First Light

“It's coming,” Elias shouted over the roar. She didn't need him to tell her that.

The first wave hit the cliffs below, sending a spray of salt and foam high into the air. Somewhere beneath the noise, a bell began to toll — slow, deliberate, wrong.

She had spent her whole life being told the sea kept its own counsel. Tonight it seemed determined to speak.

The wind howled like a beast unleashed, tearing through the wooden slats of the old lighthouse. Mira tightened her grip on the rusted rail, staring out into the darkness that swallowed the horizon.