Chapter 40
HAZEL
Floating in that opulent underwater chamber, it felt as if my heart and soul had been ripped from my body, put through a cyclone, and then placed back inside my broken, unmoving corpse.
I’d never felt sorrow in this way before, and I didn’t know what to do with it.
Would this heavy weight upon my shoulders last forever?
Prince Inaki, my biological father, stared at me with eyes so eerily similar to mine, and I recognized the pain and suffering behind them.
He’d been put through horrific tortures at the hands of Lord Emerson, much of which happened on Akala Island.
In a way, our lives had been so similar, so tragic, and the thought alone threatened to break me.
“I’m so sorry, Hazel,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I…”
“No,” I said, shaking my head and moving closer, once again placing my palm in his hand.
“You don’t owe me an apology. You were just as much a victim as I was, and so was my mother.
My fath– Lord Emerson was an abomination to humanity, and he hurt far more people than us.
In truth, I don’t know what to do next.”
“Neither do I,” he said, shaking his head and rubbing his free hand over his face. “But no matter what, we have to heal. I don’t know the specifics of your situation, and I apologize for how brash my mother may have been, but I do hope you choose to stay with us for some time.”
“I am,” I said, nodding. “Never before have I felt like I belonged anywhere, and though my transition into the world of the Talassi hasn’t been easy, I’ve never felt more like myself.
So I’ll stay, for now, with the exception that Draya will take me to the surface sometimes for sunlight and fresh air. ”
“He can do more than that should you choose, as can I,” Inaki said, raising a brow. “We can build you a cottage close to the water, if you’d like.”
“Please!” I exclaimed, overjoyed at the mere thought of a cottage all to myself. The dream I’d had since childhood of living quietly in a small seaside home overlooking the water was a possibility! “Draya said he can give me a dry room in his home as well.”
“You know, you can live in the Royal House,” Inaki replied, trying to hide an inquisitive smile.
“I don’t know if I want to,” I said, my mood falling once again. “I have a lot to… sort through.”
I couldn’t pinpoint why the idea of living in the Royal House made me uncomfortable, but it was something I wasn’t ready for.
Maybe it felt too similar to living in my father’s estate, as he had been the equivalent of royalty in Whitethorn Bay, or maybe I wanted the freedom to finally be my own person.
“I don’t think I am meant for… royalty…” I ventured, remembering that Draya had mentioned the Talassi were a matriarchal society. Anxiety rose in my chest as I thought of the possibility of me being a Royal Heir. I didn’t want that in the slightest.
“You don’t have to be,” Inaki said gently. “Our ruling houses aren’t determined by blood, they’re determined by magic and a vote. If you’re not interested in the politics of our people, you don’t have to be.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, relief washing over me. “I don’t know what I want, if I’m being honest.”
He paused for a moment, his gaze never leaving mine. “It’s going to take time. For all of us.”
“I-” the words felt stuck in my throat. “I’m sorry I never… explored further.”
“What?”
“I spent two years on that island, two years–”
“No,” Inaki cut me off. “Don’t you dare apologize. I know what they do to the patients in that place. You were quite preoccupied.”
“But I could have done more!” I cried, my eyes stinging with tears once again. “I found ways to spend time alone at the beach, I could have found you had I followed my instincts.”
“You did that anyway! You still found me using your instincts, but with the help of the Talassi. Alone, you wouldn’t have been able to do anything.”
“I suppose you’re right,” I said, flashbacks of that horrible room with the tanks flickering in my mind, soon changing to images of the hydrotherapy chambers. “They treated me horribly, you know.”
“I can only imagine.”
“They gave me shock therapy, hydrotherapy, but I never succumbed. For two years, I’d never drown. I know now that it’s due to my Talassi blood, but at the time I had no idea. I tried to die in that place, over and over and over again, but I couldn’t.”
Inaki’s expression fell, pain creeping over his features as he took in the weight of my story. The next words that left his mouth were slow and deliberate, a vow for the both of us to take together.
“No one will ever hurt you, or me, for that matter, ever again,” he started, vengeance laced throughout every syllable. “We’re no longer prisoners to that wretched place, and we’ll build our new lives here together. I can promise you that.”
I nodded, looking down at our joined hands, desperately willing myself to believe what he said.
In the end, staying here was what I wanted.
I longed to be somewhere that felt like home, and being in the presence of the Talassi was the closest I believed I’d ever get.
Although their lifestyle was unfamiliar to me in a practical sense, I knew in my soul that I belonged to the sea.
“Tell me about your life,” he said, squeezing my hand and distracting me from my thoughts. “I… I wasn’t there, but I want to know.”
“In truth, it wasn’t extraordinary,” I said, sadness swelling in my heart. “Lord Emerson made it clear he wasn’t fond of me, although in hindsight I suspect he was aware of my… conception.”
“Apologies,” Inaki coughed, a blush creeping up his neck.
“All is forgiven,” I couldn’t help but slightly grin.
“My mother was the light of my life. She was my best friend, my only supporter. She made sure I received an education and lived an active lifestyle, taking me everywhere we were permitted within Whitethorn Bay. As a child she read me books, stories of people living much more interesting lives than us, and on holidays and birthdays she’d shower me with gifts. When she died, it broke me.”
Inaki’s eyes welled with silvery tears again, and I had to stop speaking.
He knew my pain, felt it himself, and in a strange way I found comfort in knowing that someone else understood the agony I felt from losing her.
Her absence would forever leave a hole in both of our hearts, though finding each other felt like the first step towards healing that wound.
Inaki was understanding, though full of his own sorrow.
We could never change the past, only the future, and it would take a long time for both of us to recover from Lord Emerson and everything he’d done.
After some time, Cordelia barged into the room and promptly kicked me out, saying she needed to “get back to work” on the Prince.
Though my heart was heavy as I exited the room, I was glad I finally had the answers I felt I’d been searching for my entire life.
I’d never felt like Lord Emerson wanted me because he never did.
In a way, it was comforting to know he had never been my blood relative.
Draya pulled me into an embrace as soon as I floated into the hallway, peppering my face and neck with featherlight kisses and caressing my back with his elongated nails. I melted into him, reveling in the safety I felt with his arms around me.
“Take me home?” I asked, staring up into his emerald green eyes.
“Home?” he asked, furrowing his brow.
“To your home,” I said. “I want to take you up on your offer of adding a dry room. And I’d like to request a quaint cottage above the surface, as well. Inaki said that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Oh did he, now?” Draya asked, smirking. “Of course. Though, I fear I haven’t been completely honest with you.”
“What?” I exclaimed, trying to push away.
“It’s not a bad thing,” he said pointedly. “But your dry room is already built.”
“What?!” I exclaimed again, louder this time.
“The first time we kissed,” he said, pausing to take in my expression.
“When I ran from you like a frightened child, something inside me changed. I knew I’d never be able to let you go.
So I went home, and I moved the water and the rocks around in my cottage, then used magic to drain the room.
I’ve been stocking it with things you like, such as that rope-netting style bed and quilts, and lots of fresh water pods. ”
“Draya,” I said, my eyes welling with tears for what felt like the hundredth time in twenty-four hours. “Thank you! Thank you, thank you thank you!” I cried into his arms, my heart overflowing with love and devotion. He’d built a room in his home for me. Solely for me!
He wrapped his arms around me and swam us out of the dark caverns, through the ominous city to an area of small, domed structures, separated by pathways marked by stones on the ground.
It was nighttime, so I couldn’t see very well, but I could tell the structures were made with the same volcanic rock as the rest of the city.
“There are different pockets of residences,” Draya explained. “Some Talassi prefer larger homes, located inside the walls of the volcano, but I prefer living here in my cottage.”
“I’ve always wanted to live in something like that,” I said, though I had a feeling that my definition of a cottage differed from what I’d find in Draya’s home.
His house was simple, constructed of volcanic rock, stalagmites and stalactites.
A now familiar pale blue light illuminated the domed structure, split into what appeared to be three rooms. I realized I had no idea what Draya used as a bed or furniture, or which rooms he used for what, but I supposed I would learn in time.
He pushed aside a slab of stone, revealing a much brighter room, and I stepped through the threshold in wonder, immediately greeted by dry air.
Before me was a bed twice as large as the one in my old chambers, covered in linens and soft pillows.
A dresser sat off to the side, along with another small table, and the ceiling was laced with so much pale blue stone I almost felt as if I was above the surface.
The room was so light and beautiful, and I absolutely loved it!
“Thank you, Draya!” I exclaimed, turning to find him in his human form behind me. I threw my arms around him, peppering his cheeks and jaw with kisses and running my hands over the planes of his body.
“I meant it when I said I loved you,” he said, cupping my face. “I cannot imagine a life without you in it, and I promise to keep you safe and happy as long as we both breathe air and water.”
“I love you, too!” I exclaimed, dragging his face towards mine for a long, desperate kiss. “I have a lot of adjusting to do, but I want nothing more than to do it by your side. Thank you.”
He tightened his grip around my waist and threw me atop the bed, ravishing me until I was sure I wouldn’t be able to walk anymore. To which he pointed out that it wouldn’t matter, because we are underwater and we can swim everywhere.
Oddly enough, I found that there were parts of human life above the surface that I missed.
Learning you’re an entirely different species than you originally thought is…
jarring to say the least. But I wouldn’t trade the situation I’d ended up in for the world.
I knew I belonged to the water, for I was a child of the sea.
And I knew Draya was my soul mate, if such a thing even existed for Talassi, and this city was my home.
Although there was still work to be done, I felt free, strong, and comfortable with these beautiful creatures.
And for the first time in my life, I felt something like hope.
I knew my future would be better than my past, and the work didn’t scare me anymore.
I was grateful for the years I’d be able to spend in the waters, and I looked forward to the life I’d create with Draya and the rest of the Talassi.