Moonlit Novella

Prologue

The wind howled through the skeletal trees, rattling their branches like brittle bones. Ivy Greer pulled her coat tighter around her, though the chill that crept along her spine had little to do with the late autumn breeze. She had come to understand Ashford Hollow was a strange place, but tonight, the strangeness pressed into her like a living thing.

Her boots crunched against the gravel path as she made her way toward the old Greystone Manor, a place that had stood on the edge of town for centuries, abandoned and whispering with the ghosts of forgotten lives before. The town’s residents had shared stories of rumored curses that dwelled within its walls, of shadows that seemed to move behind the dark windows, of a lingering presence that stayed after new owners fled. Yet here she was, standing before the wrought iron gates, the moonlight glinting off their intricate, twisted bars.

She wasn’t here to validate those ghost stories. She was here because of him.

A figure emerged from the darkness just beyond the gate, his presence folding into the night as though he belonged to it. Tall, with a quiet stillness that made the air itself hold its breath, he watched her. The way he moved, slow and deliberate, sent a tremor through her that was only partly to do with fear.

“You came,” he said, his deep voice was smooth and questioning.

Ivy swallowed hard. “I had to,” She couldn’t explain why she felt so compelled by him.

His lips curved, not quite a smile, but something close. “And if I told you, it would be wise for you to leave?”

She hesitated, feeling the weight of the stretching shadows pressing down on her. “I wouldn’t.”

His gaze held hers, something dark and knowing flickering behind his storm-gray eyes. “You’ve always been different from the others.”

A whisper of movement, too fast for Ivy to register before suddenly, he was closer. The air seemed to charge between them. Ivy felt the pull, like an invisible thread tying them together. Her heart pounded against her ribs, but she did not step back.

“Elias,” she breathed, his name tasting like a secret on her tongue.

His hand lifted, hovering just shy of touching her. “You really shouldn’t have come.”

Her eyes trailed over his hand, so close to touching her, but not quite closing the distance. 

Following her gaze, his expression darkened, something dangerous flashing across his eyes. “I hope you’re ready for what comes next.”

A gust of wind spiraled between them, carrying the scent of rain and fallen leaves along with it. The looming manor behind him was waiting. Beckoning her closer.

She couldn’t explain the way her pulse quickened, like she was looking over the edge of a cliff. She had always been the careful one, the logical one, but now,

Being here with him,

It made her feel awake in a way she hadn’t in years, maybe her entire life, like she was finally slipping out of the lines she’d always drawn around herself.

Ivy took a deep, steadying breath. She couldn’t let fear of the unknown make her turn back now.

Not until she knew the truth.