"The sea chose us for each other two tides entwined, rising as one, bound not by fate alone, but by love deeper than the ocean's heart."
THALIA'S POV
The sea sang in my blood and not in the way it always had as rhythm, as lullaby, as home, but in a deeper, pulsing thrum I could feel under my skin, like the tide was alive within me, responding to something ancient. Thalindra stood by the moonlit windows of Pearl Castle's south wing, her silhouette haloed in silver and the faint glow of bioluminescent coral from the waters beyond. Her presence stirred the currents in the room; a soft swirling breeze scented with salt and storm. She did not speak right away, and silence was reverent, sacred, and tonight, silence bloomed between us like a wave about to break. I stepped toward her, bare feet brushing the cool marble, and my heartbeat louder with each step. She turned at last, eyes glowing with deep cerulean light, as if the entire ocean swam inside them.
"You feel it too," I whispered.
