The sea was quiet that morning.
Small waves rolled gently onto the shore, whispering across wet sand before retreating again. The sky was pale and cloudless, the air carrying the faint smell of salt and fish.
To anyone else, it would have seemed like a peaceful morning.
But Kharivanpa felt as though the world were collapsing around her.
She stood barefoot at the edge of the water, the tide washing over her toes and pulling back again. She had been standing there long enough for the chill to settle deep into her bones, yet she barely noticed it.
Her mind would not rest.
Sirene's voice echoed in her head.
Maybe I want something beautiful to happen to me.
Khari closed her eyes.
Beautiful things did not arrive in royal carriages.
They did not come with secrets and warnings.
They certainly did not come with priests.
The sound of footsteps in the sand broke her thoughts.
"Is it a good morning?"
Khari turned.
Pim was walking toward her, a fishing net slung over his shoulder. His hair was still damp, and his skin smelled faintly of the sea.
When he saw her face more clearly, his smile faded.
"You look terrible," he said gently.
"I haven't slept."
"Why?"
Khari hesitated.
For days she had carried the truth alone, unsure whether telling anyone would help or only make things worse.
But Pim had always been the one person she trusted without hesitation.
She swallowed.
"I need to tell you something," she said.
His brow furrowed. "All right."
"It's a secret."
"Then I'll keep it." Pim assured her.
Khari took a long breath. "My sister has a suitor."
Pim blinked in surprise, "Well… that sounds like good news."
"So it seems," Khari said quietly. She wrapped her arms around herself. "The man is wealthy. Very wealthy. My family and I will move into his residence soon."
"That sounds even better."
"There's a problem."
Pim studied her face carefully. "What kind of problem?"
Khari looked out over the water, "He isn't a good man."
"Do you know him?"
She shook her head, "No."
"Then how do you know?"
Khari hesitated again. She could not explain the shrine ritual, the sacrifice, the ancient secret, the prophecy of blood. Even if she tried, Pim would never believe it.
"Let's just say I've heard things," she said.
"Rumors?"
"More than rumors."
Pim sighed and set down his net. "Khari, you can't panic because of rumors."
"You don't understand."
"Then help me understand."
She turned back to him, "My sister is in danger."
The seriousness in her voice made him straighten.
"What kind of danger?"
"The kind that will destroy my whole family."
Pim frowned, "That's a big claim."
"I know."
"Do you have proof?"
Khari's jaw tightened. "Yes."
"Can I see it?"
"No."
Pim rubbed his forehead. "Khari…"
She stepped closer. "We leave tomorrow at dawn."
His expression shifted. "What?"
"They're taking us away."
"Who?"
Khari's voice lowered, "The suitor's family."
"And you're sure they're dangerous?"
"Yes."
Silence hung between them for several seconds.
Finally, Pim nodded slowly. "All right."
Khari looked up quickly, "You believe me?"
"I believe you're scared," he said. "And that's enough for me."
Relief flooded through her chest. "I need your help."
"What do you need me to do?"
Khari hesitated.
The words she was about to say had been clawing at her mind all night. Even now they felt wrong—ugly and desperate—but she could see no other path.
"I figured out why they chose Sirene."
Pim waited.
"They didn't choose her because she's beautiful."
"Why then?"
"Because she's a virgin."
Pim frowned slightly, "Well… that's not unusual for marriage."
"Not for marriage," Khari said quietly, "For sacrifice."
Pim stared. "What?"
Khari quickly looked around, making sure no one else was nearby, "You have to trust me," she said urgently.
"I'm trying." And surely he was.
"If she's not a virgin when they take her, they'll reject the marriage."
He nodded slowly, "Possibly."
Khari forced herself to say it. "You're the only man I trust."
Pim's hands fell to his sides. "What are you asking?"
"I can arrange everything," she said quickly. "You just need to be there and—"
His face changed instantly.
Shock.
Then anger.
"I love you," he said.
"I know."
"No," Pim said sharply. "You don't understand."
Khari blinked.
"I love you."
"I know you do—"
"Then why," he said, his voice rising, "are you asking me to rape your sister?"
The word struck her like a slap. "I didn't say—"
"That's exactly what you said."
"She would understand later," Khari insisted. "Once she realizes it saved her life—"
"Saved her life?" Pim barked. "By destroying it?"
Khari felt tears sting her eyes. "You don't understand what's coming."
"And you don't understand what you're asking." He stepped back from her as though she were something dangerous. "You want me to violate your sister," he said in disbelief. "You want me to steal her dignity, her reputation, her future."
"I'm trying to save her!"
"No," Pim said. "You're trying to control her."
Khari shook her head wildly, "That's not true!"
"You're jealous."
The accusation hit like a dagger.
"I am not."
"You are."
Pim pointed toward the village behind them. "I'm just a fisherman. I smell like fish half the time. I work until my hands bleed to afford the life I promised you."
Khari tried to interrupt, but he continued.
"Then some rich suitor appears for your sister, and suddenly you want that chance destroyed."
"That's not what this is!"
"You want her chance gone," Pim said coldly. "And you want me to do the dirty work."
Khari's tears spilled over., "I'm not evil."
"Oh yes you are," he said quietly. His words cut deeper than shouting would have. "You're worse than the people you claim to fear."
He turned away.
"Pim—"
He didn't stop.
He dragged his canoe down the sand and shoved it into the water. Within seconds he had climbed inside and pushed away from shore.
Khari ran forward.
"Pim!"
But he did not look back.
Soon the canoe was nothing more than a dark shape against the glittering sea.
Khari stood alone on the shore, sobbing.
The wind tugged at her hair.
The waves whispered around her feet.
And for the first time since this nightmare began, she felt truly alone.
...
The next morning came too quickly.
A pale gray light filled the sky as the royal carriage rolled slowly out of the Fifth Village.
Inside, Khari sat stiffly on the wooden bench beside her family.
Sirene looked radiant.
Her hair had been brushed until it shone, and the blue robe gifted by the priests now wrapped around her shoulders. She kept touching the fine fabric as though afraid it might vanish.
Their parents looked even happier.
Heya could not stop smiling.
"This is the beginning of our family's legacy," he said proudly. "The story of how a poor household rose to greatness."
Foni nodded eagerly, "Our bloodline will be remembered for generations."
Sirene lowered her head modestly, "It's my greatest honor."
Khari forced a smile.
Her heart felt like stone.
Outside the carriage window, the village disappeared behind them.
The road stretched forward toward the distant capital.
Toward the palace.
Toward the ceremony.
Toward the altar.
Khari stared out at the fading landscape.
Five days had passed.
Five days in which she had failed to stop any of this.
She had lost Pim.
She had failed to convince her family.
She had refused the necklace.
And now they were riding straight into the jaws of the very fate she had tried to prevent.
Her parents continued speaking excitedly beside her, discussing palace life and royal etiquette.
Sirene laughed nervously.
Khari barely heard them.
All she could hear was her grandmother's voice.
Your sister's fate has been written… but not in stone.
Khari clenched her fists. The capital loomed somewhere beyond the horizon. And if the gods believed she would simply surrender her sister to the altar—they had chosen the wrong woman to challenge.
***