Verity's POV

Three months.

It had been three months since we left Shadowfang, and I still wasn't used to the sound of the waves.

Every morning, I woke to their rhythm—the steady crash and retreat, crash and retreat. It was soothing in a way I'd never experienced before. The tower had been silent except for my own breathing. The Darklands had been filled with whispers and screams. Even Shadowfang, for all its safety, had hummed with tension and expectation.

But here? Here, there was just ...