Content warning: This novel contains descriptions of sexual content. I will not be adding a trigger warning to each chapter with graphic content, so please consider this a general warning. TOC Next The branches stretched overhead like a canopy, their overlapping leaves blocking out the sunlight midway. Even at midday, the forest of Oliva was dim, as though caught in a perpetual twilight. Snair ran, trampling over the overgrown weeds, weaving between the thick tree trunks. Fallen leaves and tangled undergrowth covered the ground, hiding the gnarled roots that jutted out from the earth. The uneven terrain caught at his feet, and his small, slender body would sometimes pitch forward. One stumble too many, and this time he couldn’t catch himself. He faltered, lurching toward the nearest tree and clutching its trunk for support. With his head bowed, he gasped for breath. The moment he stopped moving, the argument with his grandmother came flooding back. Snair kicked the tree tr...