《Fragments of the Winter Moon》全部章節：第 11 章 - 第 20 章

There you areThe whisper settled softly into the quiet around her, no louder than before, but closer now, clearer in a way that made it impossible to mistake for imagination anymore.Celeste stood motionless in front of the old door, her gaze tracing the faded markings carved into the dark stone around it while the cold from the lower levels crept through the corridor and curled around her skin. The deeper parts of the castle felt different from the upper floors, older somehow, heavier.She didn’t know how long she had been standing there.Long enough for the silence to settle fully around her.Long enough for the pull in her chest to grow stronger.The door itself looked old, reinforced with dark iron bands and worn carvings that had faded with time, though something about it continued to hold her attention in a way she couldn’t explain.Come closerHer fingers lifted slowly toward the handle.“Celeste!”The shout cut sharply through the corridor.She turned just as Silas appeared a

The next few days passed slowly.The castle had settled into an uncomfortable rhythm ever since Celeste woke up, everyone moving carefully around the situation without ever truly relaxing into it. The archives remained occupied almost constantly now, meals were often forgotten until servants practically forced them onto tables, and conversations throughout the halls lowered whenever someone mentioned Celeste’s name.No one said it out loud, but the tension was becoming harder to ignore, because despite all the searching they still didn’t have answers.Only theories.Fragments.Warnings written by dead people who clearly hadn’t survived long enough to explain anything useful and meanwhile, Celeste continued changing in ways no one fully understood.The frost had become more frequent.Not dramatic enough yet to truly alarm anyone outside the family, but noticeable. Cups chilled too quickly in her hands. Candles dimmed when she passed too close to them. Flowers left near her room never s

The archives looked worse than ever by the next morning.At some point over the last several days, organization had stopped being a priority altogether. Books had spread across nearly every available surface, stacked haphazardly over tables, chairs, floors, and even windowsills whenever someone ran out of room. Open journals sat abandoned beside half-finished notes while candles burned low enough that servants had started quietly replacing them without asking.No one had slept much.No one had really eaten enough either.And everyone was getting tired of reading the same useless warnings written by people who seemed far more interested in sounding dramatic than actually explaining anything.Victoria sat cross-legged in one of the oversized chairs near the center table, another thick book spread across her lap while she stared at the page like she personally hated whoever wrote it.“I swear,” she muttered after another minute, “if one more person describes the moonstone as a darkness be

Celeste barely slept.Every time she drifted close to sleep, the whisper found its way back to her, quiet enough that she almost convinced herself she had imagined it the first time.Don’t go.Sometimes it sounded distant, soft enough to blend with the wind moving outside the balcony doors. Other times it felt closer, quieter in a way that unsettled her more, as if someone stood just beyond reach waiting patiently for her to listen.By the time pale morning light spilled through the windows, she had stopped trying to sleep altogether.The room remained quiet around her. The fire had burned low sometime during the night, leaving only soft warmth behind while snow drifted steadily across the mountains outside. Somewhere deeper inside the castle, the day had already started moving, footsteps faint through distant halls and muffled voices carrying just enough to remind her the world had not stopped simply because everything inside her felt uncertain.Silas still slept.Or at least, he loo

Morning settled slowly over the mountains, pale light stretching across the cave entrance while the last traces of last night’s storm drifted quietly from snow-heavy branches outside. The wind had softened sometime before sunrise, though cold still lingered in the air strongly enough that stepping too close to the cave opening reminded them winter had not gone anywhere. Beyond the shelter of stone, the world remained covered in untouched white, smooth enough that yesterday’s trail had disappeared entirely beneath fresh snowfall.Celeste woke to silence.For several long moments, she simply lay there beneath the blanket, staring absently toward the uneven cave ceiling while sleep slowly settled away. Somewhere nearby, dying embers cracked softly beneath ash. Water shifted faintly inside one of the medic’s pots. Someone farther back breathed deeply enough that they were still asleep.And for the first time in days, there was nothing else.No whisper.The absence unsettled her more than