"The sea did not crown me to be tamed it crowned me to rise, to remember, and to reign where gods once dared not tread." — Morkai Vaelan
MORKAI'S POV
The sea called to me the minute I stepped into the middle of the garden. Not with words, thunder, or rage but with silence. The kind that presses behind your ribs and makes breathing hard to draw. I stood in the garden of the Pearl Castle, long after the others had left. The moon hung low over the dark waters, silver light brushing the broken spires and salt-washed stone like a memory.
My memories floated.
They were all returning now. Piece by piece, and I closed my eyes, letting the hum of the castle's magic rise through the soles of my feet. It knew me again. The wards had shifted. The old runes, carved before time, pulsed with my bloodline, with the magic buried beneath the surface.
