Coldness strikes me with a force that almost knocks me out. The darkness of the ocean swallows me whole. As I descend into the depths of the abyss, shadows encroaching on the edges of my vision—scaly creatures.

There aren't just a few, but a whole mob of them. Their ravenous eyes watch me as I struggle to swim, red eyes gleaming brighter at the blood seeping out from my wound. They're flocking in like ants to meet their sweet treat.

Terror and helplessness run through my bones. My heart palpitates harder and faster than ever, blood pounding into my brain like a drum. In a panic, I flail my unwounded arm and legs, trying to push my body up to the surface, but on the contrary, I'm sinking faster than the Titanic. Because of my inability to swim, there's no way out for me from this.

I'm about to die in the worst possible way.

A dark mass with fins dart past me, barely visible in the cloudy water. Something hits my back painfully, then another creature claws at my shoulders and draws more blood. The next hit knocks the breath out of me, forcing out an involuntary gasp from me. My mouth fills with the distasteful water instantly, going down my windpipe and cutting off the last bit of my air supply. Choking me.

My lungs burn hotter than a furnace, aching for air. I can't feel my thighs anymore and my kicks are getting weaker. My mind goes blank and my consciousness slowly slips away.

Suddenly, a memory from the past springs to my mind. I hear the same male voice that spoke to me when I was a kid, back when I almost drowned in the water.

Do not be afraid, dear child.

These words have found a place in my heart and as I grow older, I find a greater meaning behind them.

Because once you give in to your fears, that's when you stop living.

Water is a part of me.

My veins throb badly. Something explodes within my chest, like a bolt of lightning shooting from the center of the rest of my limbs and out from my fingertips. There's a flash of blue light and a tremor in the water, which causes the creatures to screech in pain. The attacks against me completely cease; the atmosphere faltering to an unearthly silence.

My eyelids droop heavily and I go limp, succumbing to the darkness that awaits me.

***

Something nudges my body. Not just once, but a few times. A calm voice enters my mind, slowly reeling me back to reality.

Wake up.

I jerk wide awake, and the first thing that my brain registers is how my muscles knot in pain. Confused, I sweep my arms, patting myself down to check my condition. My blonde locks float around me, water caressing my scalp.

I don't know how much time has passed, but I'm still alive and deep in the ocean, breathing in the strangest way—through my gills instead of my nose.

This means I must have morphed again for the second time in my life. My legs are still there, which only brings me to a conclusion that half-merfolks clearly do not morph the same way as a full-blood would.

A gray pectoral fin glides past me suddenly, startling me with its presence. My guard goes up immediately because I'm wondering if this creature is going to attack me again.

However, when it comes back, it greets me warmly.

Greetings, merlady.

My eyes grow wide at its friendliness. This is the first time I'm actually having a normal conversation with a sea animal. How do I even answer it? Can it read my mind or does this work like a channel?

I try to concentrate on the advancing creature, hoping that it can hear me. Hello there.

The voice comes again, mellow and intrigued. It is a pleasure to meet you. This is my first time meeting a half-human.

I can say the same about a talking whale like you. Are you unaffected by the water?

Not quite, it answers me with a brief pause. But for now, I'm still myself.

Unlike the rest that attacked me earlier, this creature doesn't give off any malicious intent. It circles around me calmly and bumps me with its head, but not too rough. It's trying to maneuver me through the water, going in a specific direction.

Were you the one who saved me?

No. You did.

Me?

Yes. Look around you. You're the one who decimated them all with your powers.

Powers? Baffled, I stare down at my hands, which look pretty normal to me except for a couple of scratches. My brain is a little fuzzy, but I do recall something had happened before I passed out—a blue light. I have powers?

You do. You're a lightning wielder. I witnessed it myself earlier. If I'd gotten within your range, I would have gotten myself killed as well.

As it moves fluidly past me, one of its eyes—not red but an ash gray color—stares at me, unblinking. This time, I get a better look and am taken by surprise at what it is.

It's a humpback whale.

And it's massive.

From its size, it can easily weigh over 50,000 pounds. It dips into the water and goes below me, before positioning me above its massive head and begins lifting me upwards to the water's surface. To where the sun awaits. I cling onto the whale with my hands, eyes running over the bruises covering its skin.

Where are you taking me?

Back to the Eleventh Son. You're looking for him, aren't you?

Now, I'm confused. Eleventh Son who?

The Eleventh Son of the High Seas. The mark on the back of your neck tells me you're his mate.

Zarius! This whale is talking about him. I reach up to touch the back of my neck, trying to feel the skin and imagine that there's an identical soulmate mark sitting there.

Sounds to me like he's an important figure in the underwater world.

The whale lets out a low rumble of bubbles, as if it's chuckling in understanding at my lack of knowledge. Because he is. He belongs to the family that rules the oceans. It is crucial you save him and bring him back to us.

So, my hunch is right—Zarius is from the royal family. But knowing that fact won't change my perception of him.

What if I cannot save him?

Then the humans will get their way and destroy what's left of us.

We burst free from the saltwater, and the setting sun greets us like a mother's embrace. The light sprinkles gold onto the waves. I sit on top of the whale's head like a surfboard, relishing every second of the resting time that I can get while I'm being carried across the ocean like this. This is a phenomenal experience, and even though I had a near-death experience a short while ago, I can't stop a smile from finding its way to my lips.

Clearing my throat, I ask out loud. "You're certain you know where Zarius is being taken to? We're in the middle of nowhere."

I do. I saw them earlier and I promise to take you there safely. As if sensing my worry, the whale provides me encouragement that I need more than I admit. You survived from the horde attack earlier and awakened your powers. You will survive again.

Thank you, big guy. There's a brief pause as I hesitate. Things are at my disadvantage if I'm going up against the military alone. I hope you're right.

An hour later, we arrived at an island in the middle of nowhere. Once I get off my ride, the whale blasts a quick gout of water into the air from its blowhole.

I cannot accompany you any further, it says apologetically. Farewell, merlady. I wish you the best of luck and safety.

"Thank you for your help!" I shout, watching as it wiggles a flipper at me in a goodbye wave before it disappears into the water and ventures off to the horizon. While the interaction has been pretty endearing, a tinge of sadness settles into my heart, knowing that this might be the last time I'll ever see the big, friendly whale again.

Right, I shouldn't be wasting time here. I turn around and walk up towards the shore as waves lap at my ankles. I can feel my merfolk features slowly morphing back to the human me. My aching feet digs into the sand that's filled with garbage and debris. The island doesn't seem to have any infrastructure, just plenty of trees and cliffs.

Zarius is in this place somewhere?

I don't think the whale was wrong with its direction. Just as I debate which way I should go, my sharpened senses tell me I'm not alone.

My head snaps up to look between the palm trees, realizing that there are guns pointing at me. They belong to soldiers who look like they are currently on guard shift.

They look absolutely baffled that I've walked out of the water. Alive.

"Hold it right there, young lady." They instruct me in an authoritative voice, while tightening their hold on their rifles. "Who are you?"