"It means the sea has chosen its queen."
Marina's words echoed inside my head.
Queen.
Me?
I stared at the golden symbol glowing on my wrist.
The crown pulsed beneath my skin like a second heartbeat.
"No," I whispered.
Marina reached for me.
"Bjei, listen to me."
"I don't want to be a queen."
"You don't understand."
"I understand enough!"
My voice echoed through the kingdom.
The water around us suddenly became still.
Even the creatures hiding among the ruins stopped moving.
I looked at the queen.
She was smiling.
Not because she was happy.
Because she had been waiting for this.
"You see?" she said. "The sea has finally recognized its true ruler."
"I am not your queen."
The queen's smile faded.
"You are not mine."
She pointed toward the ancient gate.
"You are theirs."
Another violent удар struck the gate.
BOOM!
The crack spread.
Shawshank pulled me behind him.
"Whatever is behind that gate, we're not staying here."
Azrael looked at him.
"For once, we agree."
I looked at Azrael in surprise.
"You want to help me?"
"I want to prevent the destruction of my kingdom."
"So not me."
His expression hardened.
"Don't mistake necessity for affection."
I almost laughed.
Even now, he couldn't simply say he cared.
Marina grabbed my shoulders.
"Bjei, look at me."
I did.
"You have to control the crown."
"How?"
"Think of the sea."
"I am thinking of it."
"No. Don't think about water. Think about what the sea means to you."
I closed my eyes.
I thought about the beach.
The sound of waves.
The afternoons I spent sitting alone.
The stones I threw whenever I was angry.
The first time Shawshank appeared.
His smile.
His voice.
His hand holding mine.
Then I remembered fear.
The queen.
The gate.
My mother.
I opened my eyes.
The golden crown on my wrist changed.
It became a circle of light around my arm.
The water stopped moving.
The queen's eyes widened.
"You're learning."
"I don't want your power."
"You don't have to want it."
She slowly raised her hand.
"It already wants you."
The gate exploded.
A wave of darkness rushed toward us.
"RUN!"
Shawshank grabbed my hand.
We swam.
The darkness chased us through the ruined kingdom.
Behind us, something screamed.
It wasn't human.
It wasn't a mermaid.
It sounded like something ancient waking from a sleep that had lasted centuries.
I looked back.
A massive shadow was crawling through the broken gate.
Two enormous eyes opened in the darkness.
I stopped breathing.
Shawshank pulled me.
"Bjei!"
"I saw it."
"What?"
"Eyes."
His face went pale.
"You shouldn't have looked."
"Why?"
"Because now it knows you saw it."
The water behind us suddenly turned black.
A voice filled the entire kingdom.
"BJEI."
I froze.
It knew my name.
"COME HOME."
My golden mark burned.
I screamed.
Shawshank wrapped his arms around me.
"Don't listen!"
But the voice became softer.
Almost gentle.
"You were born for me."
I shook my head.
"No."
"You belong beneath the sea."
"No!"
The water around me began glowing.
Golden light spread from my body.
The creature screamed.
The darkness disappeared.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Then I heard clapping.
Slow.
Deliberate.
The queen.
She stood several meters away, smiling.
"You just hurt it."
I stared at her.
"What was that thing?"
"The reason your mother was so desperate to keep you on land."
Marina looked away.
I turned toward her.
"Mom?"
She didn't answer.
"Mom, what is behind that gate?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"The first queen."
My blood ran cold.
"You?"
Marina shook her head.
"No."
She looked toward the darkness.
"She came before me."
The queen stepped closer.
"And she has been waiting for you."
Shawshank moved between us.
"Why?"
The queen looked directly at him.
"Because Bjei isn't simply the keeper of the gate."
She paused.
"She is the key to releasing the queen completely."
I looked at my glowing wrist.
Suddenly, I understood.
The gate hadn't opened because I wanted it to.
It had opened because I was the key.
And the crown wasn't a gift.
It was a warning.
Then Marina whispered something that made my heart stop.
"There is one thing I never told you."
I turned to her.
"What?"
She looked at Shawshank.
Then at Azrael.
Then back at me.
"The queen isn't trying to take your power."
Her voice trembled.
"She is trying to take your body."
I couldn't speak.
The queen smiled.
And behind her, the ancient darkness began moving again.
"Let the girl come to me."
Shawshank held my hand tighter.
"No."
The queen looked at him.
"Then I will make you bring her."
Suddenly, Shawshank screamed.
He fell to his knees.
A black mark appeared across his chest.
"SHAWSHANK!"
I rushed toward him.
He grabbed my wrist.
"Don't…"
His eyes filled with pain.
"Don't let her use me to get to you."
I looked at the queen.
For the first time, she wasn't smiling.
She was angry.
And I finally understood.
She couldn't control me.
But she could control the person I loved.
My golden crown burned brighter.
I stepped forward.
"If you want me…"
I raised my glowing hand.
"…come and take me yourself."