The sea bowed.
I couldn't understand what I was seeing.
Every creature beneath the water had become still.
The waves that had been threatening to destroy the shore were now moving gently around Shawshank.
Even Nerath had stopped smiling.
Shawshank stared at his glowing hands.
"What is happening to me?"
Nobody answered.
Then a deep voice rose from the ocean.
"Rise, Guardian."
Shawshank suddenly dropped to one knee.
I rushed toward him.
"Shawshank!"
He looked up at me.
His eyes were still glowing gold.
"I can't control it."
I grabbed his hand.
"Then don't."
He looked confused.
"What?"
"Don't fight it."
Nerath laughed.
"You finally understand."
I turned toward it.
"Understand what?"
"The sea has chosen him."
"For what?"
Nerath's expression darkened.
"To rule."
Shawshank shook his head.
"I don't want to rule anything."
The ocean became completely silent.
Then the voice spoke again.
"A ruler is not chosen by desire."
The water rose behind Shawshank.
"A ruler is chosen by what he is willing to protect."
I stared at him.
Shawshank looked at me.
His expression softened.
"I know what I want to protect."
My heart skipped.
"Me?"
He smiled.
"You."
Nerath suddenly roared.
The ground shook.
"No!"
The waves exploded upward.
Shawshank stood.
A golden shield formed around us.
The wave crashed against it and broke apart.
I stared at him.
"You did that."
"I didn't know I could."
"You're becoming stronger."
He looked at his hands.
"So are you."
I frowned.
"My power disappeared."
"No."
He touched my chest.
"It changed."
The moment his hand touched me, my golden mark returned.
But it was different.
It wasn't a crown.
It wasn't a seal.
It was a small golden circle surrounding a tiny star.
I stared at it.
"What is that?"
The girl who carried the other half of my power stepped closer.
"That is freedom."
I looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
She smiled.
"You no longer need the power that was forced upon you."
I touched the mark.
"So what can I do?"
"Choose."
I laughed softly.
"That's all?"
"No."
She looked at Shawshank.
"You can give power away."
I stared at her.
"Give it away?"
She nodded.
"Power used to control people is dangerous."
She touched my mark.
"But power freely given becomes something else."
"Love?"
She smiled.
"Exactly."
Shawshank looked at me.
"I think you're starting to understand."
Before I could answer, Nerath attacked.
A black wave rushed toward us.
Shawshank raised his hand.
The sea split.
A path appeared through the water.
"Everyone move!"
We ran.
Angela pulled my grandmother forward.
Marina followed.
Seraphina stayed behind.
I stopped.
"Seraphina!"
She looked at me.
"Go!"
"You're coming with us."
She smiled sadly.
"Someone has to hold it back."
I shook my head.
"No."
She walked toward me.
"You cannot save everyone."
"I don't care."
I grabbed her hand.
"You're coming."
The golden mark on my chest glowed.
A golden light wrapped around Seraphina.
She gasped.
"What did you do?"
"I chose."
The light pulled her toward us.
She stumbled forward.
The moment she crossed the boundary, the sea behind her exploded.
Nerath screamed.
"You cannot take what belongs to the sea!"
I turned toward it.
"She's not yours."
Nerath stared at me.
Then it smiled.
"You still think this is about possession."
"What is it about?"
"The beginning."
The ocean suddenly went black.
The sun disappeared behind thick clouds.
Shawshank stepped beside me.
"What beginning?"
Nerath pointed toward the horizon.
"The first war."
My stomach tightened.
"What war?"
Nerath's voice echoed across the shore.
"The war between the sea and the land."
I looked at Angela.
She was trembling.
"Mom?"
She whispered,
"It has begun."
Then hundreds of creatures rose from the ocean.
Some had wings.
Some had tails.
Some looked almost human.
And all of them were moving toward the land.
Shawshank looked at me.
"We have to stop them."
I nodded.
But before we could move, one creature stepped forward.
It was a young woman.
She had silver eyes and a golden crown.
She looked directly at Shawshank.
Then she knelt.
"My king."
One by one, the creatures followed.
"My king."
"My king."
"My king."
The entire shoreline echoed with their voices.
Shawshank looked horrified.
"I never asked for this."
I took his hand.
"You don't have to."
He looked at me.
"What do I do?"
I smiled.
"Be the kind of king who doesn't need a crown."
His eyes softened.
Then the sky suddenly split with lightning.
A voice thundered from above.
"Then prove you deserve the sea."
Shawshank looked upward.
I felt my heart sink.
Because something was coming down from the clouds.
Something even Nerath feared.
And this time…
the sea was not going to protect us.