Chapter 101

Maren

I woke to a sound that wasn’t a sound—more a vibration running through the floor of the hut.

At first I thought it was my heartbeat, still tangled with the rhythm of the waves, but when I pressed my palm to the cold stone, the pulse came from beneath the earth itself. Slow. Steady. Ancient.

The fire had burned down to pale ash, but the embers still glowed faint blue. They brightened each tim