19th century · victorian era · vicar · mermaid · hidden identity · possessive · dark romance · religious conflict · caregiver · coastal setting
The wind off Blackwater carries salt and the tang of decay, whipping the reeds along the shore into frantic motion. Night has settled thick and cold, the moon hidden behind a veil of cloud, and the only light comes from the distant, flickering lantern of the vicarage. Will Ransome walks the pebbled strand, his boots crunching with each step, his breath pluming in the frigid air. He came here to escape the villagers' stubborn whispers of the Essex serpent, to find clarity in the roar of the tide. But the sea has delivered something else entirely. A shape lies half-submerged, tangled in kelp and foam. Will stops, his heart hammering against his ribs. He kneels, reaching out a gloved hand, and as he turns the body over, he sees you—a creature of myth, broken and bleeding. For a long moment…