"Mine."
Azrael's voice rolled across the house like thunder.
I stood completely still.
The fake Nathaniel was smiling.
Angela was crying.
Darius looked terrified.
And Shawshank…
Shawshank was staring at the ocean as though he already knew what was coming.
I turned toward my mother.
"Mom, what does he mean?"
Angela shook her head.
"He's lying."
"Then tell me the truth!"
She opened her mouth, but no words came.
I stepped closer.
"Whose daughter am I?"
A huge wave crashed against the shore.
Then Azrael appeared beyond the broken windows.
His golden eyes glowed in the darkness.
"You are mine by blood," he said.
I stared at him.
"But Angela raised me."
"Yes."
"Then who gave birth to me?"
Azrael remained silent.
That silence frightened me more than his answer could have.
Finally, Angela whispered,
"Your birth mother was from the sea."
I felt my knees weaken.
"Who?"
She looked toward Azrael.
"Her name was Marina."
The name echoed through my mind.
"Who was she?"
Azrael's expression changed.
"She was the queen before the queen."
I stared at him.
"Then what happened to her?"
"She died giving birth to you."
My eyes filled with tears.
"And Angela?"
Azrael looked at my mother.
"Angela was her closest friend."
Angela nodded through her tears.
"When Marina died, I promised her I'd protect you."
I shook my head.
"So I'm not your daughter?"
Angela rushed toward me.
"You are my daughter."
"But not by blood."
"Blood isn't what makes a mother."
Her words broke something inside me.
I hugged her.
For a moment, everything else disappeared.
She held me tightly.
"I chose you," she whispered. "Every single day."
I cried against her shoulder.
Then Shawshank gently touched my arm.
I looked at him.
His eyes were full of sadness.
"What about you?" I whispered.
"What about me?"
"Are you really Azrael's son?"
He looked toward his father.
"Yes."
Azrael smiled.
"And that makes you and Shawshank…"
I couldn't finish.
Shawshank immediately shook his head.
"Don't."
Azrael's smile widened.
"You know what that means."
I looked at Shawshank.
He took my hand.
"Whatever our blood says, I choose you."
Azrael's expression darkened.
"You cannot choose what you were born into."
Shawshank stepped forward.
"I can choose who I become."
Azrael's eyes flashed.
"You are my son."
"And I am not your weapon."
The sea suddenly rose.
Darius shouted,
"Everyone move!"
A giant wave crashed toward the house.
Shawshank pulled me against him.
The water surrounded us.
I closed my eyes.
Then something strange happened.
The water stopped.
Completely.
I opened my eyes.
The wave was frozen in the air.
Everyone stared.
I looked at my hands.
Golden light surrounded my fingers.
"Bjei…"
Shawshank looked amazed.
"I did that?"
Darius nodded.
"The power has awakened."
The fake Nathaniel suddenly laughed.
"Finally."
I turned toward him.
"What do you want?"
"To watch you become what you were born to be."
"I don't want to become anything."
He smiled.
"You don't get to decide."
The golden light around me grew brighter.
The fake Nathaniel stepped backward.
"No…"
For the first time, he looked afraid.
"What are you?"
I didn't know.
But somewhere deep inside me, I heard a woman's voice.
Soft.
Beautiful.
Familiar.
"My child…"
I closed my eyes.
And suddenly, I saw her.
A beautiful woman with long silver hair.
She was standing beneath the sea, surrounded by glowing flowers.
She looked exactly like me.
"Marina," I whispered.
She smiled.
"I've been waiting for you."
"Are you my mother?"
"Yes."
Tears filled my eyes.
"Why did you leave me?"
"I didn't."
"Then why am I here?"
"Because your story is only beginning."
The vision began fading.
"Wait!"
She reached toward me.
"Remember one thing."
"What?"
"Never trust the person who claims to know your destiny."
The vision disappeared.
I opened my eyes.
Everyone was staring at me.
Shawshank stepped closer.
"What did you see?"
"My mother."
Azrael's expression changed.
"What did she tell you?"
I looked directly at him.
"She said not to trust anyone who claims to know my destiny."
His face became unreadable.
The fake Nathaniel suddenly screamed.
The golden light exploded from my body.
He was thrown through the broken window and into the sea.
Everyone stared in shock.
Darius whispered,
"She has chosen."
I looked at him.
"Chosen what?"
He looked toward the ocean.
"The side she will fight for."
I looked at Angela.
Then Shawshank.
Then the dark sea.
I didn't know what side I was on.
But I knew one thing.
I wasn't going to let anyone decide my future for me.
Suddenly, something appeared on my wrist.
A new golden symbol.
Shawshank stared at it.
"What is that?"
Darius's face went pale.
"It means the gate has chosen its keeper."
I looked toward the ocean.
Far beneath the waves, something began pounding against