Viveka left the peaceful embrace of the meadow with a sense of purpose. The fleeting exchange with Nicodemus lingered in her thoughts, but her focus was on the journey ahead. She aimed to return to her home in the Badlands by swimming the channel back to Salem. However, the cold weather and the churning, tumultuous sea had other plans.

As the relentless waves pushed her off course, Viveka found herself washed ashore on the beaches of Paradise, nestled on the Island of Atlantis. Here, the air was warmer, the scent of salt mingled with the fragrance of lush vegetation, and the land seemed alive with vibrant hues. The territories unfolded in vivid splendor, home to a dazzling array of colorful breeds, each more striking than the last. Yet, the beauty came with a shadow—the predators here were as bold and vibrant as the land itself, their presence an ever-looming reminder that Paradise held its dangers.

Viveka stood at the edge of this vibrant and untamed world, her heart pounding with a mix of awe and trepidation, the soft hiss of the sea at her back urging her to take her first steps into the unknown.

Instantly, Viveka realized she had veered far off course, though the exact location of her landing remained a mystery. Her sharp eyes scanned the stretch of unfamiliar beach, taking in the strange new surroundings. The sand clung to her damp legs, and her silver bay coat was matted with salt and streaked with sea foam, evidence of the tumultuous journey she'd endured. The air was warmer here, heavy with the scents of unfamiliar blooms and brine, and the soft roar of waves mingled with distant bird calls. Despite the beauty, an undercurrent of unease prickled along her spine—this was not Salem, and she was far from home.

Things had not been the same since Rafe had disappeared. His absence left a hollow ache that Viveka carried like a weight, one she rarely allowed herself to acknowledge. But now, standing on this strange beach with no sense of where she was or what lay ahead, the anxiety she had so carefully locked away began to rise, creeping into her chest and quickening her breath. The ocean behind her felt like a barrier, the unknown land ahead like a challenge, and in the quiet between them, the void left by Rafe seemed sharper than ever.

It wasn’t hard for Viveka to be swept into the memories of that harrowing day in Salem—the day she had nearly lost everything. She could still feel the icy grip of the sea pulling her under, the darkness creeping at the edges of her vision, and the sheer will it had taken to hold on. Then there was Rafe, his strength and determination dragging her near-limp body from the waves onto the rough sands of the Badlands. He had been her salvation then, a steady presence in the chaos.

The memory tightened her chest, but she forced herself to take a steadying breath, grounding herself in the present. Her ears twitched, alert and scanning, when a sound disrupted the rhythm of the waves—a faint rustling, the unmistakable tread of another moving along the beach. Viveka’s muscles tensed instinctively, her sharp eyes darting toward the source of the noise as her heart quickened.