“It wasn’t just you who was going to get into big trouble,” Mo said through tears.
She’d been waiting outside the doors to the throne room that day…because my parents spoke to her first.
She betrayed me.It was all I could think of, my breaths short, my mind working itself into a frenzied panic.
“Aulani.” Father’s voice was like thunder, the weight of his authority falling on me now. “You will not disgrace our family like this. You will stay, and you will accept your place next to the king of the brine.”
Couldn’t breathe. I knew what was coming, especially as his golden triton lit up.
“Youwillstay,” he said, his voice filled with finality.
I glanced at Mo. Guilt and fear filled her face; I had never seen that kind of fear in her before. The world shifted around me, the ocean’s gentle sway turning into something darker, heavier.
Magic….
There was no time to explain. There was no time to convince them that I had set my heart or that my calling–this destiny–was beyond the sea.
I had to go. I had to flee.
Without a word, I swam as fast as I could towards the surface. “Don’t hurt her!” I could hear Humu behind me, risking his life to distract my father.
“Stop her!” The king’s voice boomed throughout the water. It felt as if the water turned against me.
Just like swimming against a current,I told myself, pushing through. But my father’s magic was stronger.
“No!” another voice screamed.
Aunt Lorelei!
And suddenly the current’s pull lessened. Magic bubbled around me, golden from my father and emerald from… Aunt Lorelei? Water whizzed past me as I pushed to the surface, potion in hand. Once I reached the shore and turned human, father could not touch me.
I’m so close.
The surface neared, moonlight breaking through the clouds above.
And that was when the surrounding water shimmered… thenshifted,like it was moving, getting displaced by some other water…
I gasped.
The ocean turned icy. Heavy. Salt vanished from my senses, and I felt a tug unraveling in my chest.
This isn’t the ocean.
And then light. Blinding. Piercing.
Cold air. Fresh air.
I burst from the water… and everything was wrong.
Gray skies. Thick, lush trees. Misty mountains and waterfalls like cliffs around me. The warm salty winds were gone, as were the waves.
And there was nobody following me. I was not in the sea anymore. I clutched my shoulders and looked around, the sound of something croaking in the distance.
Tears fell from my already fear-stricken face. “Where am I?”
CHAPTER FIVE
EZRA
