Whispers

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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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The Saltwater Cure

Clara stepped off the train at Seabrook Station, her boots crunching on gravel as the scent of salt and diesel hung heavy in the air. The town had not changed—same crooked storefronts, same rusted fishing boats bobbing in the harbor—but…

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The Fractured Mind

Dr. Lena Voss awoke to the sterile scent of antiseptic and the hum of fluorescent lights. Her fingers twitched against the cold metal table, the taste of copper lingering on her tongue. The memory of the trial—vague, fractured—swirled in her…

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The Bloom Weaver

## The Bloom Weaver The chipped porcelain of the mug warmed Elias’s hands, but didn’t touch the chill clinging to his bones. Rain lashed against the window of the Archive, mimicking the rhythmic throb behind his eyes. He hadn’t slept…

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The Silk & Steel Knot

## The Silk & Steel Knot The dust tasted of cinnamon and regret. Old Man Tiber, they called him – though few knew his true name – adjusted the worn silk scarf shielding his face from the relentless Beijing sun.…

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The Bloom & the Blade

## The Bloom & the Blade The scent of dried chrysanthemum and aged paper clung to Mei’s fingers. Dust motes danced in the single shaft of sunlight slicing through the high window of the Imperial Library’s Annex. She traced a…

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The Weight of Wings

## The Weight of Wings Dust motes danced in the single shaft of sunlight slicing through the warped planks of Old Man Tiber’s cabin. Silas traced the lines on the worn map with a calloused thumb, the parchment smelling of…

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