The Tide That Wouldn’t Let Go

When disgraced salvage diver Elias Vane is pulled from a storm by a mermaid with a voice like breaking glass, he believes the sea has given him a second life. Neris calls it a promise. She binds a pearl beneath his skin, saves him from death, and claims him as the human who belongs to her beneath the waves. But Neris’s love is not gentle. It reaches through dreams, turns harbor water against anyone who touches him, and tightens whenever Elias tries to leave. As impossible tides swallow the coastal city of Bellwether, Elias discovers that Neris is not merely a monster in love—she is the last heir of an ancient sea kingdom, hunted by a drowned god whose magic is waking beneath the ocean floor. To escape her, Elias must steal the storm-forged crown that controls the tides. To save her, he must descend willingly into the abyss. Each spell makes their bond stronger; each act of resistance breaks something human inside him. Torn between terror, desire, and a love that may be the only thing keeping him alive, Elias must decide whether freedom means returning to land—or choosing the sea before it chooses for him.