Feed the Hollow

The forest doesn’t kill you—it eats what you remember.

Virelith Ashbourne lives by the Hollow’s rules: spill blood, burn a memory, walk away. As Gravenwood’s keeper, she keeps a hungry, ancient presence contained—one offering at a time. Then a battered stranger appears at the altar bearing the Hollow’s spiral, a mark no outsider should survive.

Calyen can’t leave. The Hollow won’t let him. It answers his heartbeat with unnatural fire, drags buried histories to the surface, and grows a second seal beneath his skin—turning him into something the forest has been missing for centuries.

To keep him human, Virelith must gamble everything she’s sworn to protect: her lineage, her name, and the fragile peace bought with sacrifice. Because the Hollow is changing. And when Rootless watchers and old secrets close in, the bond forming between keeper and chosen becomes both weapon and temptation.

In Gravenwood, balance must be fed. The only question is what you’re willing to lose to save the one person the forest refuses to release.