Siren should have been focused on Kael's revelation. The truth of his origins, the whispers of the elders, the fact that he was found and not born—these were things that should have shaken him to his core.
But instead, he felt only one thing.
An emptiness.
He had always known he was different, but now that feeling had a name. He didn't belong to the sea kingdom. He never had.
The ocean had obeyed him that night, but what if it always had? What if he had been searching for a home that was never truly his?
Kael's words echoed in his mind.
"You came from the depths—far deeper than any of us have ever gone. A place lost even to legend."
The depths.
A shiver ran through Siren's spine. No merman dared to swim there. It was a place of ruin and darkness, where the ocean swallowed all light.
And yet…
Somewhere deep inside, it called to him.
He clenched his fists. He didn't want this. He didn't want to be different.
He wanted something simple.
Something human.
His thoughts drifted to her.
The girl from the shore. The one who shouldn't have mattered, but did. The one whose voice lingered in his mind like an unanswered question.
Siren exhaled sharply, his glowing blue eyes narrowing.
He needed answers.
And the only way to find them… was to go deeper.