They set out to sea, leaving the port of Saleen behind. The sky was already darkening, heavy clouds racing in fast from the west, a sure sign of an approaching storm. The air, thick with salt, carried a restless wind that slapped the ropes against the mast and rippled the surface of the water.

  Evelyn kept her eyes fixed on the horizon, recalling every instruction Sean had given her before departure. Each person aboard had a clear role: Brenda, the least experienced, had stayed below deck, knowing she’d only be in the way up top. Her fear was obvious, and she obeyed without complaint.

  Though Evelyn had a fair amount of sailing experience, she never would have faced a storm like this if not for the cause driving her forward. The ocean, calm just hours before, had turned hostile: the wind howled through the sails, rain lashed in bursts, and the waves pounded the boat without mercy.

  After barely two hours at sea, Evelyn already felt her strength fading. The cold stiffened her muscles, her heart hammered in her throat. Fear and determination battled within her as she clung to the image of her daughter.

  She and Sean wore their life jackets, their safety harnesses clipped tight to the lifeline, the only thing keeping them from being swept away on a deck that was constantly swallowed by the sea. Yet even with every precaution, they were tossed about relentlessly, as if the boat itself had become nothing more than a toy in the jaws of the storm.

  The ocean roared with fury, the wind screaming past sixty knots. Towering waves crashed over the vessel, leaving them barely enough time to breathe. The hurricane raged with merciless violence, the thunderous impact of water against the hull deafening. Evelyn’s worst fears materialized, while Sean’s voice struggled to rise above the chaos.

  “We’ve gone too far! I’ve never faced a storm like this. I’m sorry... I don’t think we’re going to make it!” Sean shouted, his words breaking apart in desperation, as if he were confessing defeat.

  Evelyn clung with every ounce of strength left in her, refusing to let go, refusing to surrender. She called out to the Universe, even as the fury of wind and waves forced her to fight just to remain upright. Her arms and legs shook, her body quaked under the strain, and hope itself seemed to shatter, scattered like sand stolen by the sea.

  Her thoughts flew to Leyla.

  Leyla… I never wanted to leave you in such a difficult moment. Wherever I am, I’ll be with you. Nothing will ever tear us apart!

  Leyla’s face flashed in Evelyn’s mind, vivid and steady, like a lighthouse piercing the night. And then, like a blade, her mother’s words returned: if you can overcome every trial and claim the moon pendant, it will grant you the power to connect with Leyla. Those words, spoken only days ago, now echoed like a distant call, weighted with meaning. Evelyn clung to that memory as if it were her last anchor to life.

  Amid the storm, there was no longer room for fear of death. This is the punishment I deserve for breaking the dark laws. I had hoped to…

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  She never finished the thought.

  Fate struck without warning. A sharp, violent crack split the air, the mainsheet snapped. The boom swung free, a furious pendulum, slamming into Evelyn’s face.

  She was hurled to the deck. Waves crashed over her, swallowing her whole. Everything dissolved into chaos—water, pain, confusion. The bitter taste of blood filled her mouth. Her mind spun, fogged and fading, swallowed in a suffocating haze.

  Her body, limp and battered, was tossed around by the sea in a grotesque ballet of water and blood. From her head wound, a crimson trail seeped into the salt water. And yet, inside her mind, Evelyn was still fighting.

  Sean, still clipped to the lifeline, fought his way toward her, but the storm hurled him back.

  “Evelyn!” he shouted, his voice breaking. But wind and sea had already decided for them. The tempest had claimed its price. Evelyn, the warrior who had dared to defy the unknown—was now at the mercy of the waves, her dream of finding Leyla vanishing in the chaos.

  Powerless, Sean collapsed to his knees, crushed by exhaustion and despair. The wind screamed around him, but his heart raged louder than the ocean itself. With the last of his strength, he grabbed a handhold on the slick deck and caught a corner of Evelyn’s soaked jacket. His frozen fingers clutched at the fabric, desperate to keep her from slipping away into the abyss.

  With a frantic motion, he drew her into his arms, resting her head against his lap as though shielding her from the storm. His eyes shut tight, searching for peace, but finding only pain.

  His final thoughts turned to a God who seemed to have abandoned them, his voice rising in defiance, swallowed by the roaring sea.

  “Then do with us what you will!” he cried, a raw scream hurled against the injustice of fate.

  And then, it happened.

  Right after Sean’s words, the ocean bowed to the will of the sky. The towering waves sank, flattening until the surface stretched smooth as glass. An unnatural stillness blanketed the world, as though even the air itself was holding its breath. A faint, damp fragrance hung in the mist as a dense, spectral fog rose around the vessel, swallowing everything.

  The mast stilled, frozen in place, hypnotized by the sudden calm. Every sound died. The boat floated in silence, suspended between two worlds.

  Brenda, shaken but alive after the storm’s fury, stumbled onto the deck, her heart hammering in her chest. She froze at the sight: Sean’s hollow stare… and Evelyn, motionless, her bloodied face cradled in his lap.

  Her breath caught.

  Without thinking, she dropped to her knees. With trembling hands, she began chest compressions.

  “Evelyn! Evelyn, please!” she cried, pressing again and again, but her friend’s body lay unresponsive, lifeless.

  Sean, paralyzed by shock, could only watch. Then, slowly, he placed a hand on Brenda’s shoulder, stopping her desperate rhythm.

  “Sweetheart… stop. There’s nothing more we can do…” he whispered, his voice breaking, his eyes brimming with tears.

  The words cut through Brenda like a blade, yet, in that moment, they were the only anchor left to cling to.

  She collapsed into his arms, shattered. Their strength was gone, drained by the storm, yet they clung to each other, desperate for comfort in the unnatural stillness.

  A dark shadow loomed over them. The sudden calm, the creeping fog, it all felt like an omen, a prelude to something far greater. But what awaited them now? A flicker of hope… or yet another trial?

  With Evelyn gone, they were adrift, lost in grief, swallowed by despair. The future was a riddle, the past an open wound. All they had left was the present: to hold on to each other, and to pray that somewhere in the darkness, a light still burned bright enough to guide them.

  ????? ?????????? ?????

  ?? The storm is over, but the danger isn’t. Evelyn and Leyla’s fate hangs in the balance…

  ?? Don’t miss a moment, read the next chapter of Edenlost – The Borderless City now.

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