The problem with discovering the truth was that it rarely came with a convenient place to put it.
We had evidence that Lord Vaelor had supervised the procedure that separated Seraya's memories from the Ocean's Heart. We had a recording of King Aeron authorising the operation. We had my mother's account of what happened when the procedure went wrong.
And we had a seal that was rapidly falling apart.
What we didn't have was a way to get any of this information in front of the people who needed to hear it.
"Let me get this straight," Isaac said as we hurried through the narrow passage beneath the eastern gardens. "The queen is being held in the palace, the council has restricted access to the archives, and the man responsible for the original operation is in charge of the investigation."
"Yes," Korrin replied.
"And our plan is to find a secret passage, reach the queen, and convince her that we have evidence her own advisers have been hiding for centuries."
"That is the general idea."
Isaac glanced at me. "Does he always sound this confident when a plan is terrible?"
"Usually."
"I can hear you both," Korrin said.
"Good," I replied. "Then you know we have concerns."
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
The passage was older than the palace above it. Its walls were made of dark stone, interrupted by occasional patches of luminous moss. Water flowed through a shallow channel along one side, carrying tiny flecks of silver light.
Toren had sent us a message before we left the observatory. He had managed to avoid the guards searching the eastern district and was waiting at the passage's end.
He had also warned us that the council had begun questioning anyone who had worked at Blackwater.
That meant our time was running out.
Again.
I was beginning to resent how often that happened.
"How much farther?" I asked.
"Another hundred metres," Korrin said.
"Wonderful. I'll prepare a speech for when we get there."
"About what?"
"How much I appreciate secret tunnels."
He gave me a brief look.
"You've been complaining about them since we left Blackwater."
"Because nobody builds a comfortable secret tunnel. It's always damp, dark, and full of suspicious noises."
Isaac nodded thoughtfully. "That would make an excellent research proposal."
"Thank you. Finally, someone understands my academic priorities."
Korrin shook his head, but the tension in his shoulders eased a little.
I was glad.
He had barely spoken since hearing his father's voice in the recording. I couldn't blame him. The man he had spent his life trying to understand had become another unanswered question, and this time, the evidence was too clear to dismiss.
Still, I wished Korrin would stop blaming himself for choices he hadn't made.
Perhaps I wished that because I was doing exactly the same thing with my mother.
---
Toren was waiting beside a circular door at the end of the passage.
He looked relieved when he saw us, although his expression changed when he noticed the recording device in Korrin's hand.
"You found something."
"More than something," Korrin said. "Where is the queen?"
"Under guard in the western residence. The council has allowed her to remain there until the hearing, but they have confiscated her communication device."
"Can we reach her?"
"Through the old servants' corridor. I can get us close, but I can't promise the guards won't notice."
"Then we move quickly."
Toren opened the door.
Beyond it lay a narrow corridor lined with storage alcoves. The palace was much quieter on this side, though we could hear distant voices coming from the main halls.
We followed Toren past a row of closed doors until he stopped beside a small chamber.
"The queen is inside."
Korrin reached for the handle.
Toren caught his wrist.
"Before you go in, you should know something."
Korrin turned.
"What?"
"The council has called an emergency session. Vaelor intends to make a formal announcement before the hearing."
"What kind of announcement?"
Toren hesitated.
"He's going to claim that the Ocean's Heart can only be stabilised by removing the remaining fragments from human possession."
My hand moved instinctively toward the case.
"Meaning me."
"Yes."
"And the Tideglass?"
"They haven't mentioned it publicly. But if Vaelor knows about the Dawn Observatory, he'll know you have it."
Isaac swore under his breath.
I looked at Korrin.
"He's not just trying to protect his position. He wants the fragments."
"Or he wants control over whoever carries them," Korrin said.
Either possibility was unpleasant.
I glanced at the chamber door.
"Let's speak to the queen before he decides what happens to me."
Korrin opened it.
Queen Nerathe stood beside the window, her hands clasped behind her back. She had changed out of her formal robes into a plain dark dress, but even without her crown, she carried herself with the same authority I remembered.
When she saw us, her gaze moved immediately to the recording device.
"You found the original account."
Korrin placed it on the table.
"We found evidence that Lord Vaelor supervised the separation of Seraya's memories. We also found a recording of my father authorising the procedure."
The queen's expression tightened.
For a moment, she looked older than I had ever seen her.
"Play it."
Isaac activated the device.
We listened without interruption.
When the recording ended, Nerathe remained silent for so long that I wondered whether she had heard the final section.
Then she sat down.
"I suspected Vaelor had been involved," she said. "I didn't know how deeply."
"You knew about the procedure?" Korrin asked.
"I knew the council had approved an attempt to stabilise the Heart. I believed Seraya had agreed to participate."
"She refused," I said.
"Yes. I understand that now."
"Did you know they intended to restrain her?"
"No."
Her answer came quickly, but not defensively.
"I was not present when the procedure began. Your father, Korrin, believed the council had a solution. He thought removing the memories would prevent the Heart from collapsing."
"And you believed him?"
"I wanted to."
The queen looked down at her hands.
"That is not the same as knowing he was right."
Korrin pulled out a chair and sat opposite her.
"Why did you allow the records to be sealed?"
"Because the incident threatened to destroy the kingdom."
"That isn't an answer."
"No," she admitted. "It is an explanation for a decision I regret."
She looked at her son.
"After the procedure failed, the council claimed the truth would cause panic. They said humans would retaliate if they learned what had happened to their researchers, and the merfolk would turn against the crown if they discovered that their king had authorised the operation."
"So you let everyone believe a lie."
"I allowed an incomplete account to remain in place because I believed it would prevent a greater disaster."
"Did it?"
The queen had no answer.
Korrin stood.
I had never seen him speak to his mother that way. There was no anger in his voice now, which somehow made the confrontation harder to witness.
"I spent years believing the kingdom's rules existed to protect us. I thought the secrets were necessary because the truth was dangerous."
His eyes met hers.
"But the truth was dangerous because you kept it hidden."
Nerathe accepted the words without looking away.
"Yes."
That single admission seemed to take more from her than any accusation could have.
"I cannot undo what your father did," she continued. "Nor can I pretend that my silence caused no harm. But I can help you prevent the same mistake from destroying what remains."
She turned toward me.
"Selene, you must take the Tideglass to the original Heart chamber."
I looked at her.
"We don't know how to restore Seraya's memories."
"No. But the Heart may recognise the Tideglass. It was created for that purpose."
"Then why did my mother hide it?"
"Because she believed the council would use it to control the Heart rather than restore it."
The queen paused.
"And because she feared what Seraya might remember."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What does that mean?"
"Seraya was not merely a guardian who protected the Heart. She was one of the people who created the original bond between the human and merfolk worlds. The memories separated from her contained more than grief. They contained the truth about how that bond was formed—and why it was broken."
"Why would my mother be afraid of that truth?"
"Because she helped create the seal that imprisoned those memories."
The room seemed to grow colder.
I stared at the queen.
"You just said she was trying to save Seraya."
"She was."
"Then how can both things be true?"
"Because sometimes people try to repair the consequences of their own decisions."
I thought of my mother's recording.
If anything happens to Seraya, the blame will be mine.
For the first time, I wondered whether she had been carrying more than guilt over failing to stop Vaelor.
Perhaps she had helped build the very system she later fought to undo.
I wanted to ask more, but the queen rose abruptly.
"We have very little time. Vaelor intends to begin the hearing within the hour."
Toren moved toward the door.
"Then we should leave now."
"No," Nerathe said. "You will leave with the evidence. I will attend the hearing."
Korrin stared at her.
"They'll use you to get to Selene."
"They already intend to do that."
"Then don't give them the opportunity."
The queen's expression softened.
"Korrin, if I disappear now, the council will declare me guilty before the investigation has even begun. If I remain, I can challenge their claims publicly."
"And if they arrest you permanently?"
"Then you will have to decide what kind of king you intend to become."
Korrin flinched.
She reached for his hand.
"Not the kind who makes the same mistakes because he believes his position excuses them."
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Korrin nodded, though the gesture looked painful.
"Promise me you'll be careful."
"I promise to tell the truth."
"That wasn't what I asked."
"It is the only promise I can make."
He let go of her hand.
I understood then that being a royal heir wasn't simply about inheriting power. It meant inheriting the consequences of choices made long before you had any say in them.
And sooner or later, you had to decide whether you would continue the tradition or break it.
---
We left the queen with the recording device and took a second copy of the file, which Isaac had transferred to a portable reader.
The plan was simple.
We would reach the original Heart chamber, use the Tideglass to reconnect Seraya's memories, and prevent the seal from collapsing.
Meanwhile, the queen would challenge Vaelor's account before the council.
Simple, except for the part where we had no guarantee that the Tideglass would work, no idea what restoring Seraya's memories would do to the Echo, and very little time before the seal failed completely.
I was beginning to think I should stop using the word plan.
As we approached the eastern exit, Isaac slowed until he was walking beside me.
"Can I ask you something?"
"That depends."
"On what?"
"Whether it's another question about my blood, the Heart, or why the ocean seems to have appointed me its personal emergency contact."
He considered that.
"It was going to be about your mother."
I sighed.
"Fine."
He glanced at Korrin and Toren, who were walking several steps ahead.
"I've been thinking about the recording. Your mother knew the procedure was dangerous, but she still worked on the seal. My father did the same thing with the fragment."
"You think they were both trying to fix something they'd helped cause."
"Yes. And I think that matters."
I looked at him.
"How?"
"Because it means we don't have to decide whether they were good people or bad people before we can understand what happened."
I was quiet.
He continued, "I spent years thinking that if my father had made a terrible mistake, then everything he taught me was worthless. I wanted him to be either innocent or guilty, because both answers would have been easier than the truth."
"And now?"
"Now I think he was a person who made choices. Some may have been right. Some were probably wrong. I need to find out which ones before I decide what his legacy means to me."
I studied his face.
For once, there was no clever remark waiting behind his expression. He was simply trying to make peace with something that had troubled him for years.
"I think I understand," I said.
"Do you?"
"My mother isn't the person I imagined she was. But that doesn't mean I have to stop loving her."
"No," Isaac replied. "It doesn't."
We continued walking.
Ahead of us, Korrin stopped at the exit and looked back.
"Are you two coming?"
Isaac raised a hand.
"Yes, Your Highness. We were having a deeply emotional conversation about parental disappointment."
"Could you do it while moving?"
"Apparently, the royal family has no appreciation for personal growth."
I laughed despite myself.
Korrin rolled his eyes, but I caught the faintest hint of a smile.
It was small.
It was also the first time that morning I had felt like we might actually make it through the day.
Then the communication device in Toren's hand began to ring.
He answered it.
At first, I heard only a burst of static.
Then a voice spoke from the other end.
"Emergency announcement from the royal council. All citizens are instructed to remain within their districts until further notice."
Toren's expression changed.
The voice continued.
"Queen Nerathe has been formally charged with conspiracy against the Ocean's Heart. Her royal authority has been suspended indefinitely."
Korrin took the device.
"Who is issuing this announcement?"
A pause.
Then Lord Vaelor's voice filled the corridor.
"Prince Korrin, if you are listening, I advise you to return to the palace immediately. Your involvement in the Blackwater incident has been reported to the council."
Korrin's jaw tightened.
Vaelor continued, sounding almost pleasant.
"The council has also received evidence that a human researcher and a Bridgeborn woman have removed protected artefacts from a royal facility. Until these items are returned, their actions will be considered an act of aggression against the kingdom."
My heart sank.
He knew.
Perhaps not everything, but enough.
Enough to turn the council against us before we could present the truth.
Vaelor's final words were directed at Korrin.
"Your father made many mistakes, Your Highness. Do not compound them by defending those who have inherited his secrets."
The transmission ended.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Korrin handed the device back to Toren.
"He wants us to return to the palace."
"Obviously," Isaac said. "He has arranged a lovely little trap for us."
"He'll expect us to come through the main entrance," Toren added.
Korrin looked toward the eastern exit.
"Then we won't."
He turned to me.
"We're going to the original Heart chamber."
I nodded, though my hands had begun to tremble.
"What happens if the council reaches it first?"
Korrin's expression hardened.
"Then we make sure they don't get what they came for."
We stepped out into the open water.
Behind us, the palace bells began to ring, their low notes travelling through the city.
The queen had lost her authority. Korrin had been publicly accused of disloyalty. Isaac and I were now considered threats to the kingdom.
And somewhere beneath the oldest foundations of Arealis, the Ocean's Heart was failing.
I touched the pendant beneath my collar.
My mother had tried to save Seraya. My father had survived Blackwater. Isaac was learning to separate his father's mistakes from his own future.
Korrin was facing the possibility that the crown he might one day inherit had been built on a lie.
None of us had chosen these burdens.
But we were the ones standing here now.
And I was beginning to understand that the price of a crown wasn't always paid by the person who wore it.
Sometimes, it was paid by everyone who had trusted it.
End of Chapter 40