Chapter Three
Night fell like a velvet curtain over the Sapphire Expanse, and the ocean seemed to hold its breath. Aurelya stood at the prow of her coral ship, the sea reflecting a fractured moon. Every wave carried whispers, faint and sinister-the voice of the Skull of Erythros, calling from the depths.
Kaelthar circled above, wings tucked, eyes scanning for movement. "The warlord hides, queen. He is clever... too clever. But cleverness is no match for the tide itself."
Aurelya's fingers tightened around her trident. "He does not fear me. He fears what lies beneath," she said. Her gaze swept the dark waters, knowing instinctively that the serpentine creature from the morning battle had vanished-but not without leaving a mark.
From the darkness, a ripple moved against the wind, subtle but deliberate. The water pulsed unnaturally, cold and intelligent. Aurelya raised her trident, summoning the Tide of Echoes once more. The wave of magic flowed through the ocean like a heartbeat, probing the depths.
Then it appeared: a shadow larger than any ship, moving faster than the eye could track, glinting with teeth that shimmered like polished obsidian. The ancient serpent, awakened by the whispers of the Skull, rose from the abyss, circling the ship with an intelligence that spoke of forgotten eons.
Kaelthar growled, claws digging into the deck. "It is not your ally. Queen, it obeys only the call of the Skull."
Aurelya steadied herself. "Then we must remind it who commands the ocean." Raising her trident high, she plunged it into the waves. A surge of azure energy erupted, surrounding the serpent. Its massive head recoiled, but then, slowly, it bowed, acknowledging her command-or perhaps testing her strength.
Suddenly, a voice hissed from the shadows-Thrynn. He had returned, appearing on the deck of a phantom ship made of smoke and shadow. "So predictable, goddess," he taunted. "You bind creatures to you as if loyalty could be commanded. But the Skull... the Skull chooses. And it has chosen me!"
Aurelya's eyes narrowed. "The Skull chooses no one. It whispers, it tempts, it corrupts... and it devours those who follow blindly."
The serpent lunged toward Thrynn's phantom vessel, snapping its jaws, and for a moment, the warlord faltered. But then the Skull's whispers seemed to flow through him, igniting a dark power. Flames of shadow erupted from his staff, sending waves of fire across the water. The ocean hissed as water and flame collided.
Kaelthar roared, and with a flap of wings that churned the storm above, he struck Thrynn's ship, shattering part of the deck. Yet the warlord smiled, eyes burning, as if he had expected this. "Do you see, goddess? Even your dragon bows to my will when the Skull calls."
Aurelya felt the first prick of doubt in centuries. She had commanded oceans, dragons, storms... but never a relic as old and cunning as the Skull. Its whispers curled around her mind, promising knowledge, power... and revealing secrets she had buried long ago.
The battle became a maelstrom of shadow, fire, and water. Ships splintered, waves rose higher than mountains, and the serpent's massive coils twisted through the storm, striking both friend and foe. Aurelya realized then that Thrynn's plan was more devious than she could have imagined. He wasn't just after the Skull-he intended to awaken the ancient powers beneath the ocean, creatures older than kingdoms, and turn the seas against their queen.
And just as the moon broke through the clouds, illuminating the chaos in silver light, the shadow beneath Aurelya's ship moved again. Closer. Faster. Smarter. She barely had time to raise her trident before the waters exploded upward, revealing... not the serpent, but a massive, skeletal figure, scales glinting like bone, eyes burning with unholy fire.
Kaelthar froze mid-roar. Aurelya's heart skipped. This was no creature of the ocean she knew. This was something older... something the Skull had whispered about, but she had hoped never to see.
The skeletal leviathan towered above the ship, jaws opening, and from its throat came a sound that was not a roar-but a whisper. Her name.
Aurelya's grip tightened on her trident, the storm around her bending to her will-but deep in her mind, the Skull's voice spoke again: "Choose, Ocean Queen... or be consumed."