An Echo Beneath the Water
"Some ancient call that I've heard only in a dream, breathed in whispers and crooned a confusing tongue. It was a melody sung while I slept amidst the trees, the cool feel of the breeze on my backside, and the misty scent of the sea in my nostrils. That dream... it felt like I was there with the voice beneath the water. For the first time in my life, I felt...at peace. "
Baylea has survived for over two decades living in the trees far above the water's reach with other women in hiding. The days pass quickly, but the excruciatingly long nights become even harder when the tides are at their highest and the air grows cold and thin.
As the nights grow longer with the cold becoming an infectious presence, Baylea sets out on foot to hunt for food and gather what she can before the tides rise again. Crossing into unknown terrain and encountering more than what she has ever known, Baylea faces the unavoidable consequences of entering another's domain, which doesn't seem to worry her at first. An intense feeling that she has never felt before starts to blur the lines between right and wrong as Baylea voluntarily returns to the same spot to hunt whenever the tides recede. But when she is seen speaking with the Waterling, Baylea is forced to stay amongst the treetops for her safety and the safety of her kin.
