The cottage felt different when I returned from the Cursed Glade. Warmer, though the autumn air still seeped through the cracks. Maybe the warmth was inside me. Born from the truths the Glade had forced me to face.

Three days in that haunted place had stripped me bare. I walked in with fear. I came out with clarity I wasn't ready for.

Imogen sat at her worktable when I entered. She was surrounded by books and scrolls that hadn't been there before. Candles lit every surface. Their flames wobbled ...