(Nerina's POV)
The castle wasn't what I expected.
It wasn't shimmering coral towers or glistening pearl halls. It was darker, carved into the sea rock itself, like it had grown from the ocean floor—ancient, vast, and humming with power. Cold salt laced the air, but a strange comfort clung to it. Like I was breathing memories I hadn't made.
Kaelen swam beside me, silent and unreadable. He didn't glance my way, but I could feel his presence like a current against my skin. Steady. Commanding. And disturbingly magnetic.
I hated how aware I was of him.
The way the water moved around him—respecting him. The way his eyes lingered too long on me when he thought I wouldn't notice. But I always noticed.
We surfaced into a hidden chamber where air waited like it belonged, and my legs wobbled when I tried to stand.
Kaelen caught me before I could fall. His hand found my waist, firm and annoyingly gentle.
"You'll get used to the shift," he said, his voice a low ripple. "The sea has claimed you again. She doesn't let go easily."
I looked up. His face was close—too close. That scar along his jaw, the one I hadn't noticed before, made him look older than he probably was. And those eyes… gods, they weren't just blue. They were the color of the ocean during a storm—dangerous, wild, but beautiful.
I cleared my throat, stepping away even though I secretly didn't want to. "Are you always this cryptic, or is it just for me?"
A smile tugged at his lips. "Only for you, Nerina."
Heat coiled in my stomach.
Before I could fire back, the Queen entered. She was elegance in motion—long sea-silk robes, silver hair flowing behind her like smoke in water, eyes sharper than coral glass. When she looked at me, I stood straighter.
"You've begun to awaken," she said, studying my face. "The sea stirs because of you."
"I don't understand," I replied. "What am I?"
Kaelen stepped closer again, his voice softer now. "You're not just a princess, Nerina. You're something more. The prophecy spoke of a daughter born of sea and land. Marked by tide and time."
He reached for my hand. Slowly. As if asking for permission.
I didn't pull away.
He turned my palm over, brushing his thumb over the birthmark I'd always thought was a strange swirl. It shimmered faintly, pulsing with blue light under his touch.
"She chose you," he whispered.
I should've been scared. But instead, I felt… seen.
"Why me?" I asked.
Kaelen met my gaze, and this time, nothing about him was guarded. "Because I'm bound to you, Nerina. I don't know how or why yet—but I've known it since the moment I saw you drowning."
He paused.
"And I'll protect you. Even if it means going against everything I've ever sworn to."
My breath caught. That tension between us—it wasn't imagined. It crackled in the air like a coming storm.
But what scared me more than the pull between us… was how much I already wanted to dive into it.