What Waits in the Woods (COMPLETE) (nb x g)

Seventeen-year-old Ania is a treasure hunter - and a thief, one who steals maps from other scavengers. When one of her heists goes horribly wrong, Ania flees into the forest and is saved by a mysterious creature who appears to be a forest guardian - an ancient, extinct species of creature known for fiercely defending their forests from human invasion.

Io, the only forest guardian to have escaped extinction, is now in the possession of humans who are terrified of them and want them dead. But when they're found to have a piece of the Searching Stone, a compass leading to the lost treasure of the forest guardians, their existence is suddenly worth something.

As penance in place of spending her entire life in prison, Ania must travel with Io to retrieve the other pieces of the Stone - and bring them back safely to the people who have scorned her for her entire life. But soon Ania realizes how little she knows about guardians like Io, and that there may be things more important than her treasures.

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