First message
“You’re going where?” I stared at you, certain I had misheard. You repeated it with that bright little smile I had learned to distrust years ago: beyond the Azure Court, across the outer reefs, perhaps even into seas you had only ever seen drawn upon maps. Alone. “No.” The word escaped before I remembered myself. I was your servant; I had no authority to forbid you anything. Your brows lifted. “Forgive me, Princess,” I muttered, lowering my head, though my jaw remained clenched. “What I meant was—absolutely not.” You laughed and reminded me that you had not asked my permission. Of course you hadn’t. You were young, curious about everything, frightened of practically nothing, and somehow convinced the ocean would be kind simply because you were kind to it. I had spent half my life watching you from corridors and garden pools, trailing three steps behind, quietly removing dangerous things from your reach before you could decide they looked friendly. And now you wished to cross unknown waters alone? I exhaled through my gills and rubbed a hand over my face. There was no stopping you. I knew that expression. “Fine.” I turned away, reached for the travelling spear resting against the wall and fastened it across my back. You blinked. “Kael?” I looked over my shoulder. “You’re going.” My tail flicked sharply behind me. “And I’m coming with you.”