Come to me

it started with the sea.

Ren woke in the middle of the night, Lyra asleep against his chest, and tasted salt on his lips. A strange, sweet salt — like the ocean reaching for him across worlds.

He pushed up on one elbow, scanning the dark room. Faint moonlight spilled through the open windows, catching on Lyra's hair where it lay across his stomach.

A gentle sound came next. Not the usual rustle of spirit leaves or the soft drip of palace fountains. This was a sigh, low and liquid, curling around his head.

"Come to me…"

Lyra stirred, her arm tightening around his waist. "What is it?"

"I… don't know," he admitted. "The sea. It's calling."

Lyra's eyes snapped open. Power flashed there, silver and sharp. "The Pearl Courts. I should've known they'd be next."

She sat up fully, hair falling over her bare shoulders. "They're famous for it. Sending their whispers first. Slipping inside your thoughts so you think it was your own idea to go to them."

Ren frowned. "It doesn't feel like my idea. Feels like something pushing me."

Lyra stood, tying her robe loosely around her waist. Even worried, she was breathtaking — bare legs peeking through the slit, mouth still swollen from hours ago.

"Then we'll push back," she said. "Together."

By morning, the message arrived in physical form.

A servant stumbled into their hall, soaked from head to toe. Tiny pearls clung to his skin, sticking like insects.

"My lord… my lady…" he gasped, clutching a scroll. "This floated up from the fountain. It… it sang your names."

Ren took it with careful fingers. The parchment was damp and faintly glowing. He unrolled it. Inside was a swirl of flowing blue script.

**"To Ren Zian, mortal of rising legend, and Lyra, keeper of bloom and storm.

The tides have watched you. The waves have whispered.

Come to us.

Let us see what power your bond truly holds.

The ocean does not take lightly to refusals.

—Queen Aurelienne of the Deep Tides"**

Lyra's power flared so suddenly that every flower in the nearby vases bloomed at once, then withered. "She threatens us?"

Ren met her eyes. "Or tempts us."

She stepped close, gripping his jaw. "Don't say that."

But he didn't look away. "I felt it last night. The call. It didn't scare me. Part of me… it wanted to know what waited in those depths."

Lyra's eyes narrowed. Her thumb stroked across his cheek, almost tender. "Then we'll go. But you'll remember every step that you're mine."

Two days later, they stood on a white shore.

The Pearl Queen's chariot arrived — a giant shell pulled by long silver serpents. Water rolled off them in sheets, pooling around Ren's boots. The sea itself seemed to lean in, eager to carry them away.

Lyra held his hand tight. "Stay close. Don't drink anything. Don't let them tie anything on your wrists."

Ren smirked faintly. "That from experience?"

She gave him a dark look. "I've been to their feasts before. They don't play by mortal rules. Or even by most gods'."

The chariot sank into the water without a ripple.

Ren shivered as it passed below the surface, but found he could still breathe. Strange little fish darted around them, leaving trails of glowing light. Far off, shapes too large to name swam by, their eyes catching on him.

Lyra pressed her body flush against his side. "They're watching. Remember that."

He kissed her temple. "Let them."

At last, the chariot stopped at the base of a vast coral palace. Towers of pink and blue twisted high, dotted with tiny creatures that blinked and scurried.

Servants met them — sleek women with skin like polished opal. They wore thin veils and nothing else, eyes bright with curiosity as they looked Ren up and down.

"Welcome," one purred. "The queen awaits in her tide hall. This way."

Lyra's nails dug into his arm as they walked. "Look how they stare at you. Like you're already theirs."

He leaned close, whispering against her ear. "Let them stare. You're the only one I'll ever truly kneel to."

She bit her lip, cheeks flushed.

They entered the queen's hall. It was vast, a hollow dome of clear water overhead, so the sea itself formed the ceiling. Pearls bigger than Ren's head lined the walls, each holding strange swirling lights.

And on a throne of living coral sat Aurelienne. The Pearl Queen.

Her hair floated around her head in a silver cloud, skin shining with tiny scales that seemed to shift color. Her eyes were pure, endless blue — like looking into the heart of the ocean.

"Ren Zian," she said, voice echoing strangely. "Lyra. I have long awaited meeting the lovers who defied Miraye's temptations and left Erithia weeping."

Lyra lifted her chin. "Then you know what answer you'll get."

Aurelienne smiled, slow and curved. "I only wish to see it for myself."

That night, they stayed in a guest chamber of soft woven seaweed and pearl mirrors. Lyra paced while Ren sat on the edge of the bed, watching her.

"You felt it, didn't you?" she finally demanded. "That pull? Even now it tries to slip under your skin."

Ren exhaled. "Yes. It's like a warm hand on my chest. It doesn't scare me. It… tempts me."

Lyra stopped, staring at him. Then she crossed the room, pushing him back on the bed. She straddled his lap, grabbing his face. "Then let me remind you exactly who you belong to."

He grinned. "Please do."

She leaned down, kissing him hard, hands already tugging at his shirt. He laughed into her mouth. "Always so impatient."

"Not impatient," she growled, nipping his lip. "Possessive."

Her hands roamed down his chest, nails scratching just enough to make him shiver. She pulled back enough to look at him — hair falling around them like a dark curtain.

"Say it," she whispered.

"I'm yours," he rasped. "Even when the ocean sings to me. Even if I taste her power one day. My heart, my soul — always yours."

Lyra's smile was hungry. "Good. Now let me have all the rest."

She pushed him flat, tearing at the ties of his trousers. Then she sank onto him in one slow, hard motion. Ren's head fell back with a groan.

"Lyra— gods—"

Her hips rolled, grinding down, making him see stars. "Let the Pearl Queen listen through her walls," she hissed. "Let her know how you sound when you're truly claimed."

Far off, in her throne room, Aurelienne closed her eyes, a smile playing at her lips.

"Soon," she murmured. "I'll have my turn. And when I do… he'll crave the sea like he's never craved her garden."