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Iryen

Four years ago…

Dreams were beautiful. Before I realized they were illusions. Illusions of hope. And I had hope, once. Of marrying someone I loved, being the heir my kingdom expected me to be, and of fulfilling my duty.

I had dreams… Until the night they became nightmares.

The ocean was too still, as if even the sea knew something terrible was about to happen. The waters of Aetheria, normally alive with motion, seemed to hold their breath, mirroring the unease that had gnawed at me since the evening’s celebration.

The moon loomed low in the sky, its silvery light casting a soft glow over the city, but tonight, that glow felt cold, more foreboding than comforting.

I swam through the coral streets, vibrant colors of bio-luminescent flora blurring past as I rushed toward the palace.

Something was wrong. I felt it in the pit of my stomach, a deep gnawing sense of dread.

My parents had left the festivities early, retreating to their chambers for what they called a “private matter.” But I had seen something in their eyes, especially my mother’s.

A secret, a worry they didn’t want to share.

I should have pressed them and demanded answers.

Now, the regret weighed heavily on me, slowing my strokes through the water as I neared the palace.

The grand arches of the palace loomed ahead, bathed in the moon’s pale light, its elegance foreign in the thick tension that clung to the water. It was home, a sanctuary, but tonight it felt different, cold, oppressive, as if the walls themselves knew something I didn’t.

My heart pounded in my chest as I swam through the main hall. The silence was deafening, amplifying my growing panic. I called out for them, my voice echoing through the empty corridors, but no answer came. The palace felt abandoned, as though life had already drained from its core.

I reached the doors to their private chambers, my hand trembling as it hovered over the golden coral-encrusted handle. Something inside warned me not to open it. But I couldn’t stop myself. The silence on the other side haunted at my thoughts, urging me forward.

I pushed the doors open.

The room was dim, the soft glow of the corals casting eerie shadows across the floor. I froze. My mother laid crumpled on the ground, her once-luminous skin pale, her chest barely rising. My father slumped over her, his eyes wide with shock, frozen in his final moments.

“Mom! Dad!” I rushed to their side, hands trembling as I tried to shake them awake, my voice breaking in panic. “Please, wake up!”

But there was no response. Their bodies were still, eyes staring through me as if I no longer existed. Cold realization crashed over me. They were gone.

My heart shattered.

Then, I saw him.

He stood at the edge of the room, a dark silhouette in the faint light, his face expressionless. Hands stained with blood, their blood.

My stomach lurched, bile rising in my throat.

“My love?” I whispered, my voice cracking with disbelief. “What have you done?”

He didn’t flinch, his pale blue eyes dark, vacant and unrecognizable.

“What I had to do, my lioness. For us. ”

“For us?” My voice broke, horror creeping into my words. “You killed them! My parents, you bastard! How could you?”

He stepped closer, his expression hardening, cold and detached. “They stood in our way, our future. They would never have allowed us to be together. Blinded by power, by their need to control you, control Aetheria.”

“No,” I gasped, backing away. “This isn’t you. The triton I knew would never—”

“The triton you knew was a lie,” he interrupted, his voice sharp, unyielding. “I did this for us, so we could be free from their chains. So we could rule together.”

I stared at him, disbelief turning into horror. “You think I would ever want this? That I would ever want to be with you after what you’ve done?”

His gaze darkened, a cruel smirk twisting his lips. “You’ll understand, Iryen. In time. Once the shock wears off, you’ll see that we’re meant for each other.”

“Never,” I spat, venom coating my words. “You’re a monster. You’ve taken everything from me.”

His smirk widened, eyes gleaming with an icy cruelty I had never seen before.

“You’ll change your mind,” he drawled, his tone sultry, dripping with confidence. “I’ll be back for you, my divinity. And when I return, you’ll realize that you belong to me.”

He turned and left, his figure fading into the shadows as quickly as he had come, leaving me alone with the bodies of my parents and the unbearable weight of his betrayal. I collapsed beside them, my tears mixing with the cold water that now felt suffocating, my world crumbling around me.

Everything was gone, my parents, my home, my innocence. And the man I had once loved had ripped it all away .

But as I kneeled there, clutching my mother’s lifeless hand, something stirred within me, dark and fierce. A burning hatred that seared through the grief, scorching away the remnants of my love for him. He would pay for what he had done. No matter the cost, I would see him brought to justice.

I vowed as the ocean’s icy embrace surrounded me, I would never rest until that bastard paid for his crimes. The love I once felt for him was dead, replaced by a wrath as unforgiving as the sea itself.