“How’s Nala?” I cut in, turning to Ryder. My stomach twists as I wait for the answer.
Ziek steps in before Ryder can speak. “Is that the other girl we brought in?” I nod. “She’ll be okay. The medics worked on her—gave her elixirs to speed things up. We removed the spike, but she’s gonna be off that leg for a while.”
My heart sinks. “How long is ‘a while’?”
“At least three weeks,” he says gently. “No Gifts in here, remember. It has to heal the old-fashioned way.”
Three weeks. We don’t have three weeks.
“But you said there are weak spots—places our Gifts might work—”
“Good luck finding them.” Ziek huffs a humourless laugh. “The forest shifts, and the weak spots shift with it. Never in the same place twice.” He leans back slightly, eyes distant. “Some of us used to chase them, trying to track a pattern. But the Hollow likes its games. Nothing stays where it’s meant to be.”
A sharp, bitter laugh escapes me before I can stop it. “Don’t I know it.”
Ryder’s jaw tightens beside me, and the same tension coils in my own.
“Wait,” I say, replaying something he’d mentioned earlier. “Did you say medics? How many of you are there?”
He quirks a brow, almost amused, and nods toward the tent flap.
“Why don’t you come see?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The world I step into is nothing like the Hollow. In fact, it’s almost impossible to believe it exists inside the same nightmare forest. Hundreds of lanterns hang from the branches above, swaying gently, their warm glow spilling across towering trees and hand-built wooden walkways. Tents—like Ziek’s, but larger and more intricate—are scattered across the clearing in a patchwork of stretched hides, woven cloth, and carved wooden pillars. Between them rise small huts, their roofs layered with leaves and bark, forming what can only be described as a hidden village. It isn’t huge, but it isn’t crowded either, unexpectedly bigger than I’d imagined.
My mouth falls open. Ziek notices and chuckles.
Animals roam freely: goats and chickens grazing, horses tied near water troughs. And children—actual children—laughing, racing past us, weaving between adults who move with the ease of people who belong here. My mind wanders as the lanterns crackle, questioning the faces around me.
People who look… alive. Settled. Built into the spine of the Hollow as if it were nothing more than home.
I can’t help but wonder, in a place like this, could any of them be like me?
Born from two sides.
Carved from contradictions.
I search their expressions, their laughter, their scars… but here in the Giftless Hollow, they’ll probably never know.
A towering fence encircles everything, thick as tree trunks and reinforced with brambles so dense they might as well be iron. Whatever this place is, danger has a very hard time getting in.
I take another step forward, still trying to process it all.
This world—this impossible oasis—was hidden right under the forest’s nose.
Ziek hands each of us a warm cup filled with steeped herbs and crushed petals. The steam curls around my fingers, warming the chill that’s settled in my bones. I stare into the bonfire at the centre of the village—its flames dancing high, painting everyone in strokes of gold and ember. The people here have been nothing but welcoming, crowding around to share stories of the Hollow, unravelling its secrets like they’ve been waiting years to tell them.
Nala is on bedrest in one of the larger tents, but she’s alive, and that alone feels like a small miracle.
“But how do you keep the creatures out?” River asks, leaning forward with the curiosity of someone who’s already imagining worst-case scenarios. “I get the wall, but the tenari can dig. What happens then?”
Ziek smiles into his cup. “Runes. We use Enchantra to keep the village unseen. To anything outside—creature or person—this place just looks like another patch of Hollow. The forest walks right past us. It’s a misdirection.”
River whistles low under his breath.
“That’s… clever,” I say, watching the scripture carved faintly into the posts around the firelight. Clever doesn’t even begin to cover it. It’s genius—and maybe the first truly safe place we’ve had since entering the Hollow.
