When Two Worlds Collide

Chapter 9: The Last Year of the Sea

Arielle's POV

The sea welcomed me back with open arms, cool and soft against my aching body. My tail shimmered silver again as I swam down into the heart of the kingdom. Every beat of my fins reminded me I was home, where the currents knew my name and the corals bent like dancers in greeting.

But before I could take another breath, a voice called out.

“So,” my brother Lorian smirked as he darted toward me, circling with the smugness only a younger sibling could carry, “how was the mighty Arielle’s first day on land? Did you trip over your new legs again?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I did not trip. I… simply adjusted.”

He threw his head back and laughed, his hair floating like seaweed. “Adjusted? Sister, when I came to watch you from afar, I thought you were being chased by invisible eels. Your legs bent like broken kelp stalks!”

My face burned, even underwater. “You were spying on me?”

“Of course,” he said, still laughing. “You think I would miss the chance to watch my perfect older sister walk like a crab out of shell?”

I swam fast, flicking water at him with my tail. “You are insufferable.”

“And you are clumsy,” he shot back, dodging with ease. “So tell me, how many humans gasped when they saw you wobble? Did you charm them with your crab-walk?”

I groaned. “It was not that bad. Besides, humans are strange. They move so fast, so loud, with their iron monsters on wheels. I cannot understand how they live that way.”

He tilted his head, curious. “So you admit the land fascinated you?”

I hesitated. The memory of towering buildings, glowing lights, voices shouting, machines roaring, it stirred something inside me. Fear, yes, but also… curiosity.

“It enticed me,” I admitted softly. “The way they build, the way they touch fire without flinching, the way they shape the world to their will. For a moment, I thought, perhaps I could belong. But then…” I looked at him, sadness creeping in. “For a moment I thought I would rather be with you. With Father. With Kai. With Eris. With Grandmother. Here, where I truly belong.”

Lorian’s smile softened. He bumped my shoulder with his. “Good. Do not forget that, sister. Humans are nothing compared to home.”

"Speaking of Kai, where is he?" I asked. "He's probably in the royal archives. You know how big brother is when it comes to books," Lorian said playfully. "And little Eris?" I said while gliding towards the gates. "Still in the nursery with the nannies. She's become quite talkative nowadays," he said chuckling, trailing me. " Ooh, she's becoming a big girl. I have to visit before I make my leave" I said with a grin.

Eris is the youngest and my only sister. My mother gave birth to her few days before she passed. Eris is a miracle baby, as she was surprisingly very healthy, despite my mother being poisoned and sick during her pregnancy. She doesn't have a mother anymore, so I have to be strong and be a mother figure for her. I have to be strong for all my siblings, for my entire kingdom.

We swam side by side toward the palace gates, laughing again as he teased me about falling over. But laughter faded when the gates opened, and the High Priestess, my grandmother, waited inside.

Her dark robes floated around her like shadows, her crown of shells glinting in the glow of the palace pearls. Her eyes pierced straight into me, heavy with knowing.

“You have returned,” she said, her voice echoing through the hall.

“Yes, High Priestess,” I whispered, bowing my head.

Her expression was grave. “Then hear what must be spoken. The ocean’s heart grows weak. The currents are poisoned. If the land dwellers continue their ways, the sea will not last. The ocean has three hundred and sixty five days left. One year, child. One year before our kingdom withers and dies.”

The words struck me like spears. “A year?” I gasped.

Father stepped forward from his throne, his trident leaning at his side. “Arielle, it is as she says. The waters grow sicker each day. Time is not our friend.”

My chest tightened. “Then why must we wait? Why do I need a year? Why can I not end Marcus Lysander now and be done with it?”

The High Priestess’s voice sharpened. “Because the deed must be clean. It must not point to you. It must not point to us. If the humans discover the ocean had a hand in his death, it will mean war. Blood for blood, destruction for destruction. You would doom us all.”

Father’s eyes softened, though his voice was firm. “He is powerful, Arielle. Guarded like a king. If you rush in, you will fail. Worse, you will expose us. No. This must be done with patience, with precision. You will become the blade in his shadow, unseen until the final strike.”

Tears burned behind my eyes. I clenched my fists, torn between duty and longing.

Grandmother raised her hand. “You will have aid. An ally on land has secured you a position at Lysander Industries itself. You will work within his walls. You will gain his trust. And when the moment comes, you will end him.”

I froze. “Work… for him?”

“Yes,” Father said. “It is the perfect cover. You will learn his weaknesses, the cracks in his armor. That is how you will strike.”

My stomach twisted. The thought of standing so close to Marcus Lysander, of smiling at him while planning his death, made bile rise in my throat. Yet I nodded.

Grandmother continued, “Know this. Once you leave tonight, your visits back to the ocean must be fewer. Do not risk being traced, followed, or discovered. Not only humans watch the waters. We have enemies below as well.”

At that, an image flashed in my mind. My uncle. Father’s twin. Tritonis.

A traitor to the crown, banished for seeking power through forbidden alliances. His name was a shadow whispered only in caution.

I swallowed. “Yes, Grandmother.”

Father touched my shoulder. “To ease your burden, an apartment has been prepared for you. Inside, hidden from human eyes, lies a secret entrance to a moon pool. You may carry out the rituals of the full moon, and it will remind you of home.”

My chest ached at his thoughtfulness. “Thank you, Father.”

He gripped me tightly, his eyes fierce. “But promise me this, Arielle. Never let your guard down. Do not trust quickly. Humans wear many faces, and not all show their true selves. Evil does not always look like a monster.”

I nodded, though fear gnawed at me.

Lorian swam forward, his eyes unusually serious. “Sister… promise me you will return. Do not let them take you from me.”

I pulled him into an embrace, tears escaping despite my will. “I promise, little brother.”

But inside, I knew promises in times of war were fragile things.

As the council dismissed, I lingered, staring at the swirling patterns of the ocean floor. One year. One year to kill a man and save my people.

My grandmother’s voice still echoed in my mind: The ocean has three hundred and sixty five days left.

And in that moment, the weight of destiny pressed down so heavy that I feared I might drown even here, in my own sea.