The sea did not merely respond.
It rose.
Aerin felt it in every part of her—the pull of the currents, the weight of the tides, the vast, endless consciousness of the ocean itself bending toward her will.
Not forced.
Not stolen.
Given.
The water surged upward in a spiraling column, lifting her from the fractured floor of the chamber as the battle raged around her. Light fractured through the currents, illuminating her like something reborn from the depths.
For a moment—
Even the war paused.
Not completely.
But enough.
Enough for every eye to turn toward her.
Council.
Kings.
Creatures.
Even the Warden.
Aerin hovered in the center of the storm, her dark hair drifting like ink through the water, strands catching faint glimmers of gold as the power around her intensified. Her grey-blue eyes glowed faintly now—not with something unnatural, but something awakened.
Something undeniable.
The bond flared.
Caelum felt it first.
Not just the strength of it—
But the shift.
