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Chapter 1
Chapter One: Gulls at Dawn
The gulls came low over Stonehook Bay, their wings slicing the gray dawn. Talia Ward stood on her skiff, hauling in the last of the salvage nets. The rope bit her palms through worn gloves as a gust pushed her sideways. Spray ticked off the gunwale and the wind shifted, blowing the sea’s chill into her sleeves.
Beyond the reef, the water went darker. The tall lighthouse on the point loomed against the sky, old and stubborn, its brass fittings dull with age. She could almost hear the gears inside if she stood in the quiet: a patient grind, a clock that had kept faith longer than most men she knew.
She set a net’s cork floats into a crate and paused to flex her fingers. The skin near her thumb still bore a pale crescent of scar from the accident two years ago. It had faded. It had not left her.
Talia checked the horizon. The air felt wrong—wired, raw. The wind had a high edge. A storm would come by nightfall, heavy and fast. The market would be thin today, but she needed to sell. They were late on the slip fee, and Finn—she tried not to think about Finn’s temper in a tight corner.
She tied off and motored in. The bay threw wet light at her. The gulls kept wheeling low like dropped scraps of paper. She lifted her jaw and forced her breath steady. The deep had teeth she could not see; she would not let it close on her again.
