Original chapter art by Sinoma Hoffpauir Each Royal House governs seven Districts under its rule. The authority of each House is exercised according to the ws and orders given by the Kingdom. Within each House, several royal families exist, among them, the most capable family is nominated to lead the House.

  My stomach churns as I peer over the cliff's edge, a dizzying 60-foot drop to the dark waves of the Merivern Ocean crashing violently below. A thin haze drifts over the water's surface, barely obscuring the treacherous scenery. I turn back to my mother, trying to suppress the rising dread of the imminent leap.

  "Aurelie, you'll have to jump," my mother's sharp and urgent voice cracks, her breath ragged from the frantic run. I can see the panic in her eyes, and for the first time, I sense the terror she's trying so desperately to hide. The tears glisten there, threatening to spill, but she doesn't let them fall. Instead, her hands find my face, and her touch is both tender and heart-wrenching.

  "Swim to the shore of Netholic. You must go quickly." She begins to fasten the iron bracers around my left forearm, concealing the family crest inked into my skin.

  "No, I'm not leaving you behind," I pleaded, my voice cracking. The distant shouts of soldiers and the sound of boots crunching across gravel grow louder and closer. I can't do this. I won't.

  The Colonel's commands were lost in the chaos as he shouted orders at his men. My heart races at the thought of dropping into the ocean below. I noticed my mother's ck of response. I could see her gears turning as if trying to devise a pn. She doesn't answer me immediately, her gaze flicking to the horizon, where the dark ocean crashes violently against the rocks. Her hands tremble slightly. I need her to come with me. I'm too stubborn to leave without her.

  But she's already turning, her eyes scanning the cliffside, the wind tugging at her hair. She's not listening, and I can feel it-she's already made her decision, the weight of it heavy in the air between us. Her back is stiff, her movements sharp and controlled, but her lips tremble just enough for me to see the struggle behind her actions.

  "Find Daniel Warren," she says, ignoring my plea, her voice low but urgent. "He's the one you need. If they refuse your entry, show them the crest beneath your bracer." She hugs me tightly, pressing her lips to the top of my light-brown hair. "Whatever you do, do not lose those bracers."

  "Mom, please. I don't even know who that is. You're coming with me; you'll help me find him." I know asking will not work with my mother, so I need to be irrefutable.

  But she pulls away from me, her hands gripping my shoulders with the fierceness I've never seen in her before. "You will find him. You have to. Get to Azburelli, Aurelie. They'll know you by your power, by your strength, and they'll let you in. Daniel will know what to do." Her words ring in my head, but my heart feels heavy. I'm the only shifter in Rebria. That's supposed to make me special, but I can only shift into a siren. A siren. It's not enough to protect me, to protect her. The gods didn't bless me with a spectacur eldric power. I'm nothing like the other royals.

  "Mom–" I begin to argue, the words rushing out, panic rising in my chest. I pause for a brief moment. I don't think she was talking about my eldric. "What am I capable of?" The sound of approaching troops breaks my thoughts, and I freeze; the heavy thud of their boots is unmistakable–my mind races, desperate for a solution, for any way to change her mind.

  The flickering lights of the soldier's torches cast long shadows on the ground behind her.

  "Mom, I'm not leaving without you. I can find a way. I just have to distract them." I panic, my mind racing with every possible move to make. There seems to be nothing I can do right now to convince her. I'll have to use force.

  "Aurelie, now is not the time!" Her voice rises, sharp and commanding, cutting through my frantic thoughts. Her hands push me toward the edge, urging me forward.

  "I won't leave you behind!" I shout sternly, but it sounds more like a plea escaping my lips.

  I gaze into her vivid green eyes. Deep down, I know this won't end in my favor, but I couldn't live with myself if I were to leave her to die here.

  Her hands tighten on my shoulders, and I see the resolve in her eyes, that same stubborn fire that's always been a part of her, the part of her that I inherited. But there's something else there now, something I've never seen before–a sadness that fills the air between us.

  "Go now!" Her command is a sharp, sudden shove, so powerful that it sends me tumbling off the cliff's edge. It happens in the span of a heartbeat, but it feels like time itself pauses. My heart skips a beat, my breath caught in my chest as I tumbled, the air rushing past me in a dizzying blur.

  And then, just as I fall, I hear the sickening sound of steel cutting through flesh.

  I try to scream, but no sound escapes from me. The world blurs, and I see her-my mother, kneeling. Her eyes locked on mine for the st time. Her body slumps, and I can only watch in horror as the soldier's bde is pulled out from within her, the blood staining the earth beneath her.

  I plunged into the water abruptly, as if the moment of suspension had suddenly ended, and I had snapped back into reality. I feel the wind knock out of me, and it's not because of my body's impact as I'm met with the ocean's surface. The shock of the cold sea envelops me.

  I want to drown in the torment threatening to consume me. But as the icy current tugs at me, urging me to give in, I feel a spark of defiance flicker inside. I didn't know the situation was this dire. I don't know what my mother did to get us into this mess or what she wanted so desperately that she felt the need to risk her life for it, but I'll be damned if I let her down.

  I saw the troops on the cliff from underwater, their figures silhouetted against the night sky. "Someone, kill her!" the Colonel ordered, but it was too te. I was already submerged.

  I feel the familiar shift-my legs, starting to lose their shape. My hips tingle like the feeling of blood rushing back to me. It's not painful, just that overwhelming, familiar pressure as my legs elongate, merging into my tail.

  I propel myself against the strong current. The rough waters batter against the cliff, but my tail makes navigating through them manageable.

  The current is my enemy, sometimes pushing me forward, sometimes dragging me backward, and every time I think I'm making progress, the ocean shifts beneath me. Every muscle aches, and every flick of my tail feels heavier than the st, but I manage to push forward.

  After what felt like hours, the jagged outline of Netholic's coastline emerges from the mist, its glimmering nterns offering a beacon of hope. Exhausted but determined, I reach nd only to find a tall stone seawall along the seashore. I had imagined it would be a beach. I press on, scrambling up the wall and using the protruding stones for grip.

  Once atop the wall, I colpse onto a wooden boardwalk, panting heavily. My soaked hair and gray dress cling to me, weighing me down. My dress falls straight to my knees, cking shape. However, my natural curves help compensate for the ck of structure. Without time to grab shoes, I had left Adohis barefoot.

  I can't bear the memory of my mother's st moments. The image of her kneeling on the ground, blood pooling around her, sears through my mind, like an open wound. I want to feel her tight embrace one st time, feel the warmth of her love wrap around me. I want to hear her humming as she cooks, her soft voice drifting through the house. To see her smile form dimples on her cheeks as she dances to a cssical composition. Her ugh, the way it filled the room, echoes in my thoughts, and I can't stop the tears from pricking at the corners of my eyes.

  I push them back, trying to shove away the raw grief threatening to drown me. The sting of her absence gnaws at my heart, a constant ache that will never be filled. I can't mourn her now. I can't afford to break down here, stranded in a kingdom that isn't mine. I have to keep moving, keep going. My mission isn't over, and my mother would never want me to waste time dwelling on what I couldn't change. She'd want me to keep moving, to honor her sacrifice by doing what she set me out to do.

  But how can I do this without her?

  A wave of distress washes over me again, heavier this time. I forced myself to focus on anything but the heart-wrenching image of her fall, the way the soldier's sword plunged into her. But it keeps coming back, no matter how much I try to push it away. Her final moments. Her plea for me to survive.

  As I push myself up off the wooden boardwalk, I tell myself I'll mourn her ter when the world isn't pressing so hard against me. But deep down, I know the grief will never fully leave. It will follow me quietly, always.

  My muscles strain in protest as I try to regain my bance. I feel a strong arm wrap around my waist. "Were you cliff diving?" I look up to see a light-skinned man; his face is one of concern as he leans over me. He is dressed in rich fabrics, and his ears are pierced with fine jewels. A royal, I presume. He must be a seeker. He's looked into my past with his eldric. I didn't come all this way to be thrown in a celr before even reaching the pace.

  "You're a seeker? A royal?" The worry was obvious in my tone, like a deer caught in headlights.

  He chuckles, "A seeker? It doesn't take an eldric to see you've jumped from those cliffs." He points to some nearby cliffs that people are jumping from in the distance. "You should go back home. Ladies shouldn't be cliff jumping."

  Relief pours through me; how convenient. "Yeah, it was a high jump."

  "I'm sure it was. That cliff is a 7-foot jump. It's not for beginners or young women, such as yourself." Jumping from a 7-foot cliff? If only that were the worst of my troubles.

  From what I've gathered on Netholian culture, they don't begin their royal nomination process until the fall. It's August, so most royals are diligently preparing for the upcoming September nominations. The kingdom will be bustling this time of year. Maybe it will make gaining entry a bit easier. I just have to find out how to get there.

  If I ask this man how to get to the castle, he might question my intentions. Although it may be the best chance I have.

  "Yeah, believe me, I won't do that again." I stood up with the help of the stranger to regain my bance. "I'm Aruelie."

  "Deigo Briar." His warm smile is comforting. It's a nice change of pace.

  "Do you know how far the kingdom is from here? Is there a map somewhere nearby for directions?" He looked a bit surprised at the question. I guess it was a bit abrupt. Not every day you meet a homeless-looking cliff diver in need of directions to the Kingdom.

  "Why would you want to go there? Unless invited, that's a death sentence." He shifted his weight, pcing one hand on his hip. His skeptical look has me wary of my own intentions.

  I hope Nudandria holds the same rules as Rebria when it comes to kingdom maids. This will be a stretch.

  "I'm a dy's maid for the kingdom. I snuck off because I wanted some freedom. It was stupid of me, I know. I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone and instead helped me back to the kingdom. I have to be there before they know I'm gone." It lines up, considering that maids who are born into their role are sheltered. It will give leeway to what I know about Netholic customs. Manipution can be a dangerous trait to have, and I'm dangerously good at it, too.

  "Chances are, they already know you're gone. Your head maid is going to beat the shit out of you if you go back now." He's right. That would happen if I were actually to be a dy's maid. But the only pce a maid can survive after being sent to the kingdom for work is the kingdom. Outside the kingdom, they'd be homeless, jobless, and on a wanted list for an execution.

  "I have no tahlets to buy food. The Kingdom is my home and has been for years. I have to go back at some point. Trust me, I wouldn't have left the kingdom without weighing the possibility of being punished for doing so. It's not my first, nor my st rodeo."

  He gave me a nod of understanding, then reached into his back pocket to pull out a map. "Sneaking out of the kingdom on multiple occasions? If you're not more cautious, these crimes will catch up to you."

  I nod in understanding, and then he unfolds his map. "If I had a quill accessible, I would ink it out for you. But I don't, so I'll have to trust you can read a map." Deigo raised an eyebrow.

  "Yes, of course. I can read a map." I respond curtly.

  "Good, there should be a ferry you can take from Skjold to the house of Rah." I watch as he points around the map to give me directions.

  "Can I keep the map?" I feel awful asking for his map. They're expensive nowadays. Like, 7 tahlets a map. I think it's the cost of ink in Rebr-

  I forget, I'm not in Rebria anymore. Nudandria has an abundance of fine ink. When Rebria and Nudandria were allies, Rebria would provide minerals and cattle, while Nudandria would provide crops and quality seafood. Rebria has since found ways to make ink from minerals, but it's not as good as pnt-based or animal-based ink. That is just a minor issue. When the kingdoms decred war, many things changed for the worse. Granted, the kingdoms seem to be doing fine at best, and it's been a little over 200 years since the split.

  "I wouldn't have asked if you could read a map if I weren't going to give it to you to read." He chuckled, handing me his map. "I have to get back to my crew; we're cleaning up our ship. I wish you the best, Aurelie."

  "Wait. Do you own a ship? A crew?"

  "My dad owned it before me. I took over the crew after he passed."

  The memories of my mother resurface again. This won't be as easy as I'd hoped to forget.

  "I'm sorry." I give my deyed response. "I heard a captain's crew is like his family. It's good to have others to lean on."

  Deigo gnced over his shoulder as if the mention of his crew brought them to mind. "You should hurry. It'll take time to reach Skjold, and if the tides shift before you board the ferry, you'll be stranded until morning. Trust me, you don't want to spend the night out here alone."

  I nodded, clutching the map tightly. "Thank you, Deigo. I'll find my way."

  "Stay safe, Aurelie," he said before heading back toward the docks. The sway of his steps and the easy confidence in his demeanor hinted at a life spent on the sea. For a moment, I envied the simplicity of it–no soldiers chasing you, no fear of pending death, no royal life, just the ocean's call and a ship beneath your feet. He doesn't seem to be doing half bad with tahlets either.

  "Deigo!" I called him. He turns to face me from a distance, tilting his head to the side.

  "Where are you pnning to dock next?!" I shout across the dock.

  "Dar! It's on the other side of Nudandria!"

  "I'll write to you if I can!"

  He nods with a thumbs-up, then turns back to walk in the direction of his ship.

  I clutch the map tightly in my hand, feeling the weight of my situation settle over me. Then, the realization hits me–I am truly alone now. My mother is gone, and I'm stranded in a foreign nd with nothing but the clothes on my back and a map. I hope to get permission to write letters. Now that I think about it, that might be a right I have to earn in the kingdom.