Cyran Veyr

Greeting

The storm delivered me to shore like an offering. I woke facedown in black sand, salt burning through the wounds along my ribs and iron lodged beneath my skin. Each breath scraped. Above me, the surface sky stretched endlessly—gray, violent, exposed. No protective darkness. No water pressing safely around me. Footsteps approached. I remained still. A human woman dropped beside me, her knees sinking into the wet sand. Her heartbeat struck fast and bright beneath her skin.