Bone Island: Book of Danvers

BONE ISLAND BOOK OF DANVERS NICOLE FIORINA Bone Island Book of Danvers Tales of Weeping Hollow Copyright © 2023 by Nicole Fiorina Original Publication Date: March 23, 2023 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental or used as “inspired by.” This book in its entirety and in portions is sole property of Nicole Fiorina. Bone Island: Book of Danvers Copyright 2023 by Nicole Fiorina. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic, paperback or mechanical without the express written permission of the author. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Written by Nicole Fiorina Illustrations by Surovi Bain Cover Design by Okay Creations Map Illustrations by Frederick Kroner; Stardust Books ALSO BY NICOLE FIORINA Stay with Me Trilogy Stay with Me Even When I’m Gone Now Open Your Eyes Tales of Weeping Hollow Hollow Heathens Bone Island The Hendrix Brothers Ty & Kate What If: A Novelette Linc & Lo Going Going Gone: A Novelette CONTENTS Before you Read Letter From Nicole The Founding Families The Heathen & The Siren Introduction I Introduction II Introduction III The Night After the Curse Broke Prologue I. THE SHORE Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 II. THE SHALLOW Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 SACRED MOMENTS Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 SHIPWRECKED SOULS Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 SAILING CIRCE’S ISLE Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 SACCHARINE SECRETS Chapter 30 III. THE DEEP Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 SHATTERED WHISPERS Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 SIREN & THE SAPPHIRE Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 SEAWORTHY DEATH Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 SLAUGHTERED HEARTS Chapter 59 Chapter 60 WISTORAGIC Poem Afterword Acknowledgments Also by Nicole Fiorina About the Author BEFORE YOU READ Bone Island: Book of Danvers is the second book in the Tales of Weeping Hollow Collection. This book can be read as a standalone, but for the best reading experience it is recommended to read books in the order they are published. Hollow Heathens: Book of Blackwell is the first book in this collection. If you have not yet read Hollow Heathens, start reading it by clicking here. * * * Please read responsibly. To view all content warnings, visit: nicolefiorina.com/contentwarnings This story contains domestic violence. Please know that any type of abuse in a relationship, whether it be emotional, verbal, or physical is never okay, no matter which gender is the abuser. National Domestic Violence Hotline 800 - 799 - 7233 * * * Bone Island inspired soundtrack available on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3LncVKE Thank you, and welcome back to Weeping Hollow. “The boundaries which divide life from death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?” —Edgar Allan Poe Our happily ever after * * * This story is dedicated to lovers who've met a tragic end. Here is a happily ever after you deserve. To my loyal, passionate reader March 2021 - January 2023 * * * It happens when a song comes on. You know, the ones that are like haunting portals. The first beat, and we’re suddenly teenagers again, broken-hearted, betrayed, feeling like nothing will ever get better. Or we’re teenagers again, knowing we’re complete fools making mistakes while we’re making them because we don’t give a damn about tomorrow, and these mistakes do turn into the best stories. It’s all imprinted into that one song. You know what I’m talking about. Those songs that can remind us of a certain someone who’s no longer here, and suddenly their smile is carved into our mind, and it’s all we can see, the pain resurrecting like they’ve died all over again. The one toxic song that absolutely guts us, but we play it anyway—on repeat—because it reminds us of them. Because when this song is on, it’s like they’re right there. And we’re together even though we’re not. For me, it’s Under Pressure by Queen, and just like that, I’m robbed. Then there’s songs that give us an entire season. Like every summer when I visited Chicago since I was sixteen. My first love always kissed me as if another year hadn’t gone by since we’d last seen each other. He always kissed me as if there was no one else because they were just temporary to ease the pain and we were forever. Once, he took me for a ride down I-290 in his red Honda past midnight, the two of us racing toward city lights. Pretty Ricky was playing, the windows were down, and I was wrapped up in his navy-blue hoodie. Every few seconds, brown eyes reflected dashboard lights when they swung to mine, the two of us unable to keep our eyes off each other.