Maren's POV - Between Life and Death
"You want me to convince Vaelen to die." I stared at Thessaly like she'd lost her mind. "With me. On purpose."
"Yes." Thessaly's expression didn't change. "It's the only way."
"That's insane!" I backed away from her, my feet splashing in the silver water. "I came here to SAVE him, not kill him!"
"You'll do both." One of the Drowned Gods stepped forward—a massive figure made of coral and starlight. When it spoke, its voice sounded like waves crashing. "The chains cannot be broken by force. They must be unmade through willing sacrifice."
"But why both of us?" I demanded. "Why can't I just—"
"Because the binding was created through betrayal and forced sacrifice," Thessaly interrupted. "To undo it requires the opposite—trust and willing sacrifice. Two souls choosing death together, freely, without coercion." Her eyes were sad. "I tried to break the chains alone. It didn't work. My death only made them stronger."
"So you're saying if Vaelen and I both die—"
"The chains dissolve. The trapped souls go free. Including your sister." Thessaly moved closer. "But it has to be a true choice. If either of you hesitates, if there's even a moment of doubt, the magic will fail."
I thought about Vaelen. About his two thousand years of torture. About how he'd finally started to trust again after I crashed into his life.
"He'll never agree," I said. "He's been fighting to stay alive for so long. Asking him to give up—"
"He'll agree if you ask him." Thessaly's voice was gentle. "Because he loves you."
"He doesn't love me. We barely know each other!"
"The bond doesn't lie, Maren. I can see it from here—that connection between you." She gestured, and suddenly I could see it too. A glowing thread stretching from my chest back toward the living world. Back toward Vaelen. It pulsed with emotion—his fear, his rage, his desperate need to find me.
"He's trying to reach you," Thessaly said. "Tearing apart the temple, fighting Morgassa and the guardians and the Drowned Gods all at once, just to get to where you fell. That's not the action of someone who doesn't care."
My throat tightened. "If I go back and tell him we have to die together, I'm asking him to give up his only chance at freedom."
"No. You're offering him true freedom. An end to suffering. Release." Thessaly's hand touched my shoulder. "And you're offering something he hasn't had in two thousand years—a choice. I never gave him that. I chained him and died before he could even understand what happened. But you—you can give him the truth and let him decide."
The silver water began to ripple. Reality was calling me back.
"I don't want to die," I admitted quietly. "I finally found something worth living for."
"I know." Thessaly smiled sadly. "That's what makes the sacrifice meaningful. Dying when you have nothing left is easy. Dying when you've found everything—that's courage."
"Will it hurt?"
"Yes." She wouldn't lie. "But only for a moment. Then you'll be free. Both of you."
The Drowned Gods moved closer, forming a circle around me. Their voices harmonized, speaking as one:
"If you choose this path, we will help. Our power will ensure the sacrifice works. The chains will break. And we—" Their voices softened. "We will finally rest."
"What happens to me and Vaelen after?" I had to know. "Do we just... disappear?"
Thessaly hesitated. "I don't know. No one's ever broken divine chains this way before. Maybe you disappear. Maybe you transform into something new. Maybe—" She paused. "Maybe you find the peace we all lost two thousand years ago."
The silver water surged up, wrapping around my legs, pulling me back.
"Wait!" I grabbed Thessaly's hand. "If I do this—if we do this—promise me something."
"What?"
"Make sure my sister knows I loved her. That everything I did was for her."
Thessaly squeezed my hand. "I promise. Now go. Vaelen needs you."
The water pulled me under, and the world between life and death dissolved.
I gasped back to consciousness in absolute chaos.
The temple was a war zone. Vaelen fought in his full serpent form, massive and terrifying, holding off three corrupted guardians at once. His chains burned white-hot, but he ignored the pain, searching frantically through the rubble.
"MAREN!" His roar shook the water. "WHERE ARE YOU?"
"Here," I croaked. "I'm here."
His huge head whipped toward me. Then he was shrinking, transforming, human again and gathering me in his arms.
"Don't ever do that again," he said fiercely. "Don't ever—" He stopped, really looking at me. "What happened? Where did you go?"
"The in-between place. I met Thessaly."
Vaelen went completely still. "What?"
"She's there. With the Drowned Gods. And they told me—" I swallowed hard. "They told me how to break your chains."
Hope flared in his eyes. "How? Tell me what to do."
This was it. The moment I had to ask him to die.
Before I could speak, Morgassa's voice cut through the chaos: "How touching. The serpent and his little pet reunited. Unfortunately—"
She appeared above us, floating, her seven corrupted guardians reforming behind her. The Drowned Gods had been pushed back, contained somehow by her dark magic.
"—I can't let you finish that conversation." Morgassa raised her hands, dark energy crackling. "Whatever the Drowned Gods told you, it doesn't matter. I've already won."
"You haven't won anything," Vaelen snarled, moving in front of me protectively.
"Haven't I?" Morgassa smiled. "Look around, serpent. Your temple is destroyed. The Drowned Gods are contained. My guardians have you surrounded. And most importantly—" Her smile widened. "—Marcus and Selene are currently at your palace, harvesting every trapped soul. Including the captain's precious sister."
My blood turned to ice. "Lira."
"By the time you fight your way back there, she'll be gone. Consumed. Her essence will fuel the chains for another thousand years." Morgassa tilted her head. "Unless you surrender now. Give yourself up, and I'll let the girl live."
"Don't listen to her," I said quickly. "She's lying. She'll kill Lira anyway."
"Oh, I will definitely kill her." Morgassa laughed. "But I'll do it quickly if the serpent cooperates. Otherwise, I'll make it last weeks. Months. She'll beg for death long before I grant it."
Vaelen's entire body shook with rage. "You're a monster."
"I'm efficient." Morgassa's expression turned serious. "Last chance, serpent. Surrender, or the girl suffers."
I could feel Vaelen's struggle through our bond. He wanted to fight, to rage, to destroy everything. But he was also remembering Thessaly. Remembering how the Guild used innocent lives to force impossible choices.
"There's another way," I whispered, so only he could hear. "Thessaly told me. But you won't like it."
"Tell me."
"Not here. Not now." I gripped his hand tight. "First we need to save Lira. Then—" I met his eyes. "Then I'll tell you how to be free. Truly free. Forever."
Something in my tone made him pause. Made him search my face.
"Maren, what did Thessaly tell you?"
"Later. I promise." I turned to face Morgassa. "We surrender."
"WHAT?" Vaelen stared at me. "Have you lost your mind?"
"Trust me," I said quietly. "Please. Just this once, trust me completely."
Through the bond, I pushed everything I was feeling—love, determination, grief, hope. Let him feel what I was planning without saying the words aloud.
His eyes widened as understanding hit. "No. Maren, no. You can't be serious."
"Do we have a deal or not?" I called to Morgassa, ignoring Vaelen's protest.
Morgassa studied us suspiciously. "What are you planning?"
"Nothing. We're just tired of fighting." I held up my hands in surrender. "Take us. Do whatever you want. Just let Lira go."
"Maren, don't—" Vaelen grabbed my arm.
"It's okay," I said, looking at him with everything I felt. Everything I couldn't say out loud. "We're going to be okay. I promise."
The corrupted guardians surged forward, wrapping around us, binding us in their coils. Morgassa descended, her black eyes gleaming with triumph.
"Finally," she breathed. "The serpent chained again. And this time, there'll be no little captain to set him free."
She reached for me, fingers crackling with dark magic—
And I smiled.
"You're right," I said. "There won't be."
Because I wasn't going to set him free.
We were going to free ourselves.
Together.
In the only way that mattered.
I caught Vaelen's eyes one last time, and through our bond, I showed him everything Thessaly had revealed. The truth. The choice. The sacrifice.
His face went through a dozen emotions—shock, horror, understanding, and finally, impossibly, acceptance.
"You're insane," he whispered.
"I know." I smiled through my tears. "But do you trust me?"
Morgassa's magic closed around us, preparing to rip us apart.
Vaelen's hand found mine in the darkness.
"Yes," he said. "I trust you."
And in that moment, I knew we'd already won.
Morgassa just didn't know it yet.