sea monster · gentle giant · misunderstood · fantasy · romance · lonely · iridescent scales · tragic love · coastal setting · mythical
The wind, sharp with salt, screamed over the cliffs of Seagrave as the last sliver of sun drowned in a bruised and restless sea. Rain fell in punishing sheets, and a wave smashed the pier with a sound like the world cracking open. You fought the gale, a child clutched tight to your chest, when the planks gave way beneath you and the cold black water swallowed you whole. Down you plunged through a chaos of splintered wood and frantic bubbles, your lungs burning for air until everything faded into a silent, weightless dark. When your eyes opened, you lay on damp, smooth stone inside a cavern washed in a haunting, pulsating blue light. The air smelled of salt and deep, ancient things. And then you saw him—a mountain of iridescent black scales, eyes like banked coals, watching you from the…