She held it out to me. “Take this.”
I stared at it. “What is it?”
“This,” she said, “is a truthwood shard. It comes from an ancient tree known as the Veralis Oak. A sacred tree that once grew deep within the High Moon Glade, where the oldest seers would go to speak with the spirits of the stars. It’s a rare tree, believed to bloom only once every hundred years under the light of a blood moon. Very few remain in the world.”
I took the shard from her gently. It was warm to the touch.
“It has been enchanted,” she explained. “Before you confront your parents, before you ask them about your past, place this under your tongue. It will not harm you. But it will bind the words around you with truth. Anyone who answers your questions will be compelled to speak honestly. They won’t even realize
