The moment the king arrived, the fighting died.
Not because anyone told us to stop—because something in the water forced it.
Like the sea itself had taken a sharp breath.
He entered slowly. Too calm. Like he already knew how this would end.
I drifted a few lengths behind Hope, close enough to reach her if I had to, far enough to know I couldn't interfere. Every trained instinct in me screamed wrong. This wasn't a normal fight. This was… ceremonial. Dangerous in a way I couldn't name.
His eyes locked onto her.
"You," he said, voice cutting through the chamber. "You killed my assistant."
Hope didn't move. Didn't blink.
"She was the one who helped me hold this kingdom together," he continued, circling her. "Who steadied my power. Controlled the sea when it resisted."
I felt it then—the way the water tightened around us. The pressure. The threat.
"I've heard things," the king went on lightly. "That you are an Aurelith. Orlyleth. However you say it. And that you met your mothers."
A pause. A smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Unfortunate timing."
My jaw clenched.
"So Seraphina was your spy," Hope said.
The king chuckled. "Elowen's daughter. Smart. Quiet. You all thought she was harmless."
I saw Hope shift her grip on her sword.
Then he attacked.
No warning. No buildup.
Light exploded from his hands—sharp, concentrated beams that sliced through the water like blades. Hope moved instantly, steel flashing as her sword caught the energy, sparks bursting where magic met metal.
She deflected. Once. Twice.
Then he pressed harder.
Beam after beam forced her back, driving her lower, her movements tightening as the water resisted her. I tried to move—tried to step in—but something held me in place. The sea. Watching. Choosing.
"Impossible," the king muttered, adjusting his stance. "You should already be broken."
Hope ducked, rolled, barely deflecting a strike that scorched the stone behind her. I could see it now—she was losing ground. Her arms shook. Her movements slowed.
All around us, everyone had stopped fighting. No blades. No magic. Just a wide circle forming, all eyes locked on the center.
On her.
The king gathered power again, brighter this time, heavier. The beam hit her sword and pushed. She bent lower, lower, bracing, teeth clenched, tail digging into the current to stay upright.
And then—
The sea moved.
Not like a wave. Like a hand.
Hope vanished.
Not gone—shifted. The water folded around her, dragged her sideways, snapping her out of the beam's path. The king's attack missed, slamming into a pillar instead.
Hope reappeared mid-current, eyes wide—not scared, just confused.
And then the power hit.
It burst out of her like a shockwave. The water screamed. Everyone—me included—was thrown back, spinning, crashing into walls or each other. The king stumbled, arms flaring as he tried to regain control.
Hope rose in the center of it all, glowing faintly—gold and turquoise streaking through the water like living light.
She didn't look angry.
She looked chosen.
The king lunged, desperate now. Hope moved on instinct. Her sword flashed once—
And it was over.
He fell.
The water stilled.
Silence rushed back in, thick and stunned. I pushed myself upright, heart pounding, staring at the space where the king had been.
Gone.
I swam to Hope, stopping just short of touching her, like she might still explode or vanish again.
"You," I said finally, breath uneven, "just rewrote the rules."
She looked at her hands, then at the quiet sea around us.
"I didn't mean to," she said. "But… I don't regret it."
For the first time since this all began, the sea felt lighter.
And somehow, I knew—
This wasn't the end of the war.
It was the beginning of her reign.