The sea stretched out before them — endless, silver, and cruel. Waves crashed against the jagged cliffs as thunder rolled in the distance. Adrian stood on the edge, soaked in salt spray and stormlight, his jaw tight with determination. Natalie held Ethan close beneath her jacket, shielding him from the biting wind.
“Atlantis,” she whispered, the word tasting like madness. “It’s supposed to be a story.”
Adrian didn’t look at her. “So was I.”
The world had shifted since the mountain burned. Trust had become a luxury. Sleep, a myth. And yet, beneath the exhaustion and fear, something in Adrian’s eyes still burned — the quiet rage of a man who refused to be anyone’s experiment.
“How do we get there?” she asked finally.
He turned to her, wind whipping his hair into his eyes. “We dive.”
He
