The village of Carrath lay folded into the moor as if it had always intended to disappear. Fog drifted low across the ground, swallowing fences and stone walls until only their tops remained, like thoughts half remembered. Elowen Pryce stood at the edge of the narrow road with her coat drawn tight, watching the gray swallow the path behind her. The bus was already gone. The sound of its engine had faded too quickly, leaving a silence that pressed against her ears. She had told herself she was only here to finalize the sale of her mothers cottage. Practical. Temporary. Yet the moment her boots touched the damp earth, something…

The town of Everreach rested where the forest thinned and the ground dipped toward a wide basin of stone and soil. At its center stood the bell tower, tall and narrow, its surface worn smooth by centuries of wind and rain. No bell hung inside it anymore. The townspeople said it was not needed. The tower listened instead. Arin Wells stood at the edge of the square, suitcase at her feet, staring up at the narrow windows that caught the last light of evening. She felt as though she were being measured. She had not returned since the night her brother vanished. Twelve years had passed, yet the memory had…

The town of Alderwake lay folded into the low hills like something deliberately hidden. Morning light crept slowly between buildings, touching brick and stone with care, as if afraid to wake what slept beneath. Juniper Vale stood at the edge of the square with her suitcase resting against her leg, listening to the quiet. It was not the absence of sound that unsettled her. It was the sense that the town itself was listening back. She had not planned to return. Alderwake existed in her life as a closed chapter, marked by grief and unanswered questions. Yet the letter had arrived anyway, thin paper heavy with implication. The old mill…

The river cut through the town of Bellmere with a patience that felt deliberate, its dark water sliding past stone banks and willow roots as if it had all the time in the world. Naomi Calder stood at the overlook where the old footbridge once began, fingers wrapped tightly around the railing. Evening light stretched long across the surface of the water, turning it briefly gold before the color drained away. She had not stood here in twelve years. The return felt less like a decision and more like being summoned. Bellmere smelled the same. Wet earth. Wood smoke. The faint metallic tang of water that had seen too much.…

The coastal road narrowed as it climbed, stone walls pressing close on either side, their surfaces slick with salt and mist. Ansel Reed drove with the window down despite the cold, letting the ocean air burn his lungs clean. The sea lay hidden below the cliffs, but he could hear it breathing, a deep and patient rhythm that seemed to count his heartbeats. He had not planned to come back to Morwyn Point. The decision had arrived suddenly, like a door opening in the dark. At the end of the road stood the observatory, a round stone building perched at the cliff edge, its dome scarred by weather and time.…

The road into Hollowmere curved like a thought that did not want to be finished. Trees crowded close on both sides, their branches knitting together overhead, dimming the afternoon light into a perpetual dusk. Liora Bennett drove slowly, knuckles white on the steering wheel, aware of every sound the car made as if the forest were listening. The town appeared suddenly, a cluster of buildings gathered around a lake that reflected the sky with unsettling clarity. It looked unchanged. That realization carried more weight than she expected. She parked near the old general store and stepped out, the air cool and damp against her skin. The smell of water and…

The town of Grayfen rested in a shallow valley where the hills leaned inward as if listening. Morning mist clung to the streets long after sunrise, softening edges and muting sound. Rowan Mercer stood at the bus stop with her coat pulled tight, watching the driver unload her single suitcase onto the cracked pavement. The bus pulled away, leaving behind a fading growl of engine and a silence that felt deliberate. Grayfen had always known how to watch without being seen. She had not planned to return. Life had moved forward in careful steps since she left at eighteen, carrying her away from this place and the memories that refused…

Fog rolled in from the marsh like a living thing, softening the edges of the world as Rowan Hale stood at the boundary fence and watched the last of the daylight sink away. The air smelled of salt and decaying reeds, a scent that carried memory as much as place. The lighthouse rose behind him, white paint weathered to bone, its lantern dark for now. He rested his palms on the cold wood of the fence and tried to steady the unease in his chest. He had come here for isolation. For quiet. Yet the land felt crowded with something unseen, as if the night itself leaned close to listen.…

The train station at Alder Reach crouched beneath a ceiling of low clouds, its concrete platforms slick with mist and old rain. Ivy threaded through broken fencing, and the smell of iron and wet stone clung to everything. Mara Ellison stepped down from the final car with a small suitcase in her hand, the sound of the doors closing behind her echoing like a decision she could not undo. The town had not changed. Or perhaps it had only changed in the way a body does, aging quietly while pretending nothing is wrong. She stood still for a long moment, letting the place press itself into her senses. The air…

The house at the edge of Briar Hollow stood as if it had grown from the soil itself. Moss clung to the stones like memory refusing to loosen its grip. Windows reflected the gray afternoon sky, dull and watchful, and the air smelled of wet leaves and old wood. Elara Finch paused at the rusted gate, fingers tightening around the strap of her bag. She had told herself the house was only a place. Walls and rooms and dust. But the silence pressing against her ears felt alive, as if it had been waiting for her return. She stepped inside after a long breath, the door yielding with a soft…