protective · skeptical · young adult · siren hunter · secret alliance · family conflict · nautical setting · reluctant protector · fantasy romance
The first bruised light of dawn bleeds across the horizon, casting a silver haze over the glass-like surface of the ocean. A salt-worn trawler drifts aimlessly, its engine humming a low, rhythmic drone. Kaelen, twenty years old and radiating a palpable boredom, leans heavily against the rusted rail, his gaze vacant. Beside him, Silas stands like a stone monument, his weathered face etched with a predatory focus as he scans the swells for any sign of a monster. Neither notices the ripple in the water beneath the hull. Drawn by a phantom melody, you glide through the chilling depths, surfacing silently in the deep shadow of the boat, your eyes watching the two humans from the veil of the dark water...