The Echoes Of The Forgotten whispers

d like a second heart, its coral ridges biting into her palm. Kael stepped between them, dagger ra

eaking the tears she'd never shed at her husband's funeral. "

e bone's melody slithered into her veins, emboldening

ther l

m. Blood welled, black in the storm-light, and the bone drank it

e iron key. *"I'll seal the crypt,"* she vowed. *"Just keep her safe. Keep her ig

ed. "You gave them Father's journ

knife trembling.

*wha

iffs below, and within its foam, a dozen skeletal hands clawed at the air. The D

shoulder. "We nee

ne had oth

it beach centuries past, where a woman in a salt-stained cloak buried the femur under a spiral-carved stone. A younger v

e, vanished into the storm. The bone's coral had r

er up. "What

ffs. "It's under the old well. The one

-

with ivy. The town had filled it with cement after Imara's disap

. The plants writhed, dissolving into ash, revealing a

, but Elara caught

taut. From the shadows, a v

s algae hair dripped onto the rib, making it writhe like a live thing. "

agger. "We don't barg

"Give us the bones, and the King will spare your mother

The bone in her hand see

a trick. The Drowned don't

y whose father begged for the same mercy. Did he tell you how he found his dad

str

inned wider, black water gurgling from the wound. "Tick-t

to a heap of se

-

e town was

ut with fishing line. In his grip: a third bone, a clavicle fused with barnacles

idden in her satchel. Kael watched the elders fr

ing to believe

tterly. "They're st

g," the mob's eyes found hers. The Voss name slithe

g them, silent, her

bones hummed in her bag,

d from the belly o

r father

l stairs, her boots scuffing the salt-stained stone. The last time she'd stood here, her father's body had been dragged from the basin below, his sk

ng in the damp air. "The Harbinger

. It pulled her gaze upward, toward the rusted iron door

her to tie sailor's knots, the way he'd hum the cursed melody absentmindedly, long before she knew it

ins fell, the door swung open on its own. Inside, the lens was shattered, glass shards littering the floor like ice. At

Kael warned, but Ela

intly. When her fingers brushed it,

alls: "RETURN WHAT YOU STOLE." Her father wept as he carved symbols into his arms-Kael's symbols-and whispered, "I'

e didn't drown himself. The King *made* him do it

p him. That's why he died too. The guardians

s rose with it-a mob amassing at the lighthouse b

t. "Bring out the bones,

he mob's edge, silent, he

e skull. "We ne

s skin. He roared in pain as black veins spiderwebbed up h

grip. The moment she touched it, the Harbinger's voice slithered into her

t, the elders forcing her hands around a conch shell. *"Sacrifice

eamed, shatteri

Kael, weakened, slumped against the wall. "T

consequence. The sea below churned, waves for

aid softly. "But you can outsmart h

r satchel and climbed onto the lantern room ledge. The

jump

wing in her bag. The sea opened its maw, and for a heartbeat, she saw him-

e, daughter o

waves t

l stairs, her boots scuffing the salt-stained stone. The last time she'd stood here, her father's body had been dragged from the basin below, his sk

ng in the damp air. "The Harbinger

. It pulled her gaze upward, toward the rusted iron door

her to tie sailor's knots, the way he'd hum the cursed melody absentmindedly, long before she knew it

ins fell, the door swung open on its own. Inside, the lens was shattered, glass shards littering the floor like ice. At

Kael warned, but Ela

intly. When her fingers brushed it,

alls: "RETURN WHAT YOU STOLE." Her father wept as he carved symbols into his arms-Kael's symbols-and whispered, "I'

e didn't drown himself. The King *made* him do it

p him. That's why he died too. The guardians

s rose with it-a mob amassing at the lighthouse b

t. "Bring out the bones,

he mob's edge, silent, he

e skull. "We ne

s skin. He roared in pain as black veins spiderwebbed up h

grip. The moment she touched it, the Harbinger's voice slithered into her

t, the elders forcing her hands around a conch shell. *"Sacrifice

eamed, shatteri

Kael, weakened, slumped against the wall. "T

consequence. The sea below churned, waves for

aid softly. "But you can outsmart h

r satchel and climbed onto the lantern room ledge. The

jump

wing in her bag. The sea opened its maw, and for a heartbeat, she saw him-

e, daughter o

waves t

-

wned King

of salt and decay. She sank deeper, the light from the surface fading to a distant memory. Around her, bioluminescent jellyfish d

ong-forgotten gods lined the streets, their features eroded into grotesque masks. At the city's he

e room, the Drow

crusted his ribs, and his crown-a twisted amalgam of gold and finger bones-glinted with stolen li

ting through the water. *"You carry my property. Reli

the satchel. "A

f shells from the ceiling. *"Then you will join my collection."* He gestured t

sterman, his mouth sewn shut with fishing line; Imara Heddrick, her algae ha

ied, but his spi

King said. *"But you need not s

r's soul is already mine."* She stepped forward, her voice ste

cloak writhed. *"

ees. Release my mother from your ho

rward, his coral teeth clicking. *"Clever. But incomplete. You will retrieve

ed his f

drifted toward her-a woman with Elara's sharp cheekbones and Kael's s

ed your family's fate. You will destr

e spirit stared at her, unafraid. *"Do it,"* she whisper

er satchel hummed, their melody

ocked. *"Your guardian ab

lighthouse by the mob, his dagger arm broken, the p

pped th

owned King's court. The spirit of her ancestor floated before her, serene in her resignation. Behind the woman

e hissed. *"Her annihilati

shadows on the walls. A fisherman swung a rusted harpoon, grazing Kael's shoulder. Blood seeped through his shirt, but he fought on, his dagger a si

, revealing glimpses of the past: a woman in a salt-stained cloak bartering with sailors, her hands

on the dagger. "Why did y

thieves steal. Hunger. Fear. The lie that power could fill the emptiness."* Her translucent fingers b

kelp lashed out, wrapping around Elara's throat.

torch. Flames licked the lighthouse's

at the spirit,

guards surged forward, teeth bared, but the bones in Elara's satchel flared, repelling them in a

s crown slipping askew. *"You

spat. "But *

whalebone, and the palace shuddered. Cracks split the walls, seawater roar

or's disintegrating spir

bones there. Only the thief's blood can... break..."* H

e, the mob retreating as the flames spread. Kael stood at t

e of air bega

-

hthouse I

ered, their cries swallowed by the roar of the fire. Flames gnawed at the lighthouse's woode

now a tunnel of fire. No escape

se

The waves churned far below, their whitecaps sharp as t

eized hi

lame, face contorted into a rictus of hate. "Yo

riest lunged again, draggin

y f

e priest's grip tightened, his n

king toward the surface, but the priest's burning robes tangled a

-a skeletal hand, then an

owned C

longer haunting but mournful. *"Guardian, guardian

ached. Then-a

nged past him, her

asped

-

rgain's

keeping them afloat. Elara coughed up seawater, her satchel s

ng?" he

a vortex sucking down the remnants of the coral palace. "But he'll return. The

. "Then we de

id reuniting the bones in the Reliquary can break the curse

ere's another way. The

er was right-we're bound to the same fat

lling. In the silence, a new soun

ara

ands blistered, face streaked with soot. "I

melody softening as her mother approached.

dow r

seized the boat's edge. *"Liar,"* it croon

eamed as the spiri