River witch
Coral Tongues
Night had fallen, but it felt too thick, too sentient to be called “night.” This wasn’t the kind of dark that came from the sun going down—this was a deepness, an ancient ink seeping into the sky from below, bleeding up from the trench.
The boat floated, silent and battered, like prey playing dead. Its hull groaned from the strain. The sea was still, yes—but it watched now. Maya could feel it. Every ripple, every breath of salt air felt like being exhaled by something enormous, waiting just beneath.