Page 57

I glance down at my hands, flexing my fingers, marveling at the way the water bends around me, accepting me rather than resisting.

I meet Vaela’s gaze.

"Welcome to Neralis, Dragon Queen." Vaela coos, as she extends her hand.

I take her hand. And for the first time, I let her lead me.

“This is my realm,” she says. “The endless tide, the ever moving, the home to those who exist beyond land’s grasp.”

Vaela shows me the Gardens of the Abyss, where vines of luminescent flora stretch toward the surface, feeding off the moon’s light. Their tendrils twist lazily in the currents, their petals unfurling like ghostly hands, releasing bursts of shimmering spores.

She introduces me to the Depth Dwellers, creatures unlike any I have seen—half-shadow, half-flesh, their skin dappled with light like the reflection of water against stone. They watch us with curious eyes, their forms constantly shifting, never quite solid.

“Ethereals,” she explains. “They were once spirits of the deep, given form through magic. They answer only to the ocean’s call.”

The Sunken Library, a vast ruin of forgotten history where the walls themselves hum with knowledge, carved tablets glowing with words long lost to the surface world.

After the library, she takes me to her chambers, leading me through arched corridors lined with walls of enchanted glass. The ocean stretches beyond, moving like a living entity, swirling in soft blues and violets, carrying creatures I have never seen before.

The room itself is intimate, carved from the sea itself. Pearlescent walls curve like the inside of a shell, smooth stone beneath my feet, a massive bed woven from strands of glowing kelp and silk, draped in translucent fabrics that ripple as if caught in an unseen current.

But I am barely paying attention.

Because as Vaela moves toward a small coral-carved table near the bed, she reaches for a delicate glass vial hanging from a silver chain around her neck. With practiced ease, she lifts the vial’s stopper and dips it into a basin of bioluminescent water. The liquid glows softly, swirling with flecks of gold and pale blue, casting eerie light against her fingers as she seals it shut.

My gaze lingers on the action.Strange.A peculiar habit, but I say nothing.

Vaela catches me watching and smirks, slipping the vial beneath the neckline of her gown. "Something on your mind, Dragon Queen?"

I narrow my eyes but shake my head. "Nothing of importance."

She hums knowingly, but I let it go.

For now.

Because Vaela is watching me, white-blue eyes glowing in the dim water, her smile slow, knowing.

And something in my chest tightens.

It is dangerous, this thing between us. This pull, this connection that defies logic, that weakens the walls I spent a lifetime fortifying.

I should fight it. I should drown it before it consumes me whole.

But as she reaches for my hand, lacing our fingers together beneath the shifting currents, I don’t pull away.

Because for the first time, I don’t want to.

Chapter

Fifteen

VAELA

Ilead Nyxara through the arched corridors of my palace, her steps slow, cautious. The bioluminescent glow of the walls reflects against her dark gown, casting flickering hues of blue and violet across her sharp cheekbones, the soft part of her lips. She doesn’t speak, but I can feel the shift in her—something deep, something hesitant but no longer resisting.

Something dangerous.

And gods, I crave it.