The sea hits hard, cold enough to numb my entire body, and soon it begins to. Fuck. Darkness swallows me whole. For a heartbeat, I fight the instinct to surface, then I feel a strange sensation, and I can breathe. An odd wisp of warmth seems to wrap around me, keeping the sensation in my body as I swim downwards, obeying what she said and letting the water carry me. At the back of my mind, there’s a small part of me that isscreaming at me to get to the surface, but I push the thought aside as I keep going further and further down.
After what feels like ages, the currents soon stop, and I open my eyes before I begin swimming deeper. Soon, the blackness disappears, and I begin to see lights. First, they’re scarce, a pale blue one floating here and there, but then they become more frequent and more vibrant. I can see ruins stretching across the seabed: ships, skeletons, and a haunting wreckage. I swim past it all, and I can feel the water hum with power, and then I see what begins to form into a city.
I’m here. I found Morcant’s kingdom.
I move low along the rocks, keeping to the shadows. The current tugs at my bag, but I hold on to it tightly. My sword is my only weapon down here. Two guards drift ahead, their spears gleaming faintly. I press into a jagged hollow area between two large rocks.
I remain calm, hoping they don’t see me. If I’m caught now, I’ll never make it past the gates. But fate spares me for one more moment. A shoal of lanternfish bursts between us, scattering silver light, and the guards drift on, unaware.
I push forward silently, each stroke taking me closer to the entrance of the looming palace that rises before me. Carved from dark coral and obsidian, its towers glow with purple and blue light. It’s a fortress, and there’s something dark and powerful about it.
This is it. The Elmerian Ocean. The heart of his reign. The place where he never thought he would meet his end. He took her from me, and now he’ll pay.
This is a place where I don’t hold any power. I belong to the sky, not the sea, but I’ll fucking manage.
Hold on, Sira.
I’m almost there.
The closer I get, thethicker the magic around here feels. The ocean itself seems to resist me, whispering warnings in its pull. Guards roam around more frequently, but I sink lower, moving with the tide rather than against it.
I’m finally close to the castle. It towers above, threaded with runes and shimmering under the lights. When I’m finally at the entrance, I squeeze through the gates the moment I get a chance and keep to the wall.
Where would Siralaine be kept?
The prison, which is most likely below the castle. Following this assumption, I head behind the castle, looking for a way in. When I find a small entrance leading to what is most likely the servant quarters, I slip inside.
The water beyond is colder and darker. I’m in some kind of passageway. Two guards swim into view near the lower passage, and I frown. They aren’t sea sirens, but something far uglier and deadlier. Are these the wave weavers of Varindor I have heard of? I’m not about to find out.
I wait quietly until they’re close, and only when they pass me do I quietly slip past them. If I want to make it here undetected, I can’t kill everyone who crosses my path.
I go further and notice I’m going down deeper. Soon, the tunnels begin to form into cells that are carved directly into the rock. Metal bars cover them. There are no lights down here, and even the water tastes stale.
Some of the cells are empty, some contain sea sirens who aren’t even moving, as if they have already given up on life. I keep going further. Most of the cells are empty here, and that’s when I see her.
She’s curled up on the stone floor, asleep, her hair drifting like ink in the water, onyx black with dark pink that catches the faintest light when the water ripples. Her lashes rest against her cheeks, long and thick. Her skin shimmers, even in the darkness, touched by an iridescent glow that no darkness can drown.
And her tail… call me fucking crazy to admit this, but her tail is… beautiful. Scales of fuchsia fade into the deepest black, gleaming faintly each time she breathes. She looks both fragile and fierce.
She’s always been beautiful, but in the water where she belongs, she looks ethereal. A beauty that nothing in these oceans or the sky can match up to.
I scan both sides of the tunnel before I open my bag just enough to rummage inside and take out a small knife, reaching for the lock. The mechanism is old but firm. A few fiddles and twists later, and I’ve picked it. It clicks open, but, in the water, it barely makes a sound.
I slip inside the cell and let the door ease shut behind me. She’s here, and she’s alive.
I sink to my knees beside her as relief floods every inch of me. The slight movement makes her hair move like ink. Reaching out, I brush a strand of hair from her beautiful face. Her skin is cool beneath my fingers, smooth and flawless.
“Sira,” I whisper, her name scattering into bubbles. It feels strange talking beneath the surface. “I’m here.”
Her lashes tremble, her brow creases slightly, and she letsout the faintest sigh before her eyes open. Those vibrant, dark pink, glimmering irises take a moment to comprehend that I’m before her. When she realises, her breath catches, and her lips part in disbelief.
“Kai?” she whispers.
“Right here,” I murmur, leaning closer. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
She stares for a long moment, her gaze trailing over me as though she can’t quite believe I’m truly here. Then, slowly, she lifts her hand, brushing her fingers along my jaw. A shuddering breath escapes her, and I close my eyes, relishing in her touch.
“You came,” she whispers, a single tear drifting from the corner of her eye, vanishing into the water.
