The Hollow Shore
Mara stepped off the creaking ferry, her boots sinking into the damp gravel of the harbor. The salt air stung her nose, sharp and familiar, like the scent of her father’s old coat. She hadn’t set foot in Ironclad Bay…
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Read MoreThe Hollow Shore
The Last Light of Meridian
The salt air bit Mara’s cheeks as she trudged up the cliff, her boots crunching over gravel. The lighthouse loomed ahead, its white paint peeling like dead skin. She’d skipped school again, but the note had been urgent—scrawled in her…
The Dust and the Diamond
The sun hung low over the Sierra Nevada, casting long shadows across the cracked earth of Red Creek Valley. Clara Voss stepped off the wagon, her boots sinking into the dust as the scent of sagebrush and iron filled her…
The Iron Trail
The air reeked of coal smoke and sweat as Clara navigated the crowded docks, her boots clicking against the wooden planks. The harbor bustled with merchants unloading crates of spices and textiles, their shouts blending with the cawing gulls. She…
The Unseen Thread
In the shadow of the Boston harbor, where salt-laced winds whispered secrets of rebellion, Elara Whitlock tended to the sick in her father’s apothecary. The year was 1774, and the air crackled with more than just the chill of early…
The Sierra Trail
The first time Eliza saw the Sierra Nevada, she thought they were mountains of glass. Snow glinted off jagged peaks like shattered mirrors, and the air smelled of pine and iron. She tightened her grip on the reins, her knuckles…
The Hollowing
Mara pulled her coat tighter as the wind shrieked through the pines, biting at her exposed skin. The lighthouse stood ahead, its beam slicing the night like a blade. She hadn’t set foot in Hollow’s End since the summer her…
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter
Clara’s boots crunched over gravel as she pulled her coat tighter, the wind slicing through the collar. The lighthouse stood at the edge of the world, its white paint peeling like sunburned skin. She hadn’t spoken to her aunt since…
The Hollowed Ground
The air reeked of iron and damp earth as Lila stepped off the creaking wagon, her boots sinking into the dust. The town of Red Creek stretched before her, a ragged line of wooden buildings hunched against the Sierra Nevada’s…
The Gilded Veil
The sun hung low over the Sierra Nevada, casting long shadows across the dirt streets of Redding Creek. Clara Voss tightened her grip on the rusted revolver at her hip, her boots crunching over gravel as she approached the saloon.…
The Ember Trail
The air reeked of salt and coal smoke as Clara stepped off the ferry, her boots crunching over broken oyster shells. The San Francisco docks in 1849 were a symphony of chaos—shouts of merchants hawking gold dust, the creak of…
The Iron Veil
The air reeked of iron and burnt leather as Clara tightened the straps of her uniform, her fingers brushing against the cold steel of her bayonet. The campfires flickered in the distance, casting long shadows across the muddy field. She…
The Gilded Dust
Clara Whitaker stepped off the creaking schooner onto the dock, her boots sinking into the damp planks as the briny air stung her lungs. The port of San Francisco reeked of salt and smoke, a cacophony of shouts and clinking…
The Grain Whisperers
## The Grain Whisperers The wind tasted of wet earth and coming rain. Elias wiped the grit from his calloused palm, squinting at the twin masts of Farmer Holm’s semaphore tower. Rain threatened; a sullen gray pressed down on the…
The Resonance of Ghosts
## The Resonance of Ghosts Rain lashed against the windows of Elara’s studio, mimicking the relentless drumming in Julian’s skull. He sat hunched on a worn armchair, staring at his hands – pale, trembling things that felt foreign to him.…