"Bjei…"
The voice came from the darkness.
My voice.
I couldn't move.
The enormous shadow stood behind the creature, rising from the sea like a mountain.
Its eyes opened.
Golden.
Just like mine.
Shawshank grabbed my hand.
"Don't listen to it."
"But it sounds like me."
"I know."
The creature that had once threatened us looked terrified.
It slowly moved toward the shore.
"I told you to run."
I stared at it.
"What is that thing?"
It looked over its shoulder.
"The reason I was created."
My heart pounded.
"You were created?"
"Yes."
"By whom?"
The creature hesitated.
Then it pointed toward the darkness.
"By the first queen."
Seraphina's face went pale.
"No…"
The shadow laughed.
The sound shook the ground.
"You finally remember me."
Seraphina stepped backward.
"I thought you were destroyed."
"Nothing that old can be destroyed."
I looked at her.
"What is it?"
She didn't answer.
"Seraphina!"
She looked at me.
"It is called Nerath."
The name sent a strange chill through me.
"Nerath?"
"The first darkness beneath the sea."
The shadow moved closer.
"Not darkness," it corrected.
"Creation."
I frowned.
"What?"
Nerath's eyes remained fixed on me.
"I was created before the kingdoms. Before the queens. Before your family."
I felt my chest tighten.
"Then why do you know me?"
It smiled.
"Because you were created from me."
Silence.
"No."
"Yes."
"I was born."
"You were born with my power."
I shook my head.
"That doesn't make me yours."
Nerath laughed.
"Still stubborn."
Shawshank stepped in front of me.
"She doesn't belong to you."
Nerath looked at him.
"And you…"
Its expression changed.
"You are the mistake."
Shawshank's jaw tightened.
"What did you call me?"
"The guardian who was never supposed to love her."
I froze.
Shawshank looked at me.
Nerath continued.
"When the first queen realized Bjei's power could destroy the boundary, she created a guardian."
"Shawshank?"
Nerath nodded.
"His purpose was simple."
It looked directly at him.
"Protect Bjei until the time came."
Shawshank's face went pale.
"What time?"
"The time she returned to the sea."
I looked at Shawshank.
"Did you know?"
"No."
Nerath laughed.
"Of course he didn't. They erased his memory."
Shawshank clenched his fists.
"You're lying."
"Am I?"
Nerath lifted one hand.
A golden image appeared in the air.
I saw a much younger Shawshank.
Standing beside a newborn baby.
Me.
He was smiling.
Then I saw him place his hand over my tiny chest.
A golden light passed from him into me.
My breath caught.
"What is that?"
Nerath answered.
"The first bond."
I looked at Shawshank.
"You gave me your power."
He looked stunned.
"I don't remember."
"You weren't supposed to."
The image changed.
I saw Angela carrying me away.
Marina crying.
Azrael arguing with someone.
Then Shawshank was pulled away.
A man placed his hand on Shawshank's head.
His memories disappeared.
I looked at Azrael.
"You did that."
He lowered his eyes.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To save both of you."
I felt anger rising.
"You keep saying that."
Azrael looked at me.
"Because it is true."
Nerath laughed.
"Your family has always been good at calling fear protection."
The words struck me.
Angela looked down.
My grandmother looked away.
Everyone had secrets.
Everyone had lied.
But somehow, the truth was finally beginning to take shape.
I looked at Nerath.
"If you created my power, why did you want me?"
Nerath became silent.
Then it said,
"Because I made a mistake."
"What mistake?"
"I gave you something I never should have given anyone."
"What?"
"Choice."
My heart stopped.
Nerath's expression became almost angry.
"You were supposed to obey power."
"But I didn't."
"No."
It looked at Shawshank.
"You chose love."
Then it looked at the girl who carried the other half of my power.
"And you chose yourself."
Finally, it looked at me.
"And together, you broke the only rule that kept this world under control."
"What rule?"
Nerath smiled.
"Nothing created beneath the sea was supposed to choose its own destiny."
The ocean began rising.
I stepped backward.
"And now?"
"Now…"
Nerath opened its arms.
"…the sea is free."
A massive wave rose behind it.
But before it could crash toward us, Shawshank stepped forward.
His golden mark suddenly appeared again.
I stared at his hand.
"Your power came back."
He looked at it in disbelief.
"I thought I lost it."
Nerath smiled.
"You never lost it."
Shawshank looked at me.
"It was waiting."
"For what?"
Nerath answered.
"For you."
The golden light around Shawshank intensified.
Then something happened that none of us expected.
The sea began moving toward him.
Not attacking.
Bowing.
Every creature in the water lowered itself.
Even Nerath went silent.
Shawshank looked terrified.
"What is happening?"
I stepped closer.
"Shawshank…"
He turned toward me.
His eyes were glowing gold.
Then a voice came from the sea.
Not Nerath.
Not me.
Not anyone we knew.
"The guardian has awakened."
Shawshank looked at me.
And I realized something terrifying.
The creature hadn't brought us to the surface to destroy us.
It had brought us here because it knew what would happen next.
Shawshank wasn't just the guardian of the boundary anymore.
He had become something else.
Something the sea itself recognized.
A king.