I watched the recording three times.
The first time, I was too shocked to notice anything beyond my mother's face.
The second time, I listened to her words, hoping I had misunderstood them.
By the third time, I wanted to throw Toren's device against the wall.
"If anything happens to Seraya, the blame will be mine."
My mother's voice was unmistakable. So was the expression on her face. She hadn't looked frightened or confused. She had looked determined, as though she had already made a decision and was prepared to live with its consequences.
I hated that I couldn't tell whether that made her innocent or guilty.
"Play it again," I said.
Toren looked at me. "You've seen it enough times."
"Then you won't mind watching it once more."
Korrin stood beside me, his attention fixed on the device. Isaac had moved closer to the pedestal, examining the Tideglass, while my father remained seated against the wall.
Nobody looked particularly happy.
I was starting to think that was the natural state of people involved with the Ocean's Heart.
Toren replayed the recording.
My mother appeared beside the man holding the fragment. Her shoulders were tense, and she kept glancing toward something outside the camera's view.
Then came the sentence.
"If anything happens to Seraya, the blame will be mine."
I paused the recording.
"Look at her hands."
Toren frowned. "What about them?"
"She's holding something."
I enlarged the image. The recording was grainy, but I could make out a small object between my mother's fingers.
A pendant.
Not the silver one I wore, but something darker, with three curved lines engraved across its surface.
Isaac leaned over my shoulder.
"That's a control key."
"For what?"
"Possibly the original seal mechanism."
I looked at him.
"Could she have been trying to repair it?"
"She could have been trying to activate it. We can't tell from this image alone."
"Then why is everyone assuming she caused the disaster?"
Toren crossed his arms.
"Because the council received the recording along with a report claiming that Lyra helped remove the Heart fragment."
"Who wrote the report?"
"An anonymous source."
I stared at him.
"You're joking."
"I'm not."
"So an anonymous person sends you an old recording with a sentence taken out of context, and suddenly the queen is arrested and my mother is blamed for an ancient catastrophe?"
"When you put it that way—"
"How else am I supposed to put it?"
Toren fell silent.
Korrin stepped between us before the argument could get worse.
"We need to return to Arealis."
"And leave the seal at eight percent?" Isaac asked.
"Can we repair it?"
Isaac glanced at the pedestal.
"Not without understanding what the Tideglass is meant to do. We have a few hours of data at most, and we don't know how quickly the seal will continue to weaken."
"Then we have two problems," I said. "A failing seal and a queen who's been arrested for something she might not have done."
"Three problems," my father added quietly.
We all turned toward him.
He looked at the recording.
"Someone knew you would come here, Selene. Someone knew you would find the Tideglass and discover the truth about Seraya."
My stomach tightened.
"Do you think the recording was planted?"
"I think whoever sent it wanted the council to turn against your mother before we could explain what happened at Blackwater."
"And now?"
My father looked at the sealed chamber above us.
"Now they have a reason to stop us from speaking."
A cold feeling settled in my chest.
I had spent so long believing that the worst thing about my family was the fact that my parents had disappeared. I was beginning to understand that their disappearance was only one part of something much larger.
Someone had been shaping the story for years.
And they were still doing it.
---
We left Blackwater with the Tideglass secured inside its protective case.
The station's emergency system had stabilised the seal temporarily, but Isaac warned us that the improvement wouldn't last. We had bought ourselves time, not safety.
Before leaving, my father insisted on checking the lower chamber one final time.
He stood outside the sealed door for several minutes, his hand resting against the metal.
I waited nearby.
"Do you think Seraya is still in there?" I asked.
"I don't know."
"Do you think she remembers who she is?"
He looked at me.
"I hope so."
It was a simple answer, but something about it made my throat tighten.
My father had spent years trapped in a place where even his own memories could be used against him. He knew what it meant to lose control over the things that made a person who they were.
Perhaps that was why he looked so troubled by the Echo.
When we finally reached the submarine, Isaac remained behind for a moment, staring at the station.
I approached him.
"Are you coming?"
He nodded, but didn't move.
"Selene, I need to tell you something."
I waited.
"When I first came to the ocean, I believed the merfolk had taken my father from me. I thought Korrin's people had hidden the truth because they didn't want humans to know what they'd done."
"And now?"
"Now I think my father was involved in something he couldn't control. I still don't know whether he was manipulated or whether he made the wrong choice himself."
He looked down at his injured shoulder.
"I wanted him to be innocent so badly that I stopped asking what he'd actually done."
I didn't know what to say.
For once, Isaac wasn't trying to defend himself or prove that he was right. He looked like someone who had finally realised that loving a person didn't require turning them into a hero.
"I think," I said slowly, "we've all been trying to make our parents into people we can understand."
He gave me a tired smile.
"And how's that working out for you?"
"Terribly."
He laughed quietly.
It was the first genuine laugh I'd heard from him.
Then his expression became serious again.
"If we find out my father caused the disaster, I don't know what I'll do."
"You don't have to decide that now."
He studied me for a moment.
"That's surprisingly reasonable."
"Don't get used to it."
We boarded the submarine.
As Blackwater disappeared behind us, I looked through the window at the dark trench surrounding it.
Somewhere beneath those ruins lay the remains of a promise that had once united two worlds.
And someone had spent years making sure neither world remembered what it was.
---
The royal district was in chaos when we returned to Arealis.
Guards stood at every major entrance. Several streets had been closed, and groups of merfolk gathered outside the palace, arguing over the accusations against Queen Nerathe.
The news had spread quickly.
Too quickly.
As our submarine approached the eastern platform, I saw a large projection above the central square. The royal council's emblem glowed against the water, followed by a statement written in the official language.
Korrin read it silently.
His expression darkened.
"What does it say?" I asked.
"The queen has been suspended from her duties pending an investigation. The council claims she concealed evidence concerning the original Heart incident."
"That sounds almost reasonable."
"It also states that all access to the royal archives has been restricted."
I looked at him.
"Convenient."
"Very."
Toren had remained behind at Blackwater to secure the station. He had insisted that someone needed to ensure the council's representatives couldn't remove anything before we returned.
I wondered whether that had been wise.
Then again, none of our recent decisions had been particularly wise.
We entered the palace through a side passage. Korrin led us toward the council chamber, but we were stopped before reaching the doors.
Three guards stood across the corridor.
"Prince Korrin," one said, bowing. "The council has ordered that no one enter the chamber without authorisation."
"I'm the king's son."
"The order applies to everyone."
Korrin's expression turned dangerously calm.
"Move."
The guard swallowed.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness."
For a moment, I thought Korrin would force his way past them.
Instead, he stepped back.
"Who issued the order?"
"The council's acting representative."
"Name."
The guard hesitated.
"Lord Vaelor."
Korrin went still.
I noticed.
"Who is Vaelor?" I asked quietly.
"One of my father's oldest advisers."
"Is that bad?"
"He was responsible for supervising the Blackwater research project."
I closed my eyes.
Of course he was.
Because apparently, we hadn't collected enough suspicious people yet.
"Can we speak to him?" I asked.
"No," the guard replied. "Lord Vaelor is currently addressing the council."
Korrin looked toward the closed doors.
"Then we'll wait."
We found a quiet alcove overlooking the central gardens. Korrin paced while I sat on the edge of a stone bench, trying to organise the information in my head.
Isaac was examining the Tideglass. My father had been taken to a private room to rest, although I suspected he would be awake again before anyone could persuade him to stay in bed.
After several minutes, Korrin stopped pacing.
"I should have recognised the name."
"Why?"
"Vaelor was one of the advisers who argued that the Blackwater records should remain sealed. My father trusted him."
"Does that mean he was involved?"
"It means he had access."
"That's not the same thing."
"No," Korrin agreed. "But it's enough to ask questions."
I looked at him.
"You really think your father might have been manipulated?"
He sat beside me.
"I don't know what to think anymore."
For a moment, he looked younger than usual. The weight of his position seemed to have settled heavily on his shoulders.
"I spent my entire life believing that my father was strict because he understood the consequences of every decision. I thought he kept secrets because he had to."
"And now?"
"Now I'm wondering how many people were hurt because he was too afraid to admit he was wrong."
I understood that feeling more than I wanted to.
"My mother used to tell me that adults weren't always right. I thought she meant teachers."
Korrin glanced at me.
"She was probably being generous."
I laughed softly.
It didn't last long.
Across the garden, a group of guards escorted someone toward the eastern wing.
Queen Nerathe.
She was no longer wearing her royal crown. Her hands were free, but two guards walked closely beside her.
She looked tired, yet her posture remained straight.
When she saw Korrin, she stopped.
"Don't interfere," she said before he could approach. "Not yet."
"Mother—"
"Listen to me. The council is looking for a reason to remove you from the succession. If you challenge them now, they will use it against you."
"What about the accusations?"
"I will answer them."
"With what evidence?"
The queen's gaze moved to me.
For a moment, I thought she might finally tell us something important.
Instead, she said, "Find Lyra's original recording."
Then she continued walking.
I stood.
"Where is it?"
She didn't turn around.
"Your father hid it where the ocean meets the first light."
The guards led her away.
I looked at Korrin.
He looked back at me.
Neither of us had the slightest idea what that meant.
---
We returned to the private chamber and spread the available maps across the table.
Isaac had connected the Tideglass to a small reader, hoping to recover additional information from its surface. My father sat nearby, listening to the conversation while pretending he wasn't exhausted.
"The ocean meets the first light," I repeated. "Is that a place?"
Korrin studied the map.
"Several places could fit that description."
"Can we narrow it down?"
"Possibly. The old merfolk records describe a region where sunlight first reaches the seabed during the changing tides."
Isaac looked up.
"An underwater observatory?"
Korrin nodded slowly.
"There's one near the eastern shelf. It was abandoned after the Blackwater incident."
My father looked toward him.
"What's it called?"
"The Dawn Observatory."
A strange feeling passed through me.
I had heard that name before.
Not in Arealis.
Not in Blackwater.
In one of my mother's old notebooks, years ago, when I was still too young to understand the drawings she had left behind.
I remembered a sketch of a glass dome beneath a pale horizon. Beneath it, in her handwriting, were two words.
First Light.
I opened my notebook and searched through the pages until I found the photograph I'd taken of that old sketch.
When I showed it to the others, my father went completely still.
"Where did you get that?"
"It was in Mum's belongings."
He took the notebook with trembling hands.
"Lyra drew this shortly before she disappeared."
I leaned closer.
"Then that's where the recording is?"
"I believe so."
Isaac looked at the Tideglass reader.
"There's something else."
The device had begun displaying a sequence of symbols.
Three curved lines.
A circle.
Then a line stretching toward a small point of light.
Isaac translated the pattern as best he could.
"It's a location marker."
"Where?"
He looked at the map.
"The Dawn Observatory."
For a moment, hope rose in my chest.
We finally had a destination. A real one, with a name and a place on the map. No more chasing voices through the darkness or trying to interpret half a sentence from an ancient artefact.
We could go there, find the recording, and learn what my mother had actually done.
Then Isaac scrolled further down the data.
His face changed.
"What?" I asked.
He turned the screen toward us.
A second message had appeared beneath the coordinates.
ORIGINAL RECORDING ACCESS: RESTRICTED.
AUTHORISATION REQUIRED: KING OR DESIGNATED SUCCESSOR.
Korrin stared at it.
"The king's access key."
"Do you have it?" I asked.
He shook his head.
"My father kept it in his private chamber."
"Then we need to get it."
"That chamber has been sealed by the council."
I looked at the screen again.
The recording was there. My mother's own account of what had happened at Blackwater, hidden somewhere beneath the ocean and protected by a system that recognised only the royal family.
Someone had gone to considerable trouble to keep it from being found.
And if Lord Vaelor had been involved in the original research, he might know exactly what it contained.
I closed my notebook.
"We're going to the Dawn Observatory."
Korrin looked at me.
"Selene, we don't have authorisation."
"We don't have much else, either."
"That place may be dangerous."
"So is Blackwater. So is the palace. At this point, I'm beginning to think the entire ocean needs a warning label."
Isaac gave a quiet laugh.
Korrin didn't.
He was looking at the map, his expression thoughtful.
Then he reached for the access key we'd recovered from Blackwater.
"Fine," he said. "But this time, we go prepared."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Does that mean you finally trust me?"
He looked at me for a long moment.
"It means I trust you to make your own decisions."
It wasn't the answer I'd expected.
Somehow, it mattered more.
I gathered the maps while Isaac secured the Tideglass. My father stood slowly, refusing the chair we'd offered him.
"We should leave before the council realises what we're doing," he said.
I nodded.
Outside the window, the first pale light of the approaching morning began to spread across the distant water.
For a moment, I imagined my mother standing somewhere beneath that light, waiting for us to find her.
Then I remembered the recording.
If anything happens to Seraya, the blame will be mine.
I still didn't know whether she had been protecting Seraya or hiding what she'd done.
But I was going to find out.
And when I did, I would finally know whether the woman I'd spent my life missing was the hero everyone had made her out to be—or someone who had made a terrible mistake and spent the rest of her life trying to undo it.
Either way, she was my mother.
And I was done letting other people decide what that meant.
End of Chapter 38