POV: Sera
The whisper followed her all the way back to her room.
The answers are below… in the deep places…
It echoed in her head, mixing with the memory of Lila's laughter, her smile, the way she'd tilt her head when she was telling a secret. Was it real? Was Lila really trying to talk to her from… wherever she was? Or was Sera's grief and fear making her hear things?
She didn't know. And she couldn't ask anyone. Captain Theron already thought she was trouble. The King thought she was a puzzle piece in a war. If she started talking about hearing her dead sister's voice, they'd lock her up for sure.
Back in her room, the door locked behind her again, Sera paced. She couldn't sit still. Her mind was racing too fast.
The Deep Sovereign. A war. Garrett's green eyes. The wave. Lila's voice.
It was all connected. She could feel it, like different currents in the same ocean, all flowing toward one terrible place.
And she was stuck in this pretty room, with guards at her door, while the answers were below.
Below where? Below the palace? In the cliffs? Under the ocean?
She went to the window and looked down. The palace was built on the edge of a cliff. Far below, the ocean crashed against black rocks, throwing up white spray. The water was dark and restless tonight, even though the unnatural wave was gone.
Could Lila be down there? In the water?
No. That didn't make sense. Lila was gone. Her body was buried in the village cemetery. Sera had visited the grave just yesterday, leaving a moonflower on the stone.
But what if… what if part of her wasn't gone? What if her spirit was stuck? Trapped?
Sera rubbed her arms, suddenly cold. She wasn't a priestess. She didn't know about spirits and ghosts. She was a scientist. She studied fish and coral and water currents. This was all magic, and magic had never done anything but disappoint her.
A soft knock at the door made her jump.
"Come in," she called, her voice shaky.
It was Maris again. The High Priestess carried a bundle of blue fabric.
"I brought you a change of clothes," Maris said, setting the bundle on the bed. "Something more comfortable. And I thought you might like someone to talk to."
Sera didn't know what to say. She was grateful, but she was also suspicious. Why was this powerful priestess being so kind to her? Did she want something?
"Thank you," Sera said carefully.
Maris smiled, as if she could hear Sera's unspoken questions. "It's all right to be wary, child. You've been betrayed by someone who should have protected you. It's hard to trust after that."
Sera looked down at her hands. "I just want to understand what's happening."
"So do I," Maris said quietly. She walked to the fireplace and stirred the coals with a poker. "For three hundred years, I've watched my friend the king live in a prison of his own mind. I've watched the Deep Sovereign's poison slowly seep into our waters. And I've watched brave wolves like your sister disappear, with no answers."
She turned to face Sera, her eyes serious. "You are different, Sera. You're not just running from something. You ran to something. To the throne. To the law. To a king who hasn't cared about anything in centuries. And you made him care. Even if just for a second."
"He didn't care," Sera said, shaking her head. "He was just… curious. Like I was a strange bug."
"Curiosity is a feeling," Maris said. "It's a start. After three hundred years of nothing, a start is a miracle." She came and sat in the chair by the bed. "Now, tell me. What did you hear in the hallway?"
Sera's breath caught. "How did you"
"I am the High Priestess of the Moon Temple," Maris said gently. "I sense things. And tonight, I felt a… disturbance. A spirit trying to speak. Was it your sister?"
Tears filled Sera's eyes. She nodded, not trusting her voice.
"What did she say?"
"She said… 'the answers are below. In the deep places.'" Sera wiped her eyes. "Am I going crazy?"
"No," Maris said firmly. "You're a Tidecaller. You're connected to the water in ways even you don't fully understand. And your sister was a Tidecaller too. If her spirit is trapped, it would be trapped in the water. Or in a place connected to it."
"Where?" Sera begged. "Where do I look?"
Maris was quiet for a long time, thinking. "The palace is old," she said finally. "Older than the kingdom. It was built over ancient sea caves. Some say they connect to the ocean deep below. The old kings used them for… private things. Rituals. Secrets."
Sea caves. Below the palace.
"Can I go there?" Sera asked.
"It's forbidden," Maris said. "And dangerous. The caves are unstable. And if the Deep Sovereign's magic is seeping in, they could be corrupted." She stood up. "But… the King has ordered an investigation. He wants the truth about your sister's death. And sometimes, the truth is in forbidden places."
She walked to the door, then looked back. "Get some rest, Sera. Tomorrow is the first day of your sanctuary. And the first day of the investigation. Be ready."
After Maris left, Sera changed into the soft blue dress she'd brought. It was simple and comfortable, much better than her torn festival dress. She lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
The answers are below.
She had to find those caves. She had to see if Lila was really there, trying to tell her something.
But how? The door was locked. There were guards outside.
She looked around the room. The window? It was a sheer drop to the rocks and ocean below. No.
The fireplace? It was big, but the chimney would be too narrow.
Her eyes landed on the grate in the floor a heating vent, maybe. It was small, but she was small too. And desperate.
She got out of bed and knelt by the grate. It was made of iron, set into the stone floor. She tried to lift it, but it was heavy, fastened down with screws.
Sera bit her lip, thinking. Then she remembered the hairpin holding her braid together. She pulled it out, straightened it, and used the point to work at the screws. They were old and rusty. One turned. Then another.
It took forever. Her fingers ached. But finally, all four screws were loose. She lifted the grate and set it aside.
Below was darkness. A narrow stone shaft, just wide enough for her shoulders, dropping down into the heart of the palace.
It smelled of damp stone and old dust. And something else… a faint, salty smell of the sea.
This was it. This was her way down.
She took a deep breath, swung her legs into the hole, and lowered herself into the darkness.
The shaft was tight and cold. She had to press her back against one wall and her feet against the other to shimmy down. It was slow going. Dust filled her nose. Cobwebs brushed her face.
Down and down she went. Past other grates, other rooms. She heard voices sometimes guards talking, servants moving about. She froze each time, her heart pounding, until they passed.
She didn't know how far she'd gone when the shaft ended in a small, dusty chamber. It looked like a forgotten storage room. Crates were stacked against the walls, covered in sheets.
And on the far wall was a door. An old, wooden door, half-rotted, with an iron handle.
Sera crept toward it. The handle was cold and rough with rust. She pulled.
The door didn't budge. Locked.
But next to the door, partly hidden behind a crate, was a hole in the wall. A crack in the stone, just big enough to crawl through.
From beyond the crack, she could hear it the sound of water. Not the crash of waves, but the gentle, echoing drip of water in a cave.
And a voice. Faint. Familiar.
Sera… you're close…
Lila.
Sera didn't hesitate. She dropped to her hands and knees and crawled through the crack.
The stone scraped her shoulders. It was dark, so dark she couldn't see her own hands. She kept crawling, following the sound of the water and the voice.
The tunnel opened up suddenly. She could stand. The air was cold and damp here, smelling strongly of salt and seaweed. Pale blue light glowed from somewhere ahead moonlight, maybe, filtering through a crack in the cliff.
She was in a cave. A sea cave. The floor was smooth stone, worn by water. Pools of seawater glittered in the faint light. Stalactites hung from the ceiling like stone teeth.
And in the center of the cave, by the largest pool, stood a figure.
A figure made of shimmering, silver light.
Sera's breath caught in her throat.
"Lila?" she whispered.
The figure turned. It was her sister. But not as she'd been in life. She was transparent, glowing, like a reflection on water. Her smile was the same, though. Warm and a little sad.
"Hi, Sera," Lila's voice said, echoing softly in the cave. "I knew you'd find me."
Tears streamed down Sera's face. "You're… you're really here."
"Not all of me," Lila said. "Just… what's left. The part that couldn't move on." She looked down at her glowing hands. "I died during the Moonfall Festival. My magic got tangled up with the festival magic. It bound me here. To this place. To the palace."
"Why?" Sera asked, stepping closer. "Why here?"
"Because this is where it started," Lila said. Her expression turned serious. "Sera, listen. What happened to me wasn't an accident. Garrett was working for someone. Someone from the deep. They needed Tidecaller magic to break the old barriers. The barriers that keep the Deep Sovereign's monsters locked away."
Sera nodded, her throat tight. "The King told me."
"The King doesn't know everything," Lila said. "He doesn't remember. The curse… it didn't just take his feelings. It took his memories too. Of her. Of what really happened."
"Of who?" Sera asked.
"Thessaly," Lila said. "The woman he loved. The daughter of the Deep Sovereign. She didn't just curse him, Sera. She left something behind. A key. Hidden here, in these caves. A key that can unlock the deepest part of the ocean. That's what Garrett was really after. That's why he needed us. Tidecaller magic to use the key."
Sera's mind was reeling. A key? Hidden in the caves?
"Where is it?" she asked.
"I don't know," Lila said, her form flickering. "I've been searching. But I can only be here during the Moonfall Festival. The magic that binds me is tied to the moon. When the festival ends, I fade away until next year." She looked desperate. "We have thirty days, Sera. Thirty days to find the key before Garrett does. Before the Deep Sovereign uses it to flood the kingdom."
"But the King"
"The King can't help," Lila said. "Not yet. His curse is tied to the key. To break his curse, you have to find the key. But if Garrett finds it first…"
She didn't have to finish. Sera understood.
"What do I do?" Sera asked.
"Look for the heart of the cave," Lila said, her voice getting fainter. "Where the water is still, but the magic is strong. Follow the feeling. You're a Tidecaller. You'll know." She flickered again, like a candle in the wind. "I have to go. The moon is setting. I'm sorry, Sera. I'm so sorry I left you."
"Don't go," Sera begged, reaching for her. But her hands passed through the shimmering light.
"Find the key," Lila whispered. "Save the king. Save everyone."
And then she was gone. The cave was dark again, except for the moonlight on the water.
Sera stood alone, shaking. She had thirty days. Not just for justice. For a key. For a curse. For a war.
And she was the only one who knew.
A sound behind her made her spin around.
A figure stood in the entrance to the cave, blocking her way out.
Not a ghost. A living person.
Captain Theron.
His face was hard, his hand on his sword.
"I knew you were trouble," he said, his voice cold. "Sneaking out of your room. Meeting with spirits in secret caves." He drew his sword. The metal glinted in the moonlight. "The King will want to hear about this. And I don't think he'll be happy."
Sera's heart hammered against her ribs. Theron stepped toward her, his sword pointed at her chest. She was trapped. The cave had only one exit, and he was blocking it. Behind her was the dark pool of water, and beyond that, nothing but solid rock. She had nowhere to run. Theron's eyes narrowed. "Did your ghost sister tell you any secrets?" he asked, his voice dangerously low. "Secrets about the King? About the Deep?" Sera backed up until her heels touched the edge of the cold pool. The water soaked through her shoes. She had one chance. One desperate, crazy chance. She looked past Theron, into the shadows behind him, and let her eyes go wide with fear. "Lila!" she gasped. "Behind you!" Theron instinctively turned, his sword swinging toward the empty darkness. It was all Sera needed. She didn't run for the exit. She turned and dove straight into the black, freezing pool, disappearing beneath the dark water.