(POV Dorcha)
Nausea twists my stomach…
my head is spinning…
I can't breathe…
"Dorrcha! Are you sick?" Grogher asks, catching me before I fall.
I try to steady my breathing, but it's so hard.
"It's over, Grogher…" I gasp. "I lost her. Forever."
He doesn't interrupt. He waits for me to go on.
I don't even know what to say.
My eyes burn.
"Maybe it's better this way… right?" I whisper after a moment.
"Our lives are over too. In a few days they'll kill us all. She won't remember us anymore. She'll stay a mermaid and she'll be happy… at least until the Great Universal Kingdom still stands."
Tears slip down my face and I can't stop them.
I don't even feel embarrassed anymore.
What would be the point…
(POV Grogher)
Master… no… I can't let him give up like this.
It hurrrts too much.
"It's not over!" I shout, unable to hold back any longerrr. "You can't say that! I don't know how yet, but we have to fight back! We can't let some fish stop us! We have a mission to finish! And we have to brrring Aileen back to herself!"
(POV Dorcha)
Bring her back to herself… what a fantasy.
"She is herself, Grog!" I snap. "She chose to become a mermaid and her wish was granted, that's all! She chose to leave me. To forget me. To be with that… that… that thing! And she did it. End of story!"
"I don't believe Aileen chose anything."
Huh? … Could it really be…?
I try to calm down. It feels almost impossible.
"Even if that were true, what can we do? I barely have a trace of magic left in my blood. We're unarmed, and those horrible algae can't be destroyed with bare hands. When this ridiculous celebration ends they'll drag us back to our cages… and who knows if we'll ever see each other again."
"We'll find a way, Dorrrcha. There has to be one. But firrrst… you mustn't lose hope, understand?"
If only it were that easy.
I lower my gaze. I can't hold his.
He gently lifts my face.
"Do you underrrstand?" he repeats.
Yes… I understand…
but I don't believe it.
I don't have the strength to talk anymore.
I turn my back and lie down.
It's uncomfortable here, yet exhaustion crushes me. I just want to sleep.
I feel Grogher's eyes on me.
I sense him moving closer.
He lifts me in his arms and I let him.
He rocks me… like a father would… I think.
I almost remember Bàistec doing that when I was very small…
I wonder if my real parents would have ever held me like this…
So sleepy… I… can't stay awake…
(POV Alisea — Aileen)
I watch Anam carry me into our chamber… and I feel radiant.
He's so beautiful… so gentle, so tender.
"Anam, I still can't believe I met you," I whisper, resting my head on his shoulder.
He looks at me with warmth and softly brushes my cheek.
"I promise our life together will be extraordinary. I'll do everything in my power to make you happy."
I can't stop looking at him.
Everything feels perfect.
His face draws closer to mine and my heart skips yet another beat… as if it hadn't already lost enough tonight.
He kisses me… then lays me down on our bed.
He lies beside me and strokes me gently.
Shivers run through me.
He notices — yet doesn't stop — slowly kissing my neck, grazing my earlobes.
And now… he removes the shells from me…
By all the ocean currents… I don't think my skin has ever felt this sensitive.
"My love… my little one…" he whispers near my ear, "you are my whole world. Will you be part of mine as well?"
Of course I will. I need nothing else to be happy.
"…Yes," I breathe.
Our hair drifts together, intertwining, our finned tails curling around each other.
Anam and I merge into a perfect harmony — a whirlpool of love where I feel myself becoming one with him.
My heart feels ready to burst with happiness… and his does too. I know it. I can feel it.
At the peak of it all, Anam begins a song… and I follow.
A melody soft, enchanting, endless…
How did I ever live without this?
I love him.
I truly do.
(POV Dorcha)
The luminous fish begin drifting through the streets.
Dawn.
They'll take us soon.
I'm wrecked.
Drained.
But Grogher's right — this isn't the time to fall apart.
The guards are coming.
Grogher turns toward me, his gaze sharp, steady.
"Remember what we talked about last night…" he says.
He doesn't get to finish. The filthy tritons drag him away.
"Your mind, Dorrrcha… use your mind!" he shouts.
I watch as they haul him onto a massive mollusk, its shell slick and glistening.
Yes. I will.
Tonight… I'll try.
…
Today I stayed so focused I barely felt the pain.
Still — let's be honest — this sludge they insist on calling the Emperor's seaweed soup is revolting. Completely tasteless.
But I finished it, didn't I?
This time the guard can't say a word.
I set the bowl by the bars and lie down on the cot.
I can't wait to try.
"Going to sleep early tonight?"
That disgusting guard. Even at night she won't leave me alone.
I pull the blanket over my face and turn toward the stone wall.
"Well, someone's sensitive. Don't go pretending you're not an Orc…" she sneers, laughing to herself.
If I could, I'd turn her into a tadpole.
I grit my teeth. Not now.
I fake sleep.
Ten minutes pass.
Will she buy it?
"Oh? Asleep?"
I stay silent.
She has to believe it.
She does.
Her footsteps fade.
Good.
Time to begin.
I lie on my back and take slow, deep breaths.
Relax every muscle. Every thought.
Enter the Veil.
My body trembles — then grows light.
Lighter.
My ears ring, sharp and painful.
Yes.
There—
My astral body rips free in a sudden jolt.
I look down at myself, lying still on the cot.
No sign of the triton.
I surge into the ether, moving faster than thought.
Baelkers. I need to find him.
I've thought it through. The elves are the only ones who can help us.
…
There!
Baelkers and Aeltiàfisar — together. Thank the skies.
They see me immediately.
"Dorcha!" they exclaim in unison. "Why are you here? What happened? Where is Aileen?"
How do I answer? We're not on the same astral plane… I didn't think this through. I can't—
I stare at them, helpless.
They don't hesitate.
They sit facing each other, clasp hands, and close their eyes.
One breath later, they're here — standing before me in my dimension.
(POV Baelkers)
Dorcha looks terrible.
Pale. Gaunt. Exhausted. Hollow.
He sways — I catch him before he falls.
"What happened, boy?!" Aeltiàfisar demands.
Dorcha tells us everything the sirens have done. He doesn't spare a single detail.
I am speechless.
My brother and I exchange a look. He's as shaken as I am.
"I knew something was wrong," he says. "For days now I haven't been able to sense Aileen at all."
Neither have I.
"And that can only mean one thing. She's losing herself inside Alisea. Soon she'll gain full command of the winds and the sea currents… and she will become a Siren in truth. Anam's presence is accelerating the process."
Dorcha stares at us, confused.
Of course he doesn't understand. I take a breath.
"Aileen's consciousness — her will — has been captured. The Sirens are manipulating her emotions. With Anam's help, little by little… they're stealing her soul."
"My… soul?" he whispers.
He looks even more lost.
Aeltiàfisar meets my eyes. He's right. We can't hide it anymore.
"It's time you knew everything," I begin.
"There was a time when Nèilos and Selìna lived in a region thick with violent sea vortices. It was nothing like their current realm — dangerous, unstable. Many were swallowed by those currents and never returned.
"When Selìna gave birth to their first and only daughter, they named her Alisea — She Who Commands the Winds.
"As you know, a name carries power.
"They believed that by naming her so, she would be protected. That she would command the currents rather than be consumed by them.
"They were wrong.
"At four years old, Alisea slipped away from her attendant and wandered beyond the palace. The first vortex she encountered devoured her. They never even found her body."
I pause.
"From that day forward, Selìna and Nèilos changed. Grief hollowed them out. What remained was hatred — for the sea that failed to save their daughter, and for life itself.
"They decided that since their world had been destroyed, so should everyone else's. No one would smile. No one would love. No one would be happy again.
"They declared war on the Oceanic Realm. They crushed it. Then they turned on the Angelic Colorates — their river sisters — and the Vorticant Sirens of the lakes.
"They failed. The Colorates were protected by the Gnomes. The Vorticants by us.
"In the end, the Abyssals negotiated. The Colorates and Vorticants agreed not to interfere in Abyssal affairs — nor aid the Oceanines. In exchange, the Abyssals swore they would never meddle in the lives of any other people. Above or below."
"So the pact is broken now," Dorcha says quietly.
"Yes," Aeltiàfisar answers, voice sharp. "And that means we can act."
He steps closer.
"Here is what will happen. Return to your body. Act normally. We will contact Adalberto and Fheall. Together, we will restore your strength.
"And once your power returns… you will find Aileen and Anam."
He doesn't hesitate.
"And you will kill Anam."
Dorcha recoils.
"What?! I can't! Aileen is a Siren now — she loves him! If I do that… she'll hate me for the rest of her life!"
I shake my head.
"Anam is not what he seems. Aileen cannot see it yet. But she will. In time."
"Go!" Aeltiàfisar snaps suddenly. "Someone is approaching your body! Move!"
I see it clearly—
A hand reaching down to seize him.