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The High Priest of the Tides raised his arms, and a profound silence fell across the Grand Throne Room like a weighted net. His voice, when he spoke, resonated through the water with a practiced authority that had commanded generations of royalty.
"We gather in the presence of the Deep, before the Altar that has witnessed the binding of our ancestors, to join two houses in sacred union."
Coralina barely heard the words. Her focus drifted from the priest to the faces surrounding her, each one a mask of solemn anticipation. They saw a princess fulfilling her destiny, a symbol of their kingdom’s future prosperity. They had no idea of the war raging inside her, the violent conflict between her duty and her heart.
"Princess Coralina of the House of Theron," the priest continued, his ancient eyes finding hers. "You come before the Deep to pledge yourself in duty, in unity, and in permanence."
Permanence. The word echoed in her mind with a chilling finality. Forever bound to a man she respected but did not love. Forever trapped in a role she had never chosen. Forever separated from the one person who had made her feel alive. Her future stretched before her, a long, gray expanse of political dinners and courteous, empty conversations.
The priest turned his attention to Caspian. "Prince Caspian of the Eastern Reaches, you come before the Deep to accept the hand of the princess, to unite our kingdoms in strength and prosperity."
Caspian bowed his head in acknowledgment, ever dutiful, ever proper. He was the perfect prince, playing his part without flaw.
Coralina’s gaze drifted past the altar, through the grand archways of the throne room, to where currents flowed freely through the open water beyond the palace walls. Out there, the ocean stretched endlessly in all directions, a realm of possibility and freedom. Out there, somewhere far above, the surface world waited. The sun. The stars. The shore where she had once sat beside a boy who had promised to find her again.
Had he searched for her? Had he stood on that beach, day after day, hoping she would return? Or had five years been enough time for him to forget, to move on, to find someone else to share his life with?
The thought sent a fresh wave of pain through her chest, sharp and debilitating. She had spent all this time trapped in duty, preparing for this moment, while William had been free to live his own life. Perhaps he had married already. Perhaps he had children. Perhaps she was clinging to a memory that meant nothing to him anymore.
But no. She pushed the thought away. She remembered his face, the desperate way he had reached for her as the royal guards pulled her back into the depths. She remembered his voice cracking as he shouted her name. She remembered the promise, spoken with an intensity that could not be feigned.
I will find you again. No matter what it takes.
Those were not the words of someone who would forget so easily.
The priest was speaking again, reciting the ancient vows of unity. He spoke of duty and sacrifice, of the needs of the kingdom outweighing the desires of the individual. These were words that had bound generations of royalty to marriages of political convenience, sentences passed down through bloodlines.
Coralina’s hands trembled more violently now. The energy building inside her grew stronger, harder to contain. She could feel the water around her responding to her agitation, could sense the currents beginning to shift in unnatural patterns. Her own bioluminescence, normally a soft, controlled glow, began to flicker erratically.
Several nobles in the front row exchanged worried glances. King Theron’s jaw tightened, but he did not look at her. He stared straight ahead, his posture rigid with determination. He had invested too much in this alliance to let it fail now. The treaty had taken months to negotiate. The Eastern Reaches had demanded specific terms, specific assurances. This marriage was the cornerstone of everything.
Prince Caspian noticed her growing distress. His concern deepened, and for a moment, his carefully neutral expression cracked. He took a small step toward her, one hand half-raising as if to offer support.
But what support could he offer? He was part of the cage, not the key to its lock.
Coralina closed her eyes, trying to center herself, trying to find the control she had spent years mastering. Her hydrokinetic abilities had always been strong, but she had learned to keep them restrained, channeled, appropriate for a princess. She could pull water from the currents and shape it into beautiful sculptures for entertainment, or use it to communicate across short distances. Nothing dangerous. Nothing wild.
But the power inside her now felt neither restrained nor appropriate. It felt like a storm that had been gathering for half a decade, waiting for this exact moment to break free.
Memories flooded her mind, sharp and vivid. William’s laugh as she showed him how to float without fear in the cove. The wonder in his eyes the first time she had created a spiral of water that danced in the air above them. The warmth of his hand when he had finally worked up the courage to take hers.
"In the presence of the Deep, we now call upon the princess to speak her vows."
The priest’s words cut through her reverie like a blade. The moment had arrived. This was the point of no return.
Coralina opened her eyes and found Caspian watching her with genuine concern now. He was not a cruel man. He did not deserve to be humiliated in this way. But neither did she deserve to spend the rest of her life in a loveless union.
The priest turned to her fully, his expression expectant. "Princess Coralina, do you pledge yourself to Prince Caspian, in duty, in unity, and in permanence, forsaking all others, binding yourself to him and to the alliance of our kingdoms?"
Forsaking all others.
The words struck her with the force of a physical blow.
William’s face filled her mind. His promise. The one thing she had held onto through years of preparation for this moment.
Suddenly, Coralina knew she could not speak the vows. She could not say Caspian’s name when William’s was the only one in her heart.
The pressure inside her built to a breaking point. The water around the altar began to boil and swirl violently, no longer a subtle disturbance but an obvious and alarming display of power.
The priest stepped back in alarm. King Theron finally turned to look at her, his expression shifting from stern expectation to shocked realization.
And Coralina opened her mouth to speak.