The figure at the end of the tunnel didn't move.
I stopped walking.
Shawshank noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
I pointed ahead.
"There."
He turned.
The moment he saw the figure, his expression changed.
"Stay behind me."
I obeyed.
The figure stood beneath the faint blue light, completely motionless. It looked like a young man, but his face was hidden beneath a hood.
I tightened my grip on the blue stone.
"Who are you?"
The figure didn't answer.
Shawshank moved forward.
"Show yourself."
Slowly, the stranger lifted his head.
My heart skipped.
He had the same golden eyes I had seen before.
The same eyes as the mysterious man who had called me daughter.
I stepped backward.
"It's him."
Shawshank immediately positioned himself between us.
The stranger smiled.
"You have her."
"She isn't yours," Shawshank replied.
The man's smile disappeared.
"You don't understand what you've done."
"I understand enough."
"No, Shawshank. You have brought the last heir into the sanctuary."
I looked at Shawshank.
"Last heir?"
He didn't answer.
I stepped around him.
"What does he mean?"
The stranger looked directly at me.
"You really don't know, do you?"
"Know what?"
"Who you are."
My stomach tightened.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
"Because your mother spent years hiding the truth."
I felt anger rising inside me.
"Stop blaming my mother. If you know something, tell me."
The stranger looked at the blue stone.
"She gave you that?"
"My grandmother left it."
He smiled.
"Of course she did."
Shawshank stepped forward.
"Leave."
The stranger laughed.
"You still think you can protect her."
"I can try."
"And when the queen comes?"
Shawshank's eyes hardened.
"She won't find us."
The stranger shook his head.
"She already has."
A deep rumble moved through the tunnel.
Dust-like particles fell from the ceiling.
Shawshank looked behind us.
"Run."
We turned and rushed deeper into the sanctuary.
I could hear the stranger following us.
"Bjei!" he called.
I refused to look back.
"Don't listen to him," Shawshank said.
"Who is he?"
"I don't know."
"You know something!"
"I told you—I don't know everything."
We reached a huge circular doorway.
Shawshank pressed his hand against the wall.
The golden symbol appeared.
The door opened.
We hurried inside.
The moment we entered, it closed behind us.
Silence.
I leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
"What is this place?"
"The sanctuary."
"My grandmother's sanctuary?"
"Yes."
I looked around.
Unlike the rest of the underwater kingdom, this place was almost completely dark.
There were ancient drawings covering the walls.
I walked toward one.
A woman stood in the middle of the drawing.
She had long hair.
A golden mark around her ankle.
And a baby in her arms.
I touched the wall.
"That is my grandmother."
Shawshank nodded.
Beside her was another woman.
Angela.
My mother.
I stared at the drawing.
"What is she doing here?"
"Protecting you."
I looked at the baby.
"That's me."
"Yes."
A third figure appeared in the drawing.
A man.
He was standing behind them.
His face had been scratched away.
I stared at it.
"Who is that?"
Shawshank stepped closer.
"I don't know."
I pointed at the necklace around the man's neck.
It was identical to mine.
"Are you sure?"
Shawshank studied the drawing.
"I've never noticed that before."
I touched my necklace.
Suddenly, the blue stone began glowing.
The wall changed.
The image disappeared.
Words appeared instead.
THE CHILD OF TWO WORLDS SHALL RETURN.
I read the words slowly.
"Child of two worlds…"
Shawshank looked at me.
I turned toward him.
"Is that me?"
He didn't answer.
"Shawshank."
"Yes."
"Tell me."
He sighed.
"Yes."
I felt my knees weaken.
"So I'm really connected to this place."
"Yes."
"How?"
"Your grandmother carried the blood of the sea. Your mother inherited it. And somehow…"
He stopped.
"Somehow what?"
"You inherited more."
I stared at him.
"What does that mean?"
Before he could answer, the walls began glowing.
Another message appeared.
WHEN THE HEIR AWAKENS, THE GATE WILL OPEN.
Then another.
WHEN THE GATE OPENS, THE TWO WORLDS WILL COLLIDE.
I stepped backward.
"What gate?"
Shawshank looked at the center of the room.
A circular symbol appeared on the floor.
"This."
The ground began vibrating.
I grabbed his arm.
"What is happening?"
"I don't know."
The blue stone suddenly lifted from my necklace.
It floated in the air.
A beam of light shot from it into the ceiling.
Then the entire sanctuary filled with a voice.
My grandmother.
"Bjei."
I looked around.
"Grandma?"
"You have found the sanctuary."
Tears filled my eyes.
"Where are you?"
"I am where the sea keeps what the living cannot find."
I swallowed.
"Are you alive?"
Silence.
Then:
"Not in the way you remember."
My chest hurt.
"What happened to you?"
"I made a choice."
"What choice?"
"To save you."
I began crying.
"Why didn't you come back?"
"Because I couldn't."
"Mom told me you died."
"She believed that was the only way to keep you safe."
I wiped my tears.
"Safe from who?"
The voice became quieter.
"From your father."
The sanctuary went silent.
Shawshank looked at me.
I could barely breathe.
"My father?"
"Yes."
"Who is he?"
The voice didn't answer.
"Grandma, please!"
The blue stone flickered.
Then her final words echoed through the room.
"Bjei, whatever happens, never let him take you beneath the deepest water."
The light vanished.
I stood frozen.
Shawshank reached for me.
I stepped away.
"Why didn't she tell me who he was?"
"Maybe she couldn't."
"Everyone knows something except me."
"I know."
"I'm tired of being protected by secrets."
Shawshank looked at me.
"You deserve the truth."
"Then give it to me."
He took a breath.
"I will."
Before he could continue, a violent explosion shook the sanctuary.
The door behind us cracked.
Shawshank turned sharply.
The queen's voice echoed through the chamber.
"Bjei!"
I grabbed Shawshank's hand.
"She found us."
"Yes."
The door cracked again.
Then a cold voice whispered through the opening.
"You cannot hide forever, child."
Shawshank pulled me toward another passage.
"We have to go."
"Where?"
"Somewhere even the queen fears."
We ran.
Behind us, the sanctuary door shattered.
But just before we disappeared into the darkness, I looked back.
The stranger with the golden eyes was standing beside the queen.
He looked directly at me.
And this time, he didn't call me daughter.
He smiled and whispered:
"Soon, you'll remember me."