Much like aboard the ship, Esperanza remained defiant.
She refused food. Took only water. Ignored the painful gnaw of hunger twisting through her belly like a blade. They called her Queen, called her vessel, savior, and still wouldn't let her leave the stone chamber they imprisoned her in.
She'd tested the windows first only to realize they were illusions, glamour spells painted on slabs of sandstone. The frames didn't slide. The glass was cold and unmoving. Beyond them, more stone walls waited, etched with ancient sigils she half-recognized from her mother's grimoires.
She was not in a room. She was in a cell dressed in velvet.
But one thing became certain the longer she sat in the quiet:
Her mother's storm was close.
She could feel it, simmering in the bones of the stone itself, humming in her blood. It pressed against her ribs like a promise. It made her eyes burn.
Her mother was near.
So near.
Elena's storm winds had blown La Sirena faster than anyone anticipated. The ship carved through the sea like a blade, arriving just before sunset.
From the deck, the jagged shoreline of Isla Serpiente came into view- tall cliffs jutting into the sky like broken teeth, jungle creeping over the peaks in dense waves of green and shadow. The air itself felt charged, thick with divine warning.
Elena and Niegal wasted no time. They kissed Phineus's forehead, gave Alejandro and Aurora a nod, and descended to the deck.
Together, they strapped on their armor, muscle memory guiding their hands. Elena's fingers slid across the machete of Boinyanel, blessing the blade with a soft whisper of power. Niegal did the same with Marohu, his jaw tight, the lion within pacing restlessly.
As night fell, they slipped into the waters in a small, dark-hulled dinghy, Elena's winds cloaking the vessel in silence.
They moved like shadows toward shore, eyes fixed on the heart of the jungle.
They could feel it… their daughter's magic sparking like static in the air.
They prayed they weren't too late.
When Juan entered her room again, Esperanza didn't look at him.
She had her back turned to the door, her small fingers slowly unthreading the gold embroidery from the edge of the bedspread. The strings formed a glittering pile beside her on the floor. Evidence of the hours she'd spent ignoring him. Undoing beauty, one thread at a time.
Juan sat carefully on the bed, elbows on knees.
She didn't flinch. Didn't speak.
"I… don't have much of a choice either, mi Reina," he said quietly. No charm in his voice this time. Just weariness.
Esperanza didn't turn around.
"I know I tricked you," Juan continued. "And yeah… I knew what I was doing. They told me you had to come willingly. My mother said if I didn't lure you here, someone else would." His voice dropped. "I'm only fourteen, you know."
That made her pause, barely. He sounded scared. Ashamed.
"I didn't know about the consort thing until after," he added quickly. "I swear. I thought I was just bringing home our next queen. I didn't know they wanted to-" He stopped, unable to say it. "Look, I won't hurt you. I give you my word."
He turned to face her fully, hands open in surrender.
But she whipped around with tears glowing in her eyes and fury glowing on her skin.
"Shut up!" she screamed, violet sparks crackling across her arms.
He flinched.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
Above ground, deep in the jungle, her parents felt the earth tremble.
Elena and Niegal froze, exchanging a look.
They didn't speak.
They just ran.
Back in the chamber, Esperanza rose and grabbed Juan by the collar of his shirt, magic jolting through her fingers. Sparks snapped across his chest as she hauled him closer, eyes blazing with divine fire.
"You better PRAY I don't escape, you stupid head!" she shouted, sobbing now, fury overtaking fear. "You better PRAY my parents come for me!"
Juan's patience snapped.
He slapped her away, stumbling from the force of the shocks. His hand trembled.
"I'm trying to help you, you ungrateful-!"
"GET OUT!" she screamed.
The room lit with arcs of lightning. A mirror cracked. The mana lamp above them shattered. Juan stared in awe and terror, because now he understood.
It wasn't just a story. She really was divine.
He stumbled out the door, muttering apologies, but she was already charging after him.
The door slammed shut in her face. Wards shimmered across its surface, nullifying her magic instantly. The impact sent her tumbling backward.
She lay there for a moment, stunned, blinking up at the false ceiling.
Then she screamed.
She raged. She tore the bedding apart. Every pillow, every curtain, even the velvet sheets. Nothing was left untouched. Sigils across the stone walls flared in warning as her magic swelled and collided with their protections.
Eventually, exhausted, she collapsed into a heap on the cold stone floor.
Her stomach ached.
Her chest heaved.
She'd refused food too long, and now she didn't even have the strength to stand.
The last of her tears fell silently as she curled in on herself. "Mama…" she whispered. "Papa…"
But only the storm outside answered.
And it wept with her.