The town had started to feel predictable.
Every morning the same noise filled the streets. Fishermen shouting at the docks, merchants arguing over prices, children running without watching where they were going. Humans lived loudly, as if silence was something to fear.
Neraya had learned to move through it without being noticed.
Or rather… without being remembered.
That was the real trick.
She smiled when needed, spoke when spoken to, and never stayed in one place long enough for people to ask too many questions. The mask she wore had become natural now. Sometimes she caught herself laughing at something she didn't even find funny, and the realization almost made her uncomfortable.
Almost.
It was easier this way.
Easier to pretend, observe, wait.
She stood near the edge of the marketplace, watching the crowd like she always did. A group of fishermen had gathered near one of the stalls, talking louder than usual. Their voices carried over the noise, sharp enough to catch her attention.
"…I'm telling you, the sea's been strange lately."
"Sea's always strange."
"No, not like this. Nets come back torn, and the water feels colder."
Neraya didn't move, but her focus sharpened.
Colder.
She turned slightly, pretending to look at the items on the stall while listening more carefully.
"You're just scared," another man said.
"I'm not scared," the first one snapped. "Something's down there."
A third man laughed.
"What, mermaids again?"
The word hit her like a sudden wave.
Her fingers tightened slightly against the wooden table.
Mermaids.
She kept her face calm.
Kept breathing normally.
But every sound around her seemed to grow quieter.
"Not mermaids," the first man muttered. "Something worse."
"Worse than mermaids?"
"You heard the stories. Years ago, the Sea King ruled these waters. Ships disappeared all the time back then."
Neraya's heart stopped for a moment.
The Sea King, her father.
She forced herself not to react.
Not to turn.
Not to breathe too fast.
The merchant in front of her kept talking about prices, unaware she wasn't listening at all.
"…they say he's dead now," one of the fishermen continued, lowering his voice slightly. "Killed by humans. That's what the sailors say."
"Good," another man replied. "The ocean's better without monsters."
Monster.
Her nails dug into her palm.
She didn't feel the pain.
Her father had been called many things.
Cruel, cold, feared.
But hearing humans say it like that…
So easily.
So casually.
Something dark moved in her chest, but she forced it down.
Anger would only make her careless.
And she couldn't afford to be careless.
Not now.
Not when the truth might be this close.
She placed a few coins on the stall without looking at what she bought and walked away before anyone noticed her expression.
She didn't stop until she reached the far end of the harbor.
The wind was stronger there, carrying the smell of salt and the sound of waves crashing against the rocks. The sea looked darker today, the surface shifting under the gray sky like something restless was moving below.
She stared at it for a long time.
Humans killed him.
That was what everyone believed.
That was what the kingdom had said.
That was what she had accepted without question.
Because it had been easier to believe he died like a tyrant than to wonder what really happened.
Her father had never been kind.
Never gentle.
Never the kind of ruler anyone loved.
But he had been strong.
Too strong to be taken easily.
Too dangerous to fall without a fight.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as the thought settled deeper.
What if the story wasn't that simple?
"You look like you're about to jump in."
She turned.
Kael was standing a few steps behind her, hands in his pockets, watching her the way he always did like he was trying to figure something out.
"You appear out of nowhere too often," she said.
He shrugged.
"You come here too often."
She looked back at the sea.
"I like the quiet."
"It's not quiet," he said. "It's never quiet near the water."
She didn't answer.
For a moment, they just stood there, the wind pushing against them as the waves crashed below.
Finally, Kael spoke again.
"You heard them in the market, didn't you?"
Her eyes flickered toward him.
"You listen too much," she said.
"So do you."
Silence.
He leaned against the railing, looking at the ocean.
"They talk like that every time something strange happens," he said. "Storm, broken nets, missing boats… they blame the sea."
"Why?" she asked.
"Because it's easier than blaming themselves."
That answer surprised her.
She glanced at him.
"You don't believe the stories?"
He shook his head slightly.
"I believe something's out there," he said. "Just not the way they say."
"And what do they say?" she asked.
He looked at her for a moment before answering.
"That there used to be a ruler under the ocean. A king who controlled everything. They say he hated humans. That he sank ships just to remind us the sea wasn't ours."
Her chest tightened again.
"That sounds like fear," she said quietly.
"It was," Kael replied. "Old sailors still talk about him like he could come back any day."
"He can't," she said.
The words came out faster than she expected.
Kael frowned slightly.
"You sound sure."
She looked at the horizon, forcing her voice to stay calm.
"Dead rulers don't return."
Not usually.
Not unless the truth buried with them started to rise.
Kael studied her face for a moment, then looked back at the water.
"You ever wonder if the stories are wrong?" he asked.
Her breath caught.
Wrong.
The word echoed in her mind like a distant call.
She remembered the temple.
The whispers.
The chains she had seen in her dreams even before she left the ocean.
Her father had been powerful.
Too powerful.
So how had humans captured him?
How had they killed him without the sea itself tearing them apart?
Unless…
Unless he wasn't alone when it happened.
Unless someone helped them.
Her fingers curled slowly against the railing.
"Stories are always wrong," she said quietly.
Kael glanced at her.
"You don't sound like you believe that."
She turned to him, her expression calm again, the mask perfectly in place.
"I believe people lie," she said.
He held her gaze for a moment, then looked away.
"That too."
They stayed there until the sun started to set.
The sky turned orange over the water, the waves reflecting the light like moving fire. For a moment, the ocean looked almost peaceful.
Almost.
Neraya watched the horizon, her thoughts moving faster than the waves.
Humans killed him.
That was the story.
But the story didn't make sense anymore.
Not after what she heard.
Not after what she felt.
Not after the way the sea itself seemed restless every time his name was spoken.
Something was wrong.
Something had always been wrong.
And for the first time since she left the ocean…
She wanted to know the truth.
Not because she loved her father.
Not because she missed the kingdom.
But because she hated lies.
And if the world had been built on one…
She would tear it apart until she found what was hidden underneath.
The wind grew colder, pushing against her as the waves crashed harder against the rocks.
Kael glanced at her again.
"You're thinking too much," he said.
She looked at the sea one last time.
"No," she replied softly.
"I'm just starting to think."