Page 101 of Stolen Magic of the Deep

When the laughter finally fades into silence, I understand. The illusions weren’t about what anyone else thought of me. They were about what I thought of myself, and why I ever believed I needed their approval to belong here in the first place.

Orion has accepted me. He’s trusted me to endure this path beside him.

And damn it, I should be willing to see where that path leads.

forty

Orion

Returning to the palace was far more difficult than I had anticipated. Almost like the sea herself is against us.

In our absence while escorting Sarah to the cavern, the kingdom has fallen into disarray. Panic spreads through the corridors like a blood tide, thick with the taste of fear. The water itself carries trembling vibrations that grind against my senses. Guards shout conflicting orders, the words sharp enough to sting. Servants brush past me with trembling hands and pale faces, their fins fluttering with every rapid breath. Fear stains every corner, clinging to the walls like a film of oil.

Lord Zevrin is engulfed by the chaos desperately fighting to seize control of the storm. His commands resound through the hall, but few obey. Palace aides, once disciplined and orderly, cluster near the stone pillars, their scales dulled with terror. They whisper only with their eyes, as if speaking aloud might draw the danger closer.

I cut through the space with measured discipline, my strokes long and controlled despite the frantic tides around me.

“Tidewarden, would you care to explain the unrest that floods my palace corridor?”

“Your majesty, my deepest apologies for the disorder,” Zevrin replies, his brittle voice mimicking a current with no pull. “The kingdom’s barrier has been breached. The location of the threat still remains unknown.”

Heat surges through my chest like molten stone. The water around me seems to vibrate with the force of it. “Would you care to explain how you've allowed this to occur, not once, but twice?”

“I have no excuse, your majesty.” He bows immediately, lowering himself so fast the fins on his face scrape the sea stone floor. He refuses to meet my eyes. He knows the weight of his failure.

“What do we know of the fracture? Where along the borders was the breach detected?”

“The diversion was along the northwestern borders,” Zevrin reports, throat tight. “Patrol Captains were completing their rounds when a surge of magic struck. It caused a fracture in the barrier. Someone did not merely pass through it. They disarmed it.”

His words echo through my thoughts, but only one concern thrashes wildly in my chest, demanding attention.

“The northwestern borders,” I repeat slowly.

“Yes, your majesty. That is what the reports confirm. A few warriors acted beyond their orders to test the ward, what remains of it, and that section is completely deactivated.”

I ignore the Tidewarden entirely. My attention locks on Nyxalene. Her eyes are already on me, deciphering the turmoil gathering in mine before I can speak.

“She's alone in the Echo Cavern by the northeastern borders.”

“You know the cavern is shielded, Orion,” she replies, carefully. “No external magic can reach her there. The distance is too far. No one would get to her before you, and no one knows she is there besides us.”

“That knowledge doesn't ease my mind.” My voice drops into a low growl that vibrates through my ribs. “The current shifted earlier. I felt it clawing at me, but I dismissed it, thinking the cavern’s illusions had leaked through. Now, away from the cavern, I feel a disturbance spreading through the sea in a way that unsettles me.”

“Don't let your fear guide you,” she warns. Nyx exhales, the air bubbles drifting slowly upward before bursting against the ceiling crystals. Her expression softens into something that feels like shared dread. “Channel it elsewhere. Go with Lord Zevrin to the site of the diversion. See the damage yourself. Raise the barrier first. It will keep your mind from wandering to what you cannot change. If something goes wrong, you'll be close enough to reach her before anyone else can. I'll restore order here. The kingdom cannot collapse further in your absence.”

Her certainty steadies me, though unease continues to coil through my blood like a tightening whirlpool.

I hold Nyx’s gaze for a heartbeat. The roar of panic throughout the palace fades, and purpose fills the silence it leaves behind.

I nod once. “Very well. Ready the escorts.” I turn to Zevrin. “I will meet you at the northwestern post, but there is something I must do first.”

Time is of the essence. I glide into the archives, the heavy door sealing shut behind me with a muffled grind of stone. The water grows colder as I press forward. To the left, a narrow corridor coils downward, spiraling into the heart of Virellan. The light from the palace fades with every turn until only the glow of embedded runes guides me deeper. The walls shift from polished marble to ancient volcanic rock, rough beneath my fingertips, as if the stone remembers the first king who carved this sanctum.

The pressure intensifies. The sea grows denser, more formidable, as though the future of the kingdom is sinking onto my shoulders with every passing stroke.

The cavern breathes darkness and power. The walls pulse with a faint radiance, veins of crystal threading through the stone like glowing arteries. The magic stored here hums in the water, brushing against my skin with prickling awareness. My heartbeat aligns with the throb of the chamber, each pulse echoing across centuries of guardianship.

In the center rises the Barrier Nexus.