The salt spray stung Leo's eyes the moment he stepped through the Spatial Tear.
The air was thick with mist and the roar of crashing waves drowned out all other sounds. Leo found himself standing on a narrow stretch of gray sand. The sky above was a bruising purple, heavy with unnatural storm clouds that seemed permanently anchored over the coastline.
This was Pearlstrand.
Leo squinted against the stinging wind. He spotted Chloe standing a few yards away near a cluster of dilapidated wooden shacks. She still wore her yellow sweater, though it was now soaked through with seawater and plastered to her skin. She was shivering violently.
She stared out at the ocean with a look of absolute despair.
Leo followed her gaze. Fifty yards offshore a line of jagged black rocks broke the surface o
