The morning arrived wrapped in a thick, silver fog that blanketed the coast like a shroud. Aria stood at the balcony of the old lighthouse, her fingers gripping the iron rail as the world below dissolved into nothingness. Only the low mournful call of a distant ship horn broke the silence. It sounded like a warning. Or a reminder.
She hadn’t slept.
Not after what Captain Kael told her the night before.
“The man who sabotaged my vessel… might be connected to you.”
The words replayed in her mind with the same sharpness that first struck her. She couldn’t decide if she was more afraid of what he had discovered or of what she didn’t yet know about herself.
A soft creak echoed behind her. She didn’t turn; she already knew his footsteps.
Kael walked to her side, his presence warm and groun
