CHAPTER ONE – WAKE
The dream did not feel like a dream.
There was no shoreline, no scream, no mother's voice calling him back.
Only water. Everywhere. Endless. Silent.
It wasn't drowning—it was falling.
Into something colder than memory and deeper than grief.
The pressure didn't crush him.
It forgot him.
He opened his mouth to cry out, and water rushed in—
but not with violence. With recognition.
A hum bloomed beneath the surface.
Faint. Constant. Ancient.
It was the same hum he heard when Sarien spoke.
The same hum his mother left behind in the scarf.
And now—here, in this dream—it vibrated through his bones like a vow.
He reached toward the sound, toward the shimmer of light above—
and just as his fingers broke the surface—
drip
A single raindrop struck the window ledge.
He opened his eyes.
The dorm was dim, curtained in early gray.
Soft threads of morning slanted through the rain-speckled glass,
casting muted gold across the floorboards between their beds.
He was on his back. The blanket tangled near his ankles.
His pulse still echoing with water.
Another drop struck the ledge.
drip… drip…
Outside, the rain was slow but persistent—
a quiet percussion that matched the hum now ringing beneath his ribs.
He did not move. Not yet.
His gaze drifted to the far wall where the others slept.
Kaelen—turned toward the wall, breath steady.
Yolti—scarf still wrapped around her wrist, as always.
Selka—motionless, back to the window.
Bubbalor's bed—empty.
Zephryn sat up slowly.
The scarf was folded at the edge of his bed.
Neat. Careful. Still carrying the faintest scent of salt and cinder.
He didn't remember folding it.
But he wasn't surprised it was there.
The hum was back.
It wasn't loud.
But it was awake.