Sir Alex POV
If someone had told me a month ago that my royal investigation would involve sirens, a sea maze, a leviathan, and the deeply humiliating revelation that I had apparently kissed a creature resembling a cursed fish goblin—
I would have resigned.
Immediately.
Not negotiated. Not argued. I would have handed in my insignia, my sword, my pride, and walked straight into a monastery where the only dangers were bad wine and excessive prayer.
I was a knight of the realm. Trained for war. Diplomacy. Assassination attempts. Political tension. Border skirmishes. Court intrigue.
Not this.
Not ancient sea magic. Not living oceans that shifted like thinking beings. Not illusions that peeled back the mind layer by layer until you no longer trusted your own memories.
And yet—
Here I was.
Standing on the deck of the Lady Maden, staring at nothing.
