The Ashen Crown

by Ealdwine Hart

In the dying kingdom of Cair Hollin, the last cartographer is tasked with charting a forest that rearranges itself with every step. Bound to a crown no heir has dared to wear in three generations, she must walk the Lantern Road — an ancient path lit by the dead — to find the one whose blood can quiet the trees. A slow-burning epic of memory, loss, and the weight of inheritance.