The Apothecary's Secret

In the mist-covered depths of Banyuhay Forest, the Kingdom's soldiers are vanishing. They are found not dead, but transformed into twisted wooden statues-victims of a curse known only as "The Forest's Wrath."

Gat Lawin, a high-born and skilled Magistrate from the capital, arrives to investigate under the orders of the Rajah. Cold, arrogant, and skeptical of provincial superstitions, he believes he can solve the murders with his sword and intellect. During an ambush, he is saved by Sia, a traveling apothecary who appears to be nothing more than a shy, ordinary peasant selling herbal salves.

Gat Lawin finds himself drawn to Sia's gentleness in a brutal world. As they travel together, he becomes dangerously possessive and overprotective, treating her like a fragile glass doll that needs shielding from the horrors of the forest.

But Gat Lawin is blind to the truth. Sia is not a peasant. She is the Diwata, an ancient nature spirit who has ruled the Banyuhay for a thousand years. She is the one turning his men into trees to protect her home. And every time Gat Lawin draws his sword to "protect" her from the darkness, he is unknowingly protecting the very entity he is hunting.

Date Written: November 28, 2025