Epilogue
The raven watched from the cliff as the female plunged into the ocean as though she would find a wish waiting in its bed.
In turn, the ocean rippled and rose as if to applaud her arrival.
The raven traced the iridescent gold of her tail as it tore through the water like a shooting star crossing the open heavens.
The brightest stars fell the hardest.
She would return to land eventually—the two mortals standing on the wave-washed steps were waiting. She seemed to have formed an attachment to them.
It changed nothing.
The female broke to the surface, wearing a smile like daylight on her salt-kissed lips.
She did not know it yet, but he was the thief who would rob her of that smile. He’d take away her victory. He would steal the ending she thought she had earned, and write a new one in the blood that was yet to be spilled.
The raven raised his black eyes to the cloud-smudged sky. Soon, the sun would take a bow, and night’s curtain would fall.
Soon, he would claim what belonged to the ocean.
With a flap of his wings, the raven took flight.