became.

Every rustle made me glance toward the trees.

Every movement in the shadows made my heart jump.

I searched the forest floor for even the smallest sign of another Black Titan.

The old folk often sang a warning whenever the forest grew strangely quiet.

If you hear the whispers, seek not the wind…

Search instead for the tail.

The words echoed through my mind.

And for the first time, I wondered who had written them.

By the time I reached the edge of the forest, the last rays of sunlight were beginning to disappear.

Not far ahead, I spotted Gwendolyn.

She was standing with Emeric—the fishmonger's son from Veryrfall.

I slowed.

Is he her suitor?

I couldn't help wondering.

Perhaps this one would finally succeed where the others had failed.

If nothing else, maybe Miss Grumpy would eventually leave our house.

The thought made me smile.

By the time I reached home, Vesper was already there, chatting cheerfully with Father.

“There you are.”

Father noticed me immediately.

“Where have you been this time, little miss?”

“The library in Veryrfall.”

I lifted my basket for him to see.

As always, it contained a few books.

Father sighed.

“Didn't I ask you to stop making so many trips? The province grows more dangerous every day.”

“Uncle is right,” Vesper added. “My father hardly lets Annora leave the house anymore.”

I shot him an unimpressed look.

“I'll be careful, Father. I promise.”

Before either of them could continue, I escaped upstairs to my room.

A knock sounded moments later.

Vesper leaned against the doorway.

“Are you attending the Bloom Hunt tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

He smiled.

“Are you finally participating this season?”

The Bloom Hunt was more than a competition.

It was a sacred tradition.

Noble sons and respected gentlemen gathered before the King to prove their strength, skill, and courage. Those who distinguished themselves could earn titles, honor, and recognition.

“Yes,” he answered proudly when I asked if he was participating.

“Father finally agreed.”

I smiled.

“Our dear Gwen may have finally found herself a match.”

“I noticed.”

We both laughed.

Emeric had courted Gwendolyn once before, during her first Ceremony of Roses.

She had rejected him by declaring that he smelled like rotten fish.

“Looks like the fish has become fresher,” Vesper joked.

I burst out laughing.

Then his expression became serious.

“You don't need to keep traveling to the library anymore.”

I looked at him.

“I'll arrange to have the books delivered here.”

“That’s sweet,” I said. “You really don't have to.”

“I want to.”

Oh, wonderful.

That would make visiting Eudoria nearly impossible.

“My mother wants you at our house tomorrow,” he added. “She and Annora are going dress shopping.”

“I'll be there.”

I smiled.

“But for now, I need some rest.”

“Very well.”

He lingered for a few moments.

He paced around my room, examining things he had already seen a hundred times, before finally taking his leave.

I adored the Eyre siblings.

I truly did.

Even so, they possessed a remarkable talent for becoming unbearable.

Sometimes I wondered whether Gwendolyn might have been happier if Aunt Sibylla had given birth to her after marriage, just as she had with Vesper and Annora.

Perhaps then she would have grown close to them.

Perhaps she would have felt like she belonged.

Perhaps…

She might even have become close to me.

But life rarely unfolded according to our wishes.

Eventually, exhaustion pulled me beneath the veil of sleep.

And then I dreamed.

I was standing beside Mother.

We were surrounded by the crystal-clear waters beneath the waterfalls of Veryrfall.

She laughed as I splashed water at her.

For a moment, we were children together again.

No grief.

No silence.

No empty space where she should have been.

Everything felt whole.

Then I saw her.

Eudoria.

She stood upon the riverbank.

Her clothes were soaked in blood.

Her hair clung to her face.

Dark circles hollowed her eyes, as though she had spent countless nights crying.

She looked at me.

Then slowly…

she reached out her hand.

“Eudoria?”

I tried to swim toward her.

My arms moved.

But my legs—

They wouldn't.

I looked down.

The water had wrapped itself around me.

It held me beneath its glassy surface like invisible hands.

“Eudoria!”

I screamed.

She opened her mouth.

And the sound that came from her was not a voice.

It was a bloodcurdling scream that tore through the valley.

“AAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHHH!”

I jolted awake.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.

The room was dark.

Silent.

Yet somewhere beyond my window…

I thought I heard something moving among the pines.