The High Elder’s blind eyes fix on us with disturbing precision. “The Sky-dweller came seeking peace?”
“Yes, High Elder.” I keep my voice steady. Professional. “Ambassador Zara Stormwright of the Integration Alliance. She approached our waters using diplomatic signals. Was shot down by Caspian’s forces. I saved her life and?—”
“You bonded with her.” It’s not a question. The water ripples faster, agitated. “A Storm Eagle and a Deep Runner. Lightning and water. Elements that should destroy each other.”
“We thought so too,” Zara says quietly. She steps forward slightly, and I feel her gathering courage through the bond. “High Elder, I came in peace. I came to negotiate an end to the blockade, to find a solution that?—”
“And instead you found him.” The Elder’s attention shifts fully to Zara, and I see her suppress a shiver. “Tell me, child of the sky—what did you offer my Sentinel to corrupt him so thoroughly?”
“Nothing.” Zara’s voice is firm. “I offered nothing. The bond?—”
“The bond is convenient.” A new voice cuts through the chamber, cold and sharp. “Too convenient. A Sky-dweller seduces one of our best warriors, and we’re supposed to believe it’s fate?”
My blood runs cold.
Caspian.
I turn to see him entering through the side door, flanked by a dozen elite warriors. All Sentinels. All loyal to him. And all of them blocking the exits with practiced precision.
This isn’t a judgment. It’s an ambush.
“Elder Caspian.” The High Elder’s voice carries warning. “You were not summoned to this audience.”
“And yet here I am.” He moves with predatory grace, circling us like prey. His silver hair catches the bioluminescent light, and his eyes—gods, his eyes burn with something that looks like madness dressed as conviction. “Because someone needs to speak truth when you’re too blind to see it.”
“Careful, Caspian.” I step between him and Zara. “You speak to the High Elder.”
“I speak for our people.” He gestures at me, at the golden veins running through my scales. “Look at him. Corrupted by Sky-dweller magic. He’s not one of us anymore. He’s been seduced, bewitched, transformed into something?—”
“I chose her.” The words come out harder than intended. “No magic compelled me. No seduction. I chose Zara because she came in peace and we killed her for it. Because she’s brave and fierce and sees value in integration instead of isolation. Because the bond between us is real, and I’m done pretending it’s not.”
Silence falls across the chamber. Even the waterfall seems to quiet.
Caspian stares at me like I’ve grown a second head. “You chose her.”
“Yes.”
“Over your people. Over your duty. Over everything we’ve built.” His voice drops to something dangerous. “You chose a Sky-dweller over us.”
“I chose a future where we don’t die slowly in the dark.” I meet his gaze without flinching. “Where we stop blaming the surface world for problems isolation created. Where my sister’s death means something more than another reason to hate.”
His face twists. “Don’t you dare speak of Mira?—”
“Why not? She’s all you use to justify isolation. Her death. Your children’s deaths. Every tragedy weaponized to keep us closed off and dying.” My voice rises. “But what if we’re wrong, Caspian? What if the surface sickness that killed Mira could have been treated if we’d sought help? What if your children died in that flood because our dams are failing from age and we’re too proud to ask for engineering assistance?”
“Enough!” His hand slices through the air. “I won’t listen to a traitor justify betrayal with pretty words.”
“Then listen to me.” Zara steps forward, and I feel her resolve crystallizing through the bond. No. Whatever she’s about to say, whatever sacrifice she’s planning—”High Elder, I take full responsibility for?—”
The chamber doors burst open.
More warriors pour in—at least twenty of them, all bearing Caspian’s marks. They spread through the room with military precision, cutting off every exit, surrounding the High Elder’s platform. This isn’t just an ambush anymore.
It’s a coup.
“What is the meaning of this?” The High Elder rises, water swirling around her feet in an angry vortex. “Caspian, explain yourself.”
“I’m doing what you won’t.” He climbs the steps to her platform, and his warriors move to flank him. “What you’ve been too weak to do for generations. I’m saving our people.”
