Morana's POV
The warning horn screamed through the water again, and I felt it in my bones.
"We need to hide!" Lyria grabbed my arm, pulling me toward our cave. "If the kingdom's under attack, those human ships will sweep through here next. They always do."
My tail moved on instinct, propelling us through the dark water. But my mind was stuck on what Lyria had said before the horn blasted. A prophecy. About you.
"What did my father's messenger say exactly?" I demanded as we ducked into the cave entrance. "What prophecy?"
Lyria didn't answer right away. She was busy pushing a heavy rock across the entrance—our pathetic attempt at a door. When she finally turned to face me, her expression made my stomach twist.
"He said the exiled royal and the compass bearer are the only ones who can stop the war." She swallowed hard. "He said if you don't help, both our worlds will drown in blood."
"That's insane. I can barely use my magic without screaming. How am I supposed to stop a war?"
"I don't know! I'm just telling you what he said!" Lyria started pacing, her tail swishing nervously. "But Morana, if your father is desperate enough to contact you after three years—"
"After he destroyed me, you mean."
The words came out sharper than I meant them to. But I couldn't help it. Three years hadn't made the wound any less raw.
Lyria's face softened. "Tell me what happened. The real story. You've never wanted to talk about it before, but if we're about to walk into the middle of a war, I need to know everything."
I wanted to refuse. Wanted to keep that horrible night locked away where it couldn't hurt me anymore.
But she was right. She deserved to know.
"It was the night before my wedding," I started, my voice barely above a whisper. "I was supposed to marry Prince Caspian of the Northern Currents. It was a political match, but I actually liked him. He was kind to me. Made me laugh. I thought maybe we could be happy."
Lyria sat down next to me, listening.
"There was this huge celebration. Everyone in the kingdom came. My sister Sereia was my maid of honor." The memory made me want to vomit. "She helped me get ready. Brushed my hair. Told me I'd make a beautiful bride. She hugged me and said she was proud of me."
"What happened?"
"The Tidecaller's Pearl went missing." I closed my eyes, seeing it all over again. "It's this sacred pearl that's been in our family for a thousand years. Without it, the kingdom's protection spells weaken. Everyone panicked. Guards searched everywhere."
My hands were shaking now. I squeezed them into fists.
"They found it hidden in my room. Wrapped in my wedding veil."
Lyria gasped. "But you didn't take it."
"Of course I didn't! But Sereia had witnesses—she'd paid them off, I found out later. They all said they'd seen me acting strange, sneaking around, talking about how the Northern Currents deserved the pearl more than our kingdom." I laughed bitterly. "It was all lies. Every word. But everyone believed her."
"Even Caspian?"
That was the part that still hurt the most.
"Especially Caspian." My voice broke. "He stood in front of the entire court during our wedding ceremony and rejected me. Said he couldn't marry a traitor. Said I'd fooled him with my innocent act but he saw through me now. He called me..." I had to stop and breathe. "He called me a curse on the kingdom. Said I wasn't worthy of being anyone's mate."
Lyria's hand found mine and squeezed.
"My father had no choice after that. The whole kingdom was watching. He stripped my title, sealed my magic with a blood curse, and banished me to the outer reefs to die." I looked at Lyria with tears in my eyes. "Sereia cried at my sentencing. She actually cried. Told everyone how heartbroken she was that her sister turned out to be such a monster."
"That's sick."
"She got everything she wanted. With me gone, she became heir to the throne. She got to marry Caspian a year later. She's probably going to be queen someday." I wiped my eyes angrily. "And now Father wants me to save them? Save the sister who framed me and the man who destroyed me? Why would I do that?"
Before Lyria could answer, a muffled explosion made the cave walls shake. We both froze.
"That was close," Lyria whispered.
Another explosion. Closer this time. Rocks fell from the ceiling.
"They're bombing the reefs," I realized with horror. "The humans are dropping depth charges."
We had to run. Now.
I shoved the rock away from the entrance and shot out into the open water. Lyria was right behind me. All around us, the ocean was chaos—merfolk screaming, swimming in every direction, trying to escape the falling bombs that lit up the dark water like deadly stars.
A depth charge exploded fifty feet away. The shockwave threw me sideways, slamming me into the reef. Pain burst through my shoulder.
"Morana!" Lyria pulled me upright. "We have to get deeper! The bombs can't reach the trenches!"
We swam down, down, down into the darkness. Other merfolk followed, all of us fleeing for our lives. I saw families clutching their children, elderly mer struggling to keep up, warriors swimming back up to fight even though they'd probably die.
These were my people. Even if the kingdom threw me away, these innocent people didn't deserve this.
We reached the trench and huddled with dozens of other refugees. Everyone was terrified, crying, praying to the ocean gods for mercy.
That's when I saw him.
My father's messenger—a royal guard I recognized from my old life—swam straight toward me through the crowd. His face was urgent.
"Princess Morana," he said, using my old title like the last three years never happened. "The Sea King needs you. Now. There's no time to explain everything, but—"
"I'm not going," I interrupted. "I don't care what he needs."
The guard's expression turned desperate. "Please. Your father is dying."
The world stopped.
"What?"
"Morgessa the Sea Witch poisoned him during negotiations. He has maybe two days left. Before he dies, he needs to tell you about the compass bearer, about your role in the prophecy, about—" The guard glanced around nervously. "About what really happened the night you were banished."
My heart hammered. "What are you talking about? I know what happened. Sereia framed me."
"That's what everyone thinks. But Princess, there's more to it. So much more. Things your father only discovered after you were gone. Things that change everything."
Above us, another explosion sent shockwaves through the water. Someone screamed.
The guard grabbed my shoulders. "Your father knows who really stole the Tidecaller's Pearl. He knows why Morgessa wanted you exiled. He knows why you're the only one who can end this war. But if you don't come now, he'll die before he can tell you, and the secret dies with him."
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
"Princess, please. Thousands of lives depend on you knowing the truth."
Lyria looked at me, her eyes wide. "Morana..."
I stared at the messenger, my whole world tilting sideways for the second time tonight.
My father was dying. He knew something about my exile—something important enough to risk everything by contacting me. And whatever secret he was keeping, it was connected to this war, to the prophecy, to everything falling apart around us.
"If I go with you," I said slowly, "and this is a trick to capture me, to punish me more—"
"It's not a trick. I swear on my life."
Another explosion. Closer. The cave walls cracked.
I had seconds to decide. Go to my dying father and learn a truth that might be another lie. Or stay here and let him take his secrets to the grave while war destroyed everything.
"Take me to him," I said.
The messenger's face flooded with relief. "Thank you, Princess. But there's one more thing you need to know before we go."
"What?"
His next words hit me like a depth charge to the chest.
"The compass bearer—the human you're meant to find—his ship just entered our waters. He's leading the attack fleet. And Princess..." The messenger's voice dropped to a horrified whisper. "He's coming here. To this exact reef. In less than an hour, Captain Theron Ashcroft—the Siren Slayer himself—will be right where we're standing. And he's under orders to capture any royal merfolk alive."
The ocean around me felt suddenly freezing cold.
The man from the prophecy. The one I was supposed to find, supposed to work with to end the war.
He was coming here to hunt me.
And I had less than an hour to decide: run and hide like I'd been doing for three years, or swim straight into the jaws of the most dangerous mer-hunter alive and pray the prophecy was real.
"What do I do?" I whispered.
But I already knew the answer.
I had to meet him. Face to face. Hunter and prey.
And hope I survived long enough to find out why fate wanted us together.