Chapter 7
921 Words
The ship cut smoothly through the moonlit waters.
Cassian remained at the bow long after Rowan departed.
Sleep would not come tonight.
Not with the strange feeling lingering inside him.
Not with the dreams.
For weeks he had dreamed of the sea.
Not ordinary dreams.
Visions.
Fragments.
A woman singing beneath silver water.
Ancient ruins hidden beneath the ocean floor.
A pair of blue eyes staring at him through darkness.
Every dream ended the same way.
A voice calling his name.
Then silence.
The memories haunted him.
Cassian closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them again, the ocean stretched endlessly before him.
Peaceful.
Yet somehow troubled.
The sea seemed restless tonight.
As though it knew something he did not.
A sudden flash of silver caught his attention.
His gaze narrowed.
For an instant, he thought he saw movement in the distance.
A figure.
Then it vanished beneath the waves.
Cassian frowned.
Perhaps it had been a dolphin.
Or perhaps fatigue was finally affecting him.
Either way, he could not shake the feeling that someone—or something—was out there.
Watching.
Waiting.
The same way destiny seemed to be waiting.
---
Miles away, Daisy followed the coastline.
The eastern horizon had begun to brighten.
A faint line of gold appeared beyond the sea.
She stared at it curiously.
"What is that?"
Lyra smiled.
"The sunrise."
Daisy blinked.
"The sun?"
"You've never seen one."
"No."
The sea spirit laughed softly.
"You are about to."
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The light continued growing.
Gold replaced black.
Pink spread across the horizon.
Then, slowly, the first rays of sunlight emerged.
Daisy stopped swimming.
The sight stole her breath.
The entire world transformed.
The ocean shimmered like liquid diamonds.
Clouds glowed with shades of gold and rose.
The sky itself seemed to awaken.
"It's beautiful," she whispered.
Lyra nodded.
"It is."
For nineteen years Daisy had lived beneath the sea.
She had seen glowing reefs and crystal palaces.
Yet this felt different.
This felt endless.
A gift she had never known existed.
The sun rose higher.
Warmth spread across her skin.
Daisy closed her eyes.
For the first time since the sanctuary fell, hope stirred inside her.
Small.
Fragile.
But real.
Perhaps her story was not ending.
Perhaps it was only beginning.
A sudden cry echoed overhead.
Daisy looked up.
Several birds soared across the brightening sky.
Their wings carried them effortlessly through the air.
Freedom.
The sight made her smile.
Then another sound reached her.
Different from the birds.
Strange.
Distant.
A bell.
Daisy turned.
Far along the coast, beyond a line of rocky cliffs, something rose against the morning sky.
Towers.
Walls.
Buildings.
A city.
Her heart began to race.
Human civilization.
The first she had ever seen.
"There it is," Lyra said quietly.
"The surface world."
Daisy stared.
Smoke rose from countless chimneys.
Ships moved in and out of a large harbor.
The city seemed enormous.
Alive.
Busy.
Nothing like the quiet solitude of the sanctuary.
Fear mixed with excitement.
"What do we do now?"
Lyra hesitated.
The uncertainty in her expression immediately worried Daisy.
"What?"
"We need information."
"About the prince?"
"About everything."
Daisy nodded slowly.
The prophecy had changed everything.
Somewhere in this vast world was the Immortal Prince.
Somewhere was the Heart of the Ocean.
And somewhere, Queen Morvana was already moving.
The thought darkened her mood.
Morvana.
The woman from the vision.
The woman responsible for the destruction of her people.
If Morvana learned she was alive—
A chill ran through her.
No.
The sea witch would learn.
Eventually.
The prophecy almost guaranteed it.
The only question was how long Daisy had before the hunt began again.
As if summoned by the thought, a distant pulse rippled through the ocean.
Both Daisy and Lyra froze.
The water around them darkened momentarily.
Then returned to normal.
Fear flashed across Lyra's face.
"You felt that?"
Daisy nodded.
The sensation reminded her of the creature.
Ancient.
Cold.
Malevolent.
Something had awakened.
And it was searching.
---
Far below the sea, within a fortress hidden inside a black abyss, Queen Morvana opened her eyes.
The chamber surrounding her was carved from obsidian stone.
Dark magic flowed through the walls like living shadows.
At the center of the room stood a throne fashioned from the bones of sea beasts.
Upon that throne sat the woman who had ended an empire.
Morvana.
Her silver-black hair cascaded over her shoulders.
Ancient power radiated from her presence.
Around her knelt shadow priests and sea wraiths.
None dared speak.
None dared move.
The queen's expression darkened.
She had felt it.
A pulse.
A disturbance.
A familiar signature she had not sensed in nearly two decades.
Impossible.
The child had survived.
For years she believed the last heir of the mermaid bloodline had perished alongside her mother.
Now she knew the truth.
The heir lived.
Slowly, Morvana rose from her throne.
Darkness gathered around her.
The sea itself seemed to tremble.
"The princess," she whispered.
The words echoed through the chamber.
A nearby priest lowered his head.
"My Queen?"
Morvana smiled.
The expression contained no warmth.
Only danger.
"Find her."
Fear flashed across every face in the room.
"Search every coast."
The shadows stirred.
"Search every kingdom."
The water darkened further.
"Bring me the Last Mermaid."
Far above, Daisy stared toward the distant city, unaware that the hunt had already begun.
And somewhere upon the morning sea, Prince Cassian's ship sailed steadily toward the same coastline.
Toward the same destiny.
Toward her.
- Writer
