Page 62

Esmyra

T heir footsteps echoed through the castle halls as Syrena led Esmyra through the winding passages.

The tension from breakfast still lingered, and she followed a step behind in silence.

Esmyra scanned the endless stream of delicate carvings and murals along the walls, trying to piece together the history of Maerinys.

“You can ask me questions, you know,” Syrena broke the charged silence. She turned to face Esmyra, her golden waves flowing around her shoulders. “I apologize if I wasn’t as kind to your companion as I should have been. It’s just that…”

“He’s a stranger,” Esmyra finished for her, still watching the walls as they passed.

Syrena cleared her throat. “Indeed. We just…we’ve been down here for so long on our own, and trusting strangers isn’t exactly easy. We don’t even know any strangers aside from him. It’s just been those down here since the sinking.”

“And what of me, then?” Esmyra’s steps halted, forcing Syrena to do the same. “You don’t know me any more than you know him.”

Syrena’s eyes softened. “But I do. You’re my sister.”

“Aye, but blood doesn’t mean you know who I am.” And it was true—Esmyra recognized that she didn’ t know a godsdamn thing about Syrena. Not her motives, who she was behind closed doors, or anything outside of the queen she’d seen over the last day.

Syrena smirked before continuing their walk, forcing her to follow.

Esmyra was taken aback by the sudden dismissal, and irritation swirled in her chest. “Perhaps I’m a horrible being who has done many wretched things.”

It wasn’t a lie—in fact, it may have been the most truthful thing she’d said since they met.

“Whatever you’ve done, you were forgiven upon your arrival in Maerinys.”

A crease formed in Esmyra’s brow. “With all due respect, Syrena, you don’t know what I’ve done. And unfortunately, I’m quite confident that much of it is considered unforgivable.”

“We all do things in order to survive,” Syrena admitted without turning back to face her.

And with those words, silence fell upon them once more.

As they ascended a spiral staircase, the walls seemed to shift. The light grew dimmer, and the air felt cooler against her skin. They climbed higher and higher until the queen pushed open a set of intricately carved doors, revealing a vast, circular room that made Esmyra pause.

The first thing that caught her eye was the brickwork—the walls of the tower were made of a dark grey stone that shimmered faintly in the low merlights.

Massive windows stretched from floor to ceiling, showing an unbroken view of Maerinys, and the ocean beyond the dome—the endless blue stretching out in every direction.

It was both breathtaking and unnerving.

A basin unlike any she’d ever seen stood in the center of the room. Even from where Esmyra stood in the doorway, she could see that the water was perfectly still. It mimicked liquid glass, reflecting the room like a flawless mirror.

“This,” Syrena began as she walked in, “is one of the oldest rooms in the kingdom. It’s sacred to our family.” She moved slowly toward it, her fingers trailing lightly over the surface of the water. “I can see this has already caught your eye.”

Esmyra finally took a step into the room, her neck craning as her gaze traced up the walls, before finally falling back to the enchanted basin in its center.

“I can feel the magic here. It’s pulsating, pressing against my skin.

” She pointed to the pool of still water her sister stood next to. “Is it because of that?”

A subtle hum resonated through every vein in her body.

“We call it the Veil of Visions. It shows truths when you need them, lies when you crave them, and everything in between.”

Lies . The word seeped into Esmyra, and her gut twisted into painful knots, not knowing if Syrena had already used this on her the moment she and Draevyn were escorted back to their chambers last night.

Syrena’s gaze remained fixed on the water as she continued. “Our kingdom once thrived above the surface, a prosperous land full of life and power. But as with all powerful empires, we were not without enemies.”

Esmyra couldn’t find the words to speak, too indulged in the history she could sense her sister was about to unveil to her. The story she craved more than anything. The history of herself and where her blood stemmed from.

The queen’s eyes lifted to meet hers. “The gods turned against us. Our power was seen as too great, too dangerous. And so, we were cast down, drowned by the very forces that brought the realm and its four territories to be. Our kingdom was lost beneath the sea, buried in silence and darkness.”

An icy chill ran along Esmyra’s spine. “And that’s why Kaelypso and Naerysa abandoned their children? They believed us to be too powerful?”

The warmth vanished from Syrena’s eyes, suddenly turning cold. “Did I say it was our own goddesses who betrayed us?” Her head tilted to the side in challenge, and the resemblance to Esmyra herself was so striking that it took her aback, as if she were staring at her reflection .

“Are you saying the other gods betrayed our own, and, in turn, destroyed Maerinys?” Esmyra asked.

Syrena stepped up to her and twirled a lock of Esmyra’s midnight hair around her finger. “I knew you would catch on quickly.”

Esmyra’s lips curled back, and in her anger, her fangs slipped out, but Syrena’s eyes only lit with satisfaction. “Why would they do that? The realm was balanced,” Esmyra said.

She couldn’t think of a reason for gods to betray one another. If they sought more power, why hadn’t the rest of them turned on each other? And why did they all hide behind a veil now? Only coming to their people’s aid if offerings were brought to their temples.

The realm believed the gods were to remain hidden—unseen and untouched—to avoid another tragedy like Kaelypso’s and Naerysa’s disappearance, but she now questioned everything the realm’s history stated.

“Power rivals power. However, the gods’ betrayal wasn’t enough to destroy us.

We adapted and survived. Our magic— your magic—runs deeper than anything in all of Rymelle, for it is the sea itself.

” She paused, watching Esmyra. “We found our place here, beneath the waves, where no enemy could ever reach us again.”

Esmyra swallowed, desperately trying to absorb everything the queen of this underwater world revealed to her. “And this is where you wish to remain? Where you wish for me to remain with you?”

She dreaded the answer, having a feeling she knew what it would be. Esmyra would never be able to stay down here, live down here, while her father rotted in a cell for all eternity. She couldn’t do that to him, would never—no matter how badly she may want to see what this world could be to her.

Syrena glanced back at the fountain. “Survival came with a price. We’ve been cut off from the surface for generations. The mortals among us morphed, their skin turning to scales as years passed, their lives preserved by the dome of magic.”

That must’ve been why she didn’t recognize the native creatures. They weren’t known to the realm above, created by the depths they were condemned to .

“Those who were native to Maerinys survived as they always were, accustomed to the abyss that’s now become our home,” Syrena continued, snapping Esmyra from her thoughts. “Our power may be great, but it’s confined down here. And we no longer wish to remain in the depths. That’s where you come in.”

Esmyra blinked, the queen’s words settling over her like a net closing in. “What do you mean, where I come in?”

Syrena’s eyes gleamed, clasping her hands behind her back before taking a step up to Esmyra. “You’re a crucial piece of this kingdom’s legacy, a piece of the puzzle we have been missing. Your powers, unshackled, could set us free.”

Esmyra stood frozen, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm.

Her sister grabbed her hands and held them gently in her own before she continued. “ You are the key to breaking our chains.”

Esmyra’s gaze hardened, her brows furrowing as she ripped her hands from Syrena’s grasp. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t possible.”

“And why do you think that?” Syrena’s head cocked to the side in curiosity.

“My powers, while different from those above the surface, only coincide with the sea.”

“That’s not true. There are no others here in Maerinys whose powers match your own, aside from myself. And even then, we may be different.”

Esmyra’s eyes flickered nervously, unable to focus as her thoughts spiraled. “How is any of this possible?” The words were barely above a whisper.

Syrena smiled, though it was cold, almost calculating. “Oh, dear sister. Anything is possible. Maerinys should be proof enough for that. We’ll explore your abilities, and in doing so, we may find a hope for the survival of our people.”

Unease, curiosity, and even a flicker of hope warred within Esmyra, though an inner voice warned her, screaming this wasn’t right.

“Survival?” she asked, her voice quiet. “Why does the kingdom’s survival rely on my powers if you possess the same? ”

Syrena’s smile faded, her eyes sharpening fiercely.

“Our kingdom has always been one with the sea, but we’ve been condemned to it in a way that no longer allows us to thrive, but to suffocate, cut off from the rest of the world.

Food is scarce and emotions have run high for many years.

What was once our home has now become our prison.

I believe, sister, that with our combined powers, we may finally have the strength to bring it back to the surface.

To raise Maerinys from the depths, free from the gods’ curse. ”

Food is scarce . They were starving down here, just as those were in the streets of Lephyrin—only their leader cared. Syrena cared for her people, unlike King Rowe.

Esmyra swallowed thickly, her throat tightening as she took it all in. “Would this not defy the gods who placed you here?”

Syrena’s brow rose. “You fear hidden gods?”

“Kaelypso and Naerysa have been lost just as long as Maerinys has been. If it was the other gods who?—”

“Kaelypso and Naerysa are not lost,” Syrena cut her off. “They are simply bound to this curse, just as we are.”

Esmyra’s jaw fell open. “They’re alive?”

“They are,” she answered, her gaze softening. “There’s so much you don’t know, Esmyra. So many lies have been spoken regarding our kingdom. Truth lost in destroyed texts while lies were whispered above the tides. But now that we’re finally reunited, we can bring our truth to light.”

“Our truth,” Esmyra echoed, though it was more a question than a statement.

Syrena reached for Esmyra’s hand once more. The warmth of her sister’s palm against her own sent a strange sensation through her, unable to deny the sudden surge of power that came with their intertwined fingers. It was akin to a bolt of lightning coursing over her skin.

“You may feel like an outsider here, as though you’ve been cast into a world that isn’t yours.

But our power was meant to be united,” Syrena said.

“Alone, neither of us could raise Maerinys from the depths. It would take an extraordinary amount of power that no one being can bear. But together…together, we may finally break the hold that binds us.”

The siren within her purred, startling her.

Esmyra always believed there was a monster lingering beneath her flesh, but she had told herself it was because of what the realm had made her out to be—what her father had turned her into and used her as.

But to learn she could be something more had a flicker of hope flaring in her chest, as if this stranger’s words had lifted a weight she hadn’t realized she bore for centuries.

The queen stepped closer, her golden blonde waves bouncing with the movement. “Together, we can end our exile. We will learn to wield our magic. And with that power, Maerinys will rise again. And the realm’s balance will be restored.”

Together . The word was foreign to her. Amidst a lifetime of isolation, she finally met someone who understood her—understood that dark loneliness.

Syrena walked around the Veil of Visions fountain and met Esmyra’s gaze, mirroring smirks adorning both of their faces.

The queen reached out her hand and held it above the pool of water.

“What say you, Esmyra Aeress…” The use of the royal name attached to her sent a jolt through her body, as if replacing Blackwood erased everything she had done in several lifetimes.

All her wicked deeds and sins. “Will you help me save our people?”

Esmyra’s stare lingered on Syrena, feeling as though the moment she agreed, nothing would ever be the same again.

What first started as a rescue mission for her father had suddenly turned into so much more—a hunt for her identity and the answers to all she ever sought.

She reached her hand out, levitating it alongside her sister’s above the pool. “Aye,” Esmyra answered in a whisper.

Her eyes flared the moment their hands met. A surge of energy ignited between them once more, powerful and unyielding. Lightning crackled in the air, and sparks of energy shot through the room, lacing through the walls, the floor, and into the very stones.

The basin in the center swirled violently, its glassy surface breaking apart, creating a whirlpool. Tendrils of light rose from it like streams of water, curling and twisting in the air, wrapping itself around their locked arms.

Esmyra was speechless, her eyes wide, as a rush of magic coursed through her veins, electrifying her with a surging power that left her breathless.

And then suddenly, everything halted when she pulled her hand back into her chest with a small gasp. The tendrils of light went out, the rattling ceased, and the energy dimmed, leaving Esmyra’s body exhausted.

Chest heaving, she locked eyes with Syrena once more. “What in all gods was that?!”

A feline smile curled Syrena’s lips. “That, dear sister, is proof that this is only the beginning.”