Chapter 10

"You've been unusually quiet," Sophia replied, her tone soft but curious. "That's no longer such as you."

Kael drew closer to her, his dark blue eyes meeting hers. For a split second, the weight of his wordless reality shifted across his face. "Sophia," he began, his voice hard and hesitant. "There's something you want to realize."

Sophia grimaced and stepped closer. "Kael, you are terrifying me. "What's going on?"

He groaned, his massive shoulders rising and falling as if he were bracing himself for impact. "I have spent years concealing a part of me. Not because I wanted to, but because it made things less difficult-and safer. However, I will no longer disguise it. "Not now.

Sophia clasped her hands, her heart hammering. "Then inform me. I will recognize something even if it is far away."

Kael hesitated before eventually saying what had been on his mind. "I am not merely a warrior. I'm a prince, the rightful inheritor of the Mer country.

The room appeared to hold its breath. Sophia blinked, unsure if she had heard him clearly. "You're... royalty?"

Kael nodded, his face serious. "i'm. However, it is not as glamorous as it seems. The monarchy comes with chains, Sophia-chains that have hindered me from living a full life. However, with everything going on right now, I can't keep away from them any longer."

Sophia's thoughts raced. Will Kael, the stoic and resolute warrior, become a prince? The revelation turned everything she thought she knew about him on its head. "Why didn't you inform everyone?" Why now, not Tharros?"

Kael's jaws constricted. "Because utilizing it did not define me. I've spent my life as a warrior, demonstrating my worth via movement, not birthright. "But now..." His voice softened, and he looked at her with something like vulnerability. "Now, I see that my silence might have executed more damage than exact."

Sophia moved closer, her fingertips brushing against his arm. "Kael, you have already proven your worth a hundred times over. However, if disclosing this information can benefit us, it is the appropriate action to take."

Kael's lips quirked into a tiny smile, and thankfulness shone through his eyes. "You always realize what to say, don't you?"

Sophia smiled back, despite her heavy coronary heart. "someone has to maintain you grounded."

When Kael revealed his origins to the council later that day, the reaction was immediate and powerful. A few councilors were taken aback, while others were suspicious and overtly hostile. The voices increased, accusations and questions streaming through the air like arrows.

"Why would you keep this from us?" one elder shouted, her shrill tone fading into the clamor. "Do you no longer believe the council?"

"Agree with had nothing to do with it," Kael responded, his voice steady throughout the tumult. "I kept my heritage disguised so that I might serve Aquaria without bias. However, given the threats we are facing, my name could perhaps offer us with an advantage."

"A bonus?" mocked another councilor. "Or a liability?" The Mer nation has not allied with Aquaria in a long time. What makes you believe they will focus on you?"

Kael's gaze hardened. "Because I am their prince." And I am willing to fight for their agreement.

Tharros, who had remained silent until now, now spoke. His golden eyes were riveted on Kael, inscrutable. "Do you truly believe you will be granted human beings at the end of this time? Or will going back simply spread more discord?"

Kael regarded Tharros' eyes without flinching. "They will accept me because they don't have an option. The Mer nation requires a pacesetter, and I am prepared to take on that responsibility."

Tharros was silent for a long moment. Then he nodded, his countenance unreadable. "thoroughly. But understand this: if your actions endanger Aquaria, prince or not, you will answer to me."

Kael tilted his head. "I wouldn't anticipate some thing much less."

Sophia spent the evening in the palace gardens, looking for consolation among the bioluminescent blossoms. The lovely glow of the plant life became calming, but her thoughts shifted to anything but tranquil. Kael's admission had shaken her, not because it altered who he became, but because of the implications for the future.

"You're stricken."

The deep, familiar voice surprised her. She turned to see Tharros emerge from the shadows, his regal presence as intimidating as ever.

"Bothered is probably an understatement," Sophia conceded. "Kael's information modifications the whole lot, doesn't it?"

Tharros nodded, his face thoughtful. "It does. however not always for the higher."

Sophia frowned. "You don't accept as true with him?"

"It's no longer about trust," Tharros explained. "It is roughly the outcome of his revelation. Energy attracts enemies, Sophia. And now that his pedigree is known, his adversaries will come after him-and us."

The weight of his words crushed against Sophia's chest. "Then we'll face them together," she said decisively.

Tharros' expression softened slightly, and for a minute, he appeared almost... proud. "You're more potent than you recognise, Sophia."

She gave a tiny grin, but her heart remained gloomy. "I just hope it's enough."

The periods I observed had been a whirl of preparations. Even as the palace was bustling with activity, Kael prepared for his journey to the Mer kingdom. But beneath the floor, fear bubbled. Whispers of betrayal and risk rang through the halls, and Sophia couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone wrong.

That night, as she was reviewing her notes in her chambers, a smooth knock on the door shocked her. She opened it to find a palace messenger with a sealed scroll. The symbol on the seal made her stomach drop-it was from the Mer nation.

Sophia broke the seal with shaky arms and unrolled the sheet. The inner message was simple but chilling:

"The prince's return is not welcomed. If he comes, he will share the same end as his predecessors. Don't forget this is your only caution."

Her breath became stopped, and she tightened her grip on the scroll. Who had sent this? And what did this mean for Kael?

A disturbance in the passageway outside her chambers interrupted her thoughts. She entered the corridor just in time to see a shadowy figure disappear around the corner.

"howdy!" Sophia's voice echoed. She dashed after the discern, her heart thumping. But as she rounded the nook, the corridor became empty, save for the faint sound of footfall receding into the distance.

The next morning, Sophia saw Kael within the school corridor, his movements precise and controlled as he sparred with a defense. She waited until he finished before approaching, holding the scroll tightly in her palm.

"Kael, we need to speak," she continued, her tone firm.

Kael furrowed his brow as he wiped away the sweat. "what's it?"

Sophia passed him the scroll. "This arrived at closing time. "It comes from the Mer kingdom."

Kael read the message, his visage becoming darker with each word. When he finished, he looked up at her with his jaw set. "They're trying to scare me off."

"Do you observed it's critical?" Sophia inquired, her tone tinted with dread.

"It doesn't rely," Kael insisted firmly. "I am going, no matter what. My humans want me, whether they know it or not.

Sophia nodded, her heart filled with admiration and fear. "Then we'll prepare for some thing comes."

Kael placed a hand on her shoulder, his touch warm and soothing. "Thank you, Sophia." "I couldn't do it without you."

As he returned to the school corridor, Sophia couldn't shake the idea that the warning had become more than just a hazard. As the currents within the palace grew colder, she realized that the trek ahead would test all of them in ways they hadn't anticipated.

Shadows of the Deep

Sophia recalled the warning from the Mer state as she walked the castle later that night. The coral's bioluminescent glow cast solid shifting shadows that appeared alive, whispering secrets and strategies she couldn't hear. She wasn't sure if it was her anxiety or something more sinister, but every creak and flash of light caused her pulse to speed.

Her steps brought her to the reflection Chamber, a place where she frequently found consolation. However, tonight the chamber was not empty. Arin stood at the edge, her figure sharp against the sparkling ocean. The ocean witch's normal grace seems to have abandoned her, leaving her shoulders sagged and her gaze distant.

Sophia hesitated, but something about Arin's posture drew her forward. "Couldn't sleep either?" Sophia inquired quietly.

Arin became, her emerald eyes gleaming like shards of broken glass. For a moment, she said nothing, and Sophia wondered if she should have left her alone. However, Arin nodded in the direction of the water. "sit with me."

Sophia approached gingerly and lowered herself upon the cool stone next her. The silence stretched between them, thick and unspoken. Sophia finally said, "You appear...exclusive tonight."

Arin gave a bitter snigger. "different is a kind manner of putting it."

Sophia tilted her head, examining the girl next her. Arin transformed from her usual cool and furious demeanor. Seeing her like this, vulnerable and exposed, felt like looking behind a curtain she had no idea would be yanked back. "Do you need to speak approximately it?"

For a long time, it looked that Arin would not respond. But then she spoke, her voice soft and raw. "Do you already know what it's like to be undesirable?"

Sophia blinked, taken aback. "What do you imply?"

Arin's attention was riveted on the shimmering water, her expression unreadable. "I was not born with vigor, Sophia. I was not nurtured for greatness. I used to not be anything. "Much less than nothing."

The remarks hung in the air, piercing and biting. Sophia drew closer, her attention peaked. "You are one of the most strong humans I have ever encountered. How could you have been nothing?

Arin pulled his lips into a bitter smile. "Energy does not come from luxury, Sophia. It stems from an aching. From being solid, crushed, and left to rot. My parents-if you could call them that-bought me into the Shark Clans when I was only old enough to swim."

Sophia's breath caught. "Sold you?" Why?"

"Money owed," Arin said bluntly. "My father gambled away everything we owned, and when the creditors arrived, he offered me as a charge. They did not even hesitate."

Sophia glanced at her with horror. "That's... immense."

Arin's smile turned somber. "That's life in the trenches, Sophia. The Sharks do not care about innocence or justice. They care about power. They saw possibility in me-potential to be molded, twisted, and used."

Sophia had a wave of rage on Arin's behalf. "How did you continue to exist?"

Arin's gaze eventually met Sophia's, and the raw pain in her eyes caused her chest to clench. "I didn't just live to tell the story, Sophia. I thrived. They requested a weapon, therefore I became one. I discovered their charm, suggestions, and harshness. And while I was strong enough, I grew to embody it all for them."

Sophia's heart hammered as she thought the atrocities Arin had to have endured. "You escaped?"

Arin nodded, her jaw tightened. "I didn't suddenly break out. I destroyed them. Every absolute one of them. By the time I was finished, the Shark Clans understood not to move me."

The hush that followed became deafening. Sophia strained to find the perfect words, but nothing seemed appropriate. Finally, she said, "I am sorry you had to go through that."

Arin shrugged, but her eyes revealed a spark of vulnerability. "Do not be. "It made me who I am."

They sat in quiet for a while, the weight of Arin's story settling on them like a thick fog. Sophia eventually broke the stillness. "Why are you telling me this now?"

Arin paused, then sighed. "Because I see a lot of myself in you. Sophia, you are stronger than you realize, but strength may be a double-edged blade. It can protect you or isolate you.

Sophia frowned. "I don't want to be isolated."

"Then be cautious," Arin advised, her tone softening. "The more power you have, the more people will strive to steal it from you. They will betray, use, and harm you. And if you don't exercise caution, you'll end up like me-closed off and alone."

Sophia shakes her head. "You're not alone anymore, Arin. "You've got us."

Arin's lips curved into a slight smile. "maybe. "For now."

As the night progressed, their discourse turned to lighter topics-Aquarian politics, Kael's voyage, and Tharros' attitude. However, beneath the surface, Sophia couldn't ignore the feeling that Arin's narrative had become more than just a cautionary tale. It converted to a warning.

While Sophia eventually returned to her chambers, the weight of the night weighed against her chest. She had just gotten into bed when an unexpected knock on the door shook her awake.

Her heart raced as she opened the door and saw a palace guard, his face faded. "Dr. Rodriguez, you're needed in the council room. Now."

Sophia grabbed her robe and followed the defend into the darkened corridors. When they arrived, she saw Tharros, Kael, and other councilors already assembled, their attitudes dismal.

"What's happening?" Sophia asked, her tone tinged with worry.

Tharros improved, and his golden eyes became tougher. "There has been an assault. "A patrol near the Mer kingdom was ambushed."

Kael clenched his hands, his rage somewhat restrained. "This was not at random. They've been conveying a message.

Sophia's stomach churned. "What type of message?"