The descent was not a fall; it was a surrender to gravity. The Leviathan sliced through the water with a silence that was unnerving. Inside the main cabin, the ambient lighting had shifted to a soft, soothing blue, designed to mimic the environment outside the reinforced glass viewports.
Simon sat by the window, his forehead pressed against the cool material. For the past two hours, they had been sinking deeper into the Atlantic, leaving the realm of sunlight far behind. Outside, the ocean was a pitch-black void, broken only by the occasional streak of bioluminescent plankton that rushed past like stars in hyperspace.
"Are you okay?" Evelyn asked. She was sitting opposite him, wrapped in two blankets, clutching a mug of hot tea that Kael had provided. She looked pale. The crushing pressure of the deep ocean, even shielded by the ship's hull, weighed on her spirit. To a creature of the open sky and mountains, being under miles of water felt like being buried alive.
"I feel..." Simon paused, searching for the right word. "Awake."
And he did. The lethargy and the maddening thirst that had plagued him on land were gone. In their place was a vibrating energy that hummed in his veins. The deeper they went, the stronger he felt. His vision was sharper; he could see details in the darkness outside that Evelyn couldn't, shapes of massive leviathans moving in the distance, the currents twisting like invisible ribbons.
Ambassador Kael entered the cabin, his movements graceful and fluid, as if the air itself offered no resistance. "We are approaching the Continental Shelf drop-off," he announced. "Beyond this point lies the domain of the Lagoon Kingdom. Prepare yourselves. The view is... quite something."
Simon stood up, his balance perfect despite the slight pitch of the deck. He offered a hand to Evelyn. "Come look. You need to see this."
Evelyn hesitated, then took his hand. He pulled her to the viewport, wrapping his arms around her from behind, acting as a warm, solid anchor against the encroaching dark.
The ship crested a massive underwater ridge, and suddenly, the darkness vanished.
Below them, nestled in a sprawling canyon on the ocean floor, lay a city that defied imagination. It was a metropolis of spiral towers carved from iridescent mother-of-pearl, massive domes of translucent glass that glowed with inner amber light, and bridges made of living coral that spanned dizzying chasms.
Bioluminescence was everywhere. Streets were lit by floating orbs of jellyfish-light; gardens of neon anemones swayed in the currents. It was a kaleidoscope of teals, purples, and electric pinks, vibrant and alive against the backdrop of the abyssal night.
"By the Goddess," Evelyn breathed, her fear momentarily forgotten in the face of such beauty. "It's... it's like the night sky fell into the ocean."
"The Coral City," Simon whispered, the name tasting familiar on his tongue, as if he had spoken it in a thousand past lives. "My blood knows this place."
"It should," Kael said, stepping up beside them. "Your ancestors helped build the foundations before they took to the land. Welcome home, Prince Simon."
The Leviathan began its final approach, gliding toward a massive, spherical docking bay that protruded from the central palace a structure so large it looked like a mountain of white gold rising from the seabed.
"How do we breathe?" Evelyn asked, watching a group of merfolk with shimmering tails swim past the window, spears in hand. "I don't have gills, Simon."
"The Royal District is enclosed in a hyper-oxygenated hydro-dome," Kael explained. "The water is kept out by a membrane of solid magic. Inside, the air is breathable for surface dwellers, though it is... heavy. It will feel like a humid summer day."
The ship shuddered as it locked onto the docking ring. The hiss of depressurization filled the cabin, followed by the grinding of heavy gears.
"Showtime," Simon murmured. He reached back and checked the strap of Wave-Cutter, the sword his father had given him. He felt the weight of it against his spine a reminder that he wasn't just a tourist. He was a Tribrid entering the territory of a predator.
The airlock hissed open.
The smell hit them first. It wasn't the fishy, rotting smell of a low-tide beach. It was clean, sharp, and intensely mineral like ozone and crushed pearls.
Kael led the way. Simon and Evelyn stepped out onto a wide platform made of polished obsidian. Above them, the "sky" was a shimmering barrier of water, where sharks and rays swam lazily, looking down at the people walking below.
A retinue of guards waited for them. They were tall, blue-skinned warriors wearing armor made of shark leather and crab chitin. They didn't hold guns; they held tridents that crackled with blue electricity.
"Present arms!" a commander shouted. The tridents slammed against the obsidian floor in unison, a sound like a thunderclap.
"Prince Simon Peter of the Moonlight!" the herald announced, his voice amplified by the acoustics of the dome.
Simon walked forward, his head high. He squeezed Evelyn's hand, feeling her tremble slightly. 'I'm here,' he projected through the link. 'Just keep looking at me.'
At the end of the platform stood two figures.
King Luke was a giant of a man, easily as tall as Alpha Michael but leaner, with skin the color of deep bronze and hair like drifting kelp. He wore a crown of jagged coral and a cloak that seemed to be made of flowing water.
Beside him was Queen Olivia. She was breathtaking, ethereal and terrifying all at once. Her skin was a pale, shimmering aquamarine, and her eyes were large, dark pools of wisdom. She didn't have legs; even in the air-dome, she rested on a floating dais of water that supported her long, emerald-scaled tail.
Simon stopped ten feet from them and bowed not a wolf's bow, but a deep, waist-bending bow he had never been taught, yet executed perfectly.
"King Luke. Queen Olivia," Simon said, his voice steady. "I come to honor the call of the blood."
King Luke stepped forward. He didn't speak. He reached out and gripped Simon's forearm in a warrior's greeting. His skin was cold and hard, like wet stone.
"You have Michael's jaw," Luke boomed, his voice echoing like waves in a cave. "But you have the eyes of the Deep. Welcome, nephew."
"Great-nephew," Simon corrected gently, though he smiled.
"Details," Luke waved a hand. He turned his gaze to Evelyn. The King's eyes narrowed slightly, assessing the Starlight heir. "And this is the Star who dared to jump into my lake."
Evelyn curtsied, her movements stiff but dignified. "I am Evelyn Starlight, Your Majesty. And I would jump into a volcano if that is where he went."
Queen Olivia laughed a sound like silver bubbles rising to the surface. "She has fire, Luke. I like her. Come, children. The feast awaits, and we have much to discuss before the tide turns."
The Royal Palace of the Lagoon was a labyrinth of beauty. The floors were glass, revealing the ocean currents rushing beneath their feet. The walls were lined with pearls the size of apples. But Simon barely noticed the opulence.
The "Second Pull" was screaming now.
It wasn't just a compass direction anymore. It was a physical proximity alarm. Every step he took deeper into the palace, the sensation grew hotter, tighter. It felt like a hook in his navel was being reeled in.
Thump-splash. Thump-splash.
Evelyn felt it too. Through the Soul-Link, she could feel Simon's distraction. She could feel the way his heart rate was picking up, synchronizing with a rhythm that wasn't hers.
'She's here, isn't she?' Evelyn asked silently, her mental voice small.
Simon didn't lie. He couldn't. 'Yes. She's close.'
They entered the Grand Throne Room. It was a cavernous space dominated by a massive circular table made of driftwood and crystal. Seated around it were various dignitaries of the sea Duke of the Trench, Baron of the Reef.
But there was one empty chair.
"Please, sit," Queen Olivia gestured to the seats opposite the throne.
Simon sat, pulling a chair out for Evelyn. He tried to focus on King Luke, who was talking about the Void shadows appearing in the oceanic trenches, but his eyes kept darting to the heavy curtains behind the throne.
"The shadows are not just a surface problem," Luke was saying, his face grave. "We have lost three patrols near the Marianas sector. They were drained. Desiccated in the water. It is an abomination."
"They are feeding," Simon said, forcing himself to speak. "The shadow that attacked us... it said we were vessels. It wants the energy of the Tribrid to stabilize itself."
"Which is why you must master your gifts," Olivia said softly. "The Ocean is emotion, Simon. It is depth. The Wolf gives you strength, the Dragon gives you fire, but the Ocean gives you the power to endure. To adapt. Without us, you will burn yourself out."
Suddenly, the heavy curtains rustled.
The air in the room shifted. The scent of ozone and pearls was suddenly overpowered by a new fragrance Sea salt, tropical rain, and amber.
Simon stopped breathing.
His hand, resting on the table, spasmed. The bandage he had reapplied on the ship tore open as the blue scales on his hand flared with brilliant light.
Evelyn gripped the edge of the table, her knuckles white. She felt it. The sheer power of the presence entering the room was like a physical wave.
"Ah," King Luke smiled, looking toward the curtain. "Just in time."
The curtains parted.
Walking or rather, gliding into the room was a girl who looked like she had been carved from the ocean itself.
Joanna Silver, the Future Queen of the Lagoon, was not in a wheelchair or a floating dais. She had legs long, muscular legs clad in sheer, shimmering silk pants that looked like liquid water. Her top was a bodice of abalone shell.
But it was her face that stopped Simon's heart.
She had skin the color of a pearl, luminous and pale. Her hair was a thick, wavy mass of dark green that fell to her waist, interwoven with tiny white shells. And her eyes... her eyes were the exact, piercing green of the deep sea.
She didn't look at her parents. She didn't look at the dignitaries.
Her gaze locked instantly onto Simon.
BOOM.
If meeting Evelyn was a spark, meeting Joanna was a tidal wave.
The air in the room compressed. The glass of water on the table in front of Simon shattered, the liquid exploding upward but not falling. It hung in the air, suspended in droplets, vibrating with the energy passing between the two heirs.
Simon stood up. He didn't mean to. His body simply obeyed the call.
His eyes rolled back, the turquoise swallowed by black. The gills on his neck flared open, ripping through his shirt collar. He gasped, not for air, but for her.
Joanna stopped five feet away. She tilted her head, her green eyes narrowing with a mixture of curiosity and arrogance. She didn't look scared. She looked hungry.
"So," she said, her voice low and husky, echoing with the power of a siren. "The Wolf finally learned to swim."
"Joanna," Simon breathed. The name felt like water on a parched tongue. The thirst that had been lingering in the background vanished instantly, replaced by a feeling of absolute, liquid wholeness.
Evelyn stood up too, her chair screeching against the glass floor. She moved to Simon's side, slipping her hand into his.
Joanna's eyes snapped to Evelyn's hand. The green in her irises swirled, darkening to the color of a stormy sea.
"And you brought a pet," Joanna noted coolly. "How quaint."
"I am not a pet," Evelyn said, her voice shaking but her chin high. She summoned her Starlight, letting a soft, white glow illuminate her skin. "I am his mate. Evelyn Starlight."
Joanna laughed. It wasn't a cruel laugh, but it was dismissive. She took a step closer to Simon, ignoring Evelyn entirely. She reached out a hand a hand that had faint webbing between the fingers and touched the center of Simon's chest, right over his heart.
"You are loud, Wolf," Joanna whispered, looking up at him. "Your heartbeat is disturbing the currents."
Simon couldn't move. The touch of her hand sent a cooling rush through his overheated system. It was the balance he hadn't known he needed. The fire of the Dragon and the adrenaline of the Wolf were suddenly soothed by the cool pressure of the Ocean.
"I..." Simon stammered, looking between the two women.
On his left, Evelyn, warm and bright as the sun.
In front of him, Joanna, cool and deep as the abyss.
And inside him, the three bloodlines were screaming in unison. The Tribrid was no longer a theory. It was active.
King Luke cleared his throat, the sound breaking the trance. "Joanna. Manners. This is your cousin. And his intended."
"He is not my cousin," Joanna said, not breaking eye contact with Simon. "The blood is too diluted for that. And he is not intended for her alone, Father."
She stepped back, the connection breaking with a physical snap that made Simon stagger forward.
"He is the Tribrid," Joanna declared, turning to face the room. "And the Ocean demands its due."
She looked at Simon one last time, a challenge burning in her eyes. "If you want to survive the Void, Wolf, you're going to have to learn to breathe underwater. Meet me in the Training Atoll at dawn. Don't bring the pet. She'll drown."
With a swirl of silk and sea-scent, Joanna turned and walked out of the room.
Simon stood there, his chest heaving, his hand gripping Evelyn's so hard it hurt. The glass droplets suspended in the air finally fell, splashing onto the table.
"Well," Queen Olivia said, picking up her wine glass as if nothing had happened. "That went better than expected. She didn't stab him."
Evelyn looked at Simon. His eyes were turning back to turquoise, but he looked dazed.
"Simon?" she whispered.
Simon looked at her. "I felt it, Evelyn. It wasn't love. It was... gravity."
"I know," Evelyn said quietly, staring at the door where the mermaid princess had vanished. "I felt it too. She's strong, Simon. Stronger than me."
"No," Simon said, though his voice lacked its usual certainty. "Just different. We need her, Evelyn. The Void... it fears the fire, but it hates the water. We need her."
"I know," Evelyn repeated. A single tear tracked down her cheek. "But that doesn't mean I have to like her."
The Second Mate had arrived. And the calm waters of the Lagoon were about to get very, very rough.