Heeding her father's words, Atlara sighed and bent over the edge of the boat's hull to pull the empty net in. The salty wind brushed through her hair as she tugged the coarse ropes. Her father sat quietly behind her, staring into the fading horizon.
The position she was in made her backside stick up slightly, firm and round. Her father caught himself staring and quickly looked away, shame burning in his chest. What kind of man even thought like that? Especially about his own daughter.
He spat into the sea and rubbed his face, trying to shake off the thought. "Nothing but damn empty nets again," he muttered.
Atlara didn't respond. She pulled harder, hoping to at least get enough fish for dinner. Then suddenly—
"Dad!" she shouted. "There's weight on the line! I think we caught something!"
Her father jumped up, grabbing the edge of the net with her.
"Pull!" he yelled. "Don't let it go!"
They both strained their arms, muscles tightening as the heavy net broke through the surface, dripping seawater and seaweed everywhere.
Atlara grinned. "Finally!"
But then her smile faded. Inside the net wasn't fish.
It was a man.
Her father froze, eyes wide. "What the hell is that?" He kicked the net once. "Don't tell me we dragged in a corpse."
"Stop!" Atlara snapped. "Don't do that. He didn't mean to end up here."
She looked at the man's still face — pale, calm, but strangely unbroken. "He's young… maybe he drowned."
Her voice softened. "We should at least bury him. It's the right thing to do."
Her father hesitated. "Atlara, we don't know who he is. The sea spits out bad omens sometimes. You don't bring that kind of body home."
"Please, Dad. Just for tonight. We can bury him at sunrise."
She looked at him with pleading eyes.
He sighed, scratching his beard. "Fine. But I swear, if this gets us cursed—"
Together they pulled the body into the boat and rowed back toward the dim lights of the coast. The night air grew colder, and Atlara couldn't help glancing at the stranger's face. Even lifeless, there was something haunting about him — like someone caught between worlds.
When they reached the shore, they carried him to dry grass beside the beach. The sky had turned deep purple, stars blinking above. Crickets had started their nightly song.
"Let's leave him here till morning," her father said. "We'll dig a grave when the sun's up."
Atlara nodded, brushing the sand from the stranger's clothes. His chest looked still… until she noticed something.
"Dad," she said slowly, leaning closer. "His chest—it's moving."
Her father frowned. "Don't mess with me, girl."
But then he saw it too — a faint rise and fall.
"What the hell?" he whispered, stepping back. "That's not possible. He's alive?"
Rael's eyes shot open.
Atlara screamed and stumbled backward. Her father grabbed a nearby paddle, raising it like a weapon.
Rael coughed hard, seawater spilling from his mouth. His body convulsed, chest heaving like he hadn't breathed in days.
"Stay back!" her father warned. "He could be possessed!"
Atlara ran forward anyway. "He's human! Look at him, Dad! He's breathing!"
Rael's eyes flickered, dark for a moment before settling into a strange, grayish hue with faint black lines crawling within. He blinked rapidly, confused, trembling as his mind tried to find balance between death and life.
He looked around—the sea, the sand, the strange faces staring at him. "Where… am I?" he rasped, voice raw.
"You're on the coast near Arvenport," Atlara said quickly, kneeling beside him. "We found you tangled in our net. You weren't breathing."
Rael's gaze fell to the waves. "The darkness…" he muttered. "It brought me back."
Atlara's father lowered the paddle slightly but didn't trust him. "You remember anything, stranger?"
Rael shook his head, then winced as pain shot through him. His muscles burned. His veins itched like fire ran through them. "I remember… falling. The water. Then something… spoke to me."
"Spoke to you?" Atlara asked softly. "Like a voice?"
He didn't answer. He touched his chest — no wounds, no bruises. His body was whole, but he could feel something alive beneath his skin, moving, whispering.
Her father stepped forward cautiously. "What's your name, boy?"
Rael looked at him blankly, as if trying to recall who he was. "Rael," he said at last. "Rael Narth."
"Never heard of you," her father grunted. "Where you from?"
Rael looked at the sea again. "From a place that doesn't want me back."
Atlara gave him a blanket. "You're freezing. Here, cover yourself. You need rest."
He accepted it without speaking, wrapping it around his shoulders. His eyes met hers briefly, and for a moment something passed between them — something neither could name. Her eyes were gentle, curious. His were filled with exhaustion and something darker.
"Thank you," he muttered.
Her father turned toward the house nearby. "Atlara, we're not keeping him here. He can stay in the shed. Tomorrow we'll figure out where he belongs."
She frowned. "Dad, he just woke up from the dead."
"Exactly," her father said. "We don't know what he is. For all we know, the sea sent him for a reason."
Rael stood slowly, wobbling a bit. His body was light but unnaturally strong, like the gravity around him didn't fully apply. He looked at the man. "I'll stay wherever you wish. I owe you both my life."
Atlara's father gave him one last suspicious glance before walking off toward the small wooden shed near the field. "Follow me, stranger."
Atlara lingered a moment, watching Rael. The moonlight traced the outline of his face — calm, distant, but scarred by something deep inside. When he turned toward her, she looked away quickly, pretending to pick up her basket.
"Thank you," he said again, his tone lower, almost soft.
She nodded. "Don't mention it."
As they reached the shed, her father tossed him a thin mat. "Sleep there. Try anything funny, and I'll gut you before sunrise."
Rael smirked faintly. "Understood."
Her father left, closing the shed door behind him,atlara soon followed.
Silence filled the space, broken only by the sound of the waves outside.
Rael sat down, breathing slow and deep. The world around him felt… different. He could sense things;the pulse of the earth, the pull of the tide, the faint vibration of life around him. The darkness within whispered again.
"You're not the same anymore."
He clenched his fists. His veins glowed faintly black for an instant, then faded. "I know."
He lay down, eyes open to the shadows above. The Nightbane clan… I'll find them. I'll finish what they started.