Open Water Novels & Stories

Jade Sunlight danced on the cerulean waves, a glittering symphony that played upon the infinite expanse of the ocean. The horizon stretched beyond the limits of sight, unfettered and wild from the vantage point of my new apartment, a sanctuary perched high above the world's mundane clamor. Life was undeniably sweeter here, each breath imbued with the briny zest of sea air, promising a day unshackled from yesterday's shadows.

Her heart was still racing. She had been dreaming again. It had started with water. It always did. This time, the ocean stretched endlessly in every direction, thick and dark, its surface broken only by bodies. Wolves. Dozens of them. Hundreds. Some wore armor. Some wore nothing at all. They sank slowly, eyes open, mouths moving as if trying to speak. Moonlight poured down from above, sharp and merciless, pinning them in place. They did not struggle. They drowned quietly. Then a voice cut through the water.

The exclusive overwater villa in the Maldives floated above crystal-clear turquoise waters, its glass floor revealing colorful fish swimming lazily below. The warm tropical night air was thick with the scent of sea salt, coconut oil, and blooming frangipani. Gentle waves lapped against the wooden stilts while a soft sea breeze drifted through the open-air bedroom, carrying the distant sound of waves breaking on the reef.

The Core Sea is nothing like the ocean waters near Eclipsehaven. For one, it doesn't behave like normal water. The surface is calm—too calm, like glass—and the glow from below creates patterns that shift and swirl like living things. The ship cuts through without resistance, gliding as smoothly as if we're floating on air. For another, it's alive with magic. I can feel it pressing against my skin, testing the wards on the ship, seeking entrance. It's not malicious, exactly. Just curious. Ancient. Hungry for something it lost long ago.

“Though I do have to take a shower, you shouldn’t get your shoulder wet today.” “Screw my shoulder.” He ground out. She wiggled up from around him, and he was watching every move she made. She then stood at the foot of the bed, and she pushed the wall open, so the shower was visible. She smiled at him as she reached into the shower door and turned on the water. He could feel the steam coming from the water as it hit the wall.

I don't like lying to the professor, but I don't want him to worry about me. The class has started, but my mind is elsewhere. "Why can't I concentrate?" I hear a whistle from the window; I turn and see a girl standing in the courtyard with wet clothes. "It's not real, or maybe it is." I don't know what to do. Now my heartbeat races as if it's telling me to leave the room, "maybe for once, I should follow what my instinct tells me."

Thou shall kneel and kiss my feet! “Haera, mukhang obsessed ka na sa kabayong iyan,” Rio noticed, slightly scratching his head. In return, she giggled as her palm covered her lips that looks naturally wet, with moist similar to a morning dew. “The fur that as white as a snow, and eyes that looks like a deep blue ocean . . . ” I smelled menace in the awe drawn on her face. “So strange. Really strange.” The way she speaks, it sounds like a mad scientist who just got her favorite subject of experiment. “And every strange thing belongs to a strange person, Devon Hamian.”

BOOK FOUR: THE ABYSSAL TIDE (Jace’s Perspective) Physics dictates that when water boils, it expands. When you flash-boil millions of gallons of freezing, high-pressure seawater in a fraction of a second, it doesn't just expand. It explodes. The sound was like the sky tearing open.

Kai navigated to the right side of the boat, and I went to the left. "Look for pale water!" the old man shouted through the open cabin door. "If the water turns light green, it means the rocks are sitting close to the surface!" I gripped the cold iron rail of the boat, leaning out to look down into the sea. The water was dark, almost pitch-black, but twenty yards directly ahead, I saw a large, pale shape glowing eerily beneath the shifting waves. It looked like a giant, jagged tooth waiting to rip the bottom out of the hull.