Chapter 1- The Island
Reven walked at the head of the group, letting the dry sand slip between her toes. The sun was high by now, and the heat pressed down on her shoulders like an oversized cloak.
“We need to find water,” said Draymor, blunt as ever. “And shelter. We don’t know how long we’ll be here.”
Reven nodded. She didn’t want to say it out loud, but everyone was thinking it: without a ship, they were stranded.
They continued along the beach until Finn stopped dead.
“Reven… look over there.”
Reven narrowed her eyes. Among the palm trees, beyond a small dune, there was something that didn’t belong to nature.
A hut. Small, built from wood and braided rope. And in front of the hut… a boat pulled up onto dry land.
A real boat.
Reven felt her heart quicken.
“We’re not alone,” she murmured.
Draymor stepped forward, his hand on the hilt of his knife.
“Better to be careful.”
But they didn’t have time to get any closer.
A voice reached them from the shadow of the hut.
“Stop where you are!”
A man stepped into the open — tanned, barefoot, a fishing net over his shoulder and a look in his eyes that hadn’t seen strangers in a very, very long time.
Reven raised her hands, calm.
“We don’t want trouble. We’re shipwrecked.”
The man studied them one by one, then sighed.
“Then you’re lucky. Nobody wants trouble here. Welcome to Calden Island. I hope you’re not in a hurry to leave… because the only boat we had sank three months ago.”
Reven felt the crew hold their breath.
