The air seemed to still, all wind ceased movement in the trees as if the Earth itself held a bated breath. Kensey was the first to release it, rattling against his ribcage in uneven bursts. the voice inside his head was silent. Absent. Detached. And for the first time since his parents' death, he felt truly alone.

The knife dropped to the forest floor with a dull thud, leaves and bark stuck to t...

The elevation of the waves shrouded the night sky in a shimmering wall of salt water, lingering for the briefest of moments before crashing back down with an echoed thud. The storm rattled the Earth, tugging at the water like a puppet master with strings and bending it to its will -- orchestrating chaos.

Otheseus watched from the mainland, eyes narrowed against the whipping winds, occasionally c...