Epilogue
HAZEL - ONE YEAR LATER
Some mornings I wake in my airy cottage off the coast of Maine, watching the sun rise over the Atlantic, and I feel immensely grateful for this lovely life I get to live.
Others, I stare over the rocky, jutting cliffs, overcome with a haunting sense of dread and sadness, mourning for the girl who had to fight so hard just to survive.
The mind is a strange thing, and though I want to exist in a state of peace and bliss, those moments of pain and the memories of tragedy remind me how precious those feelings of joy truly are.
I wouldn’t say I am particularly grateful for the hardships I endured, but I believe they shaped me as a person, and I know I’m stronger because of it.
Draya and I have settled into our lives with each other with ease, and I cherish every moment we’re able to spend together.
By this point, we’ve ruled out the possibility of me forming a tail – and I am perfectly fine with it.
My Talassi form feels unique to who I am, a half-human half-sea-dweller who feels the pull from both sides at all times.
I love being human, and I love being Talassi, and more than any of it I love being a part of the Talassi community.
My biological father and I spend time together quite often, and my relationship with the Queen is far better than it was one year prior.
I have no interest in “claiming” my title as royalty, which they respect, though I’m happy to have a cordial and friendly relationship.
Draya and I often dine with them in the Queen’s residence, and Inaki visits my cottage often, always terrified that something went horribly wrong and needs to be fixed.
He and I will bear the scars of our suffering at the hands of Lord Emerson for the rest of our lives. In some twisted way, it brings me peace to know that I don’t have to carry that burden alone.
The Queen and Inaki never visit Draya’s cottage, though, and it has become our truest sanctuary.
I realized fairly quickly that I needed something to do with my time, so I proposed a job to the Queen, Prince Inaki, Commander Adri, and the rest of the Talassi Warriors.
Though Lord Emerson left me zero ownership of his empire, he did leave me with moderate knowledge of trade routes and maritime commerce.
I now work closely with the warriors and Captain Jogia to ensure the safety of Talassi outposts in the sea and wherever the Nayte Brigand spends their time.
It allows me to explore, to see parts of the world I never thought I’d be able to see with my own eyes, and to use my brain and body to help ensure the future and safety of those I’d come to love so deeply.
We’re working our way around each of the Talassi posts, securing their borders and making the surrounding areas a bit more unsafe for merchant ships, even steamships.
My hope is to one day infiltrate the surviving pieces of Lord Emerson’s legacy and dismantle it from within, but that’s a mission for another time.
On this particularly sunny morning, I’d woken to Draya sound asleep next to me in bed – a solid bed with a wooden frame and real mattress – followed by a leisurely walk to the beach where we spent most of the morning splashing around in low tide.
It was what I’d consider a perfect morning, and we spent the afternoon securing the cottage before heading back to the Talassian Capital.
With Draya’s hands around my body, cutting through the currents of the deep blue water, I felt in my heart that I was truly home.
The ghosts and demons I’d collected during the first twenty-five years of my life would never truly disappear.
They’d always linger at the edges of my mind and psyche, but there was a sense of peace that came from knowing they would no longer hurt me. I was free now.
For the first time, I had a future ahead of me, filled with endless possibilities.
If I wanted a family, I could have one. If I wanted to man a ship of my own and sail from New York to Whitethorn Bay, I’d find a way.
If I wanted to simply explore every corner of the world and make love to my Talassi warrior until we couldn’t speak another word, I could.
No matter where the currents brought us, the choices that lay ahead of me were completely my own, and I found peace in that promise.
Though sadness still found me from time to time, it never lingered the way it had before, like a storm cloud waiting to pour over me at any moment.
I’d learned in the past year that I have power over that storm, and that I can use it, or send it away when I please.
I’d become the version of myself that I was always meant to be, and I’d always be grateful to the call of the rushing waters for coaxing me into her arms.