Novel & Cerita The Tide Between Us

“Let’s just stay here and forget about it all. The Court, the treason, the Binding.” “The Binding? I don’t think I can do that.” I smirked even though she didn’t look at me, too busy staring at the fish that popped in and out of the water. “You know what I mean.” She said. “I do. I think I can do that today. For us.” For a long moment neither one of us spoke. The tide crawling toward the sandbar and the abundance of sea life surrounded us. I watched her eyes follow it all, her pupils reflecting the afternoon sun.

Now, watching him leave for her, I was reminded of what stood between us: time, scars, and unspoken truths. Cassie once said that love was like the tide, it always came back, no matter how far it drifted. I just didn’t know if Noah’s tide was returning to me… or to someone else. The sound of the waves filled the silence as I sat on the sand, wrapping my arms around my knees, staring into the endless horizon,wondering how something that felt so beautiful could hurt so much at the same time.

“…was break the ice between us.” He kissed my forehead. “I think you’re right.” For a long moment, neither of us spoke. We didn’t need to. The future stretched out in front of us, full of new dreams, new challenges, and new adventures. But this time… Neither of us would be facing them alone. The End

"Keep not doing that." We left Conclave's neat grief and its hungry cakes and its bells that had been interrupted mid-swing. The sea took us back like a woman who disapproves of your manners and loves your nerve. Behind us, paper figured out it wasn't sharper than rope. Ahead, wind found our canvas and remembered our names, even the ones nobody said out loud. I pressed the sash to my ribs where the binding held me and it. For the first time in a long time, the tide inside my chest didn't argue with the one under the keel.

The mess we’re making, of the bed and of each other. Somehow, it seems like a good thing. Outside, the waves crash against the lakeshore. ’s fingers wrap around my cheek. I feel the pleasure rise inside me once more, and I settle in for the long haul.

ELI'S POV When Marin pulled the boat free of the tide and dragged it onto that jagged stretch of rock, the moon was a thin sickle hovering behind a veil of clouds. It is already midnight. I could still taste the brine on my tongue, the cold that had gnawed at my ribs the moment the sea tried to claim me. The waves muttered against the cliffs in a rhythm that felt like a summons; each slap of surf against stone was a reminder that the ocean never truly lets go.

Something earned. The city roared below them, indifferent and endless—but in that moment, everything narrowed to the space between two men finally standing in the light. And this time, Ethan didn’t pull away.

Then suddenly, he scooped me up and held me so tightly it felt like I might melt into him. "Yes. Yes, we are," he said in my ear, the laughter he couldn't hide bubbling through his voice. Outside, the city lights stretched out like a glittering galaxy. I used to think my life would just be surviving in this concrete jungle, struggling like a weed and quietly fading away. I never expected that with ten thousand dollars, I could buy a piece of the sea from a dark basement. From then on, my world had tides.

Tony warned, before he spread his own legs for better leverage and leaned over Dillon further still. As he pistoned his hips deeply at a brutal pace, Tony couldn't help but appreciate the look of determined bliss on the kid's face. The poor dude was nearly bent in half as he drilled into him, but it seemed like he gleefully absorbed every second of it with wild abandon. Sweat rolled down both their faces even with the sharp chill of the coastal breeze. Their huffs and grunts could barely be heard over the waves as the tide came closer and closer. Luckily, they were past the tide boundary so they were safe.