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My breath caught. My pulse hammered uselessly beneath my skin. What else could she do? Could she strip away every piece of me, rewrite my past, leave me hollow? My mind felt foreign, no longer mine to command.

Would I even know if she had already taken something?

A sickening wave of fury coiled deep in my gut, but swallowed by something darker, something I despised. Fear.

“I will not harm you or take your memories, Adrian,” she continued, her voice even, almost patient. “I made you that bargain because I don’t particularly enjoy using this gift lightly.”

Then, like the tide pulling back, the pressure lifted. My body was mine again. My mind snapped back into place, sharp, sharp enough to slice through the lingering fog of violation.

I inhaled sharply, the rage flooding back in full force. “What the fuck did you just do to me?” I rasped, my voice low, dangerous. The echo of that helplessness still clung to me, seething beneath my skin like poison.

“I showed you what you asked.” She spoke, so unaffected it made my teeth clench.

I let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “Oh, okay. And I’m just supposed to take that nicely?” The words dripped venom, but beneath the anger, something uglier churned. She had controlled me. Effortlessly.

I craved control. Needed it like a breath. And here, in her world, I had none.

She tilted her head, an infuriating smirk playing at her lips. “What’s the fun in that?”

My fingers curled into fists, my nails digging into my palms.

She was playing with me.

Mocking me.

And enjoying it.

“Now, Adrian,” she said, her amusement flickering like a flame in those eyes. “Ask your questions.”

The same taunting lilt I’d used on her. The same challenge.

I should’ve been furious. And I was.

But beneath it all, a twisted and undeniable urge.

I wanted to play.

“Alright,” I said, forcing myself to let it go, for now. “Then first, tell me why I had a dream about you?”

She laughed. Light, melodic, too beautiful for someone who had just locked my mind in a vice grip. It was a laugh that belonged somewhere warm and untouched by shadows. And it caught me off guard.

The sound was so unexpected, so at odds with everything else, that for a moment, I just… listened.

“That, I can’t know,” she said, amusement lacing her voice. “I must’ve made quite the impression on you for you to be dreaming about me.”

I scoffed, the flicker of embarrassment instantly curdling into irritation.

“I’m not—” I cut myself off, jaw tightening. “Not those kinds of dreams.” My voice came out too sharp, too quick. Damn it.

Her smirk deepened, as if she knew exactly how much she was getting under my skin. I exhaled through my nose and continued, forcing my voice back to something even. “I saw you in a chamber, confronting a triton…”

I expected her to laugh again, maybe throw another smug remark my way. But she didn’t.

The amusement bled from her face.

Just like that, the air between us changed.

Her entire demeanor darkened, shoulders stiffening, gaze turning hollow, like I’d yanked her back into something she’d buried deep. And I felt it. That shift, the weight pressing between us, thick with something unspoken. Something painful.

Interesting.

I watched her, waiting. Letting the silence stretch, because I could tell this wasn’t just any memory. This haunted her. And though I didn’t understand how, I felt it. That ache. That raw, festering wound she tried so hard to keep hidden.

For a moment, I almost regretted asking.

Almost.

She inhaled slowly, then exhaled, shaky and uneven. When she finally spoke, her voice was barely a whisper. “When you almost… died,” she began, as if the words themselves pained her, “I had to use my powers to save you. And by doing so, it intensified the bond between us…”

A bond.

The word slotted into place with every inexplicable feeling I’d had since waking in this place. How I sensed her sometimes. The way she lingered in my mind, even when she wasn’t around.

It was all making terrible sense now.

“What do you mean by a bond?” I asked, my voice steady, controlled, despite the way my mind raced to piece this together. “We’re connected? ”

“Yes.” Her answer came swiftly, but then. “But that doesn’t matter now. Or ever.”

It was a dismissal. Cold. Firm.

I wasn’t having it.

I stepped in, closing the space between us in a slow, deliberate movement. She didn’t move back fast enough, and I kept going, pressing her against the wall. Cornering her.

“You keep saying it doesn’t matter,” I murmured, my voice dropping lower, smoother. “So tell me, what does?”

Her breath hitched, her eyes snapping at mine.

And then, for a second, her gaze flickered downward. To my mouth.

Interesting.

We weren’t as close as yesterday, but the tension was there, humming between us like a live wire. Her cheeks warmed, just barely, but I saw it.

She cleared her throat, an obvious attempt to regain control before she spoke again. “You won’t like the answer,” she said, the hesitation coiling around her words like a shield.

Still guarding herself. Still choosing every word like a calculated move in a game I wasn’t even fully aware we were playing.

And that, that distance, that refusal, bothered me more than I cared to admit.

A slow, sharp smile curled at my lips. “Try me.”

She sighed heavily, surrendering to my persistence.

“Fine. What matters is getting your powers under control and set you free. Anything more than that is a distraction.” Her words were precise, like an arrow piercing my racing heart.

She was right. I don’t like the answer, but I will prove her wrong.

Oh Princess, when will you stop lying to yourself? Of course, this between us matter, is what matter the most.

“I don’t know why all of this happened, but I know how.” She continued.

“That’s good enough for me,” I said, stepping back just enough to let her breath .

“There’s a barrier, placed by powerful sirens to keep us hidden from humans.

It’s nearly impenetrable. However, the Astralis’ power had weakened it the day you arrived,” she began, her voice filled with reverence.

“The Astralis is a sacred celebration that marks the solstice and honors Amphitrite, the mother of all sea life. During this time, the celestial forces align, creating a deep connection between the ocean and the heavens.”

A barrier. That’s how they’ve remained hidden all this time. Forgotten and lowered to mere legendary beings.

“So, this barrier problem made the cave visible?” I furrowed my brow, still confused. “And this Astralis is a festival of sorts?”

She nodded, her expression brightening as she continued.

“Yes, but it’s more than just a celebration.

It’s a time when our magic is at its most potent.

The tides swell, the full moon rises, and we engage in ritualistic ceremonies to invoke the goddess’s blessings.

It symbolizes the balance between light and dark, the ever-changing cycles of nature and the ocean. ”

A sense of awe washed over me as I listened to her describe the significance of the Astralis. “And here? Is that where it takes place?”

“Precisely,” she confirmed, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. “The Moon Pond is the heart of the Astralis’ celebration. It is said that the waters here reflect the deepest truths of our souls. It’s a sacred space where we connect with our heritage and our goddess.”

I took a moment to absorb her words. “And somehow, I stumbled into this? Into your world?”

“Yes.”

The allure of their magic and history pulled at me, igniting a curiosity I hadn’t expected. Yet, even for a moment longer, the thought of becoming entangled in her realm sent a shiver down my spine.

She saw my unease and spoke before I could dwell on it further. “ I think that’s enough truth for today. You need to learn about your powers and control them, so we should get started on that.”

Her tone shifted, adopting a more authoritative stance that irritated and intrigued me.

I had expected to delve deeper into the mysteries of her world.

Instead, she was redirecting our focus. The urgency in her voice clarified that controlling my powers was not just a curiosity. They were a necessity.

“Right,” I replied, attempting to regain my composure. “Training, then?”

“Yes, training,” she confirmed, the corners of her lips lifting slightly in a half-smile. “Let’s see what you can do. I will show you, and then you try.”

“It sounds easy enough.” I cocked a grin, aiming for playfulness. A part of me wanted to impress her, show her I wasn’t just some clueless hybrid fumbling with powers beyond my understanding.

Her smile faltered, and her tone grew sharper. “It isn’t. You need enough control to not get exposed. This isn’t a game.”

Her bossy tone stirred something in me, a strange mix of irritation and excitement.

The way she commanded the situation made me want to prove her wrong, to show her just how capable I was.

Truth be told, I had been playing with these powers in her absence.

Quietly, when she wasn’t around, I pushed myself, testing the limits, seeing what I could do.

Without waiting for her next move, I stepped forward, raising my hand, focusing on the water in front of us. The surface rippled as I pulled, drawing it upward in a swirling, controlled spiral. The effort burned, but I kept my expression calm, pretending it was easier than it actually was.

Her eyes widened for a split second before she masked it with her usual composure.

“Not bad,” she said, though I could hear the slight edge in her voice as if she hadn’t expected that.

I dropped my hand, letting the water fall back into the pond. “Told you it sounded easy enough.”

Her gaze sharpened.

“Don’t get cocky. This was a simple demonstration.”

I leaned in slightly, my grin fading into something more serious. “Then show me what you can do.”