River witch
The air felt thick, like honey gone sour.
And then—the singing began.
But this wasn’t the Shatterwake Choir.
This was something solo. A lullaby sung in reverse. Familiar in cadence, foreign in tone. It came from the lagoon—low, slow, and impossibly close, though the water remained still.
Sefina shuddered. “She’s waking.”
“Who?” Maya asked.
“The one who was forgotten before she was born.”
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The Cradle of Salt was not just an island—it was a prison. A tide once sealed not by weapons or gods, but by ignorance. An entire history erased from the ocean’s memory. A name that never existed.