The gate exploded.
A wave of darkness rushed toward us.
"RUN!" Azrael shouted.
Everyone scattered.
I grabbed Shawshank's hand.
"Come on!"
We ran through the eastern passage as the underwater kingdom collapsed behind us.
Walls cracked.
Bridges broke.
Creatures screamed as they escaped from the darkness.
I looked over my shoulder.
The gate was completely open now.
Something enormous was crawling through it.
I couldn't see its entire body.
Only its long black arms.
And those terrifying eyes.
"Bjei!" Shawshank shouted.
I turned.
A massive piece of stone was falling toward me.
Shawshank pushed me aside.
The stone crashed between us.
"Shawshank!"
I rushed around it.
He was on the ground.
"Are you hurt?"
He shook his head.
"I'm fine."
I helped him stand.
Seraphina suddenly appeared beside us.
"We have to reach the surface!"
"Why?"
"Because the creature wants us here."
I looked behind us.
The darkness was following.
"Then why are we going to the land?"
"Because it cannot enter the human world without you."
My heart sank.
"So I'm the key."
Seraphina nodded.
"But there's something else."
I stared at her.
"What?"
She looked at Shawshank.
"He is the lock."
Shawshank's face went pale.
"What?"
Seraphina grabbed his arm.
"You were created to hold the boundary together. If you cross into the human world, the boundary will follow you."
I understood.
The creature wasn't chasing us.
It was using us.
It wanted the boundary opened permanently.
I looked at Shawshank.
"We can't go."
He looked at me.
"If we stay, it takes us."
"And if we leave?"
"It follows."
I closed my eyes.
There had to be another way.
Then I felt something.
The golden mark on my chest.
It was warm.
Not burning.
Guiding.
I looked toward the surface.
"What if we don't escape?"
Everyone stared at me.
"What do you mean?" Angela asked.
I stepped forward.
"What if we make it follow us?"
Azrael's eyes widened.
"Bjei…"
"We can lead it to the boundary."
Seraphina shook her head.
"That could kill you."
"I know."
Shawshank grabbed my hand.
"No."
I looked at him.
"We've been running since I met you."
His eyes softened.
"And I'm tired of running."
He squeezed my hand.
"But I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself."
"I don't plan to."
I smiled faintly.
"I plan to make the creature regret following us."
For the first time, Shawshank smiled.
"That sounds like you."
We reached the surface passage.
Sunlight appeared above us.
I hadn't seen sunlight in what felt like forever.
We climbed.
Then I stopped.
Angela was behind me.
"Bjei."
I turned.
She was crying.
"What?"
She hugged me.
"I am sorry."
I hugged her back.
"You're going to tell me everything."
"Yes."
"After we survive."
She nodded.
"After we survive."
We climbed higher.
Shawshank followed.
The moment his head broke through the surface, he gasped.
He looked at the sky.
The sunlight touched his face.
For a moment, he looked completely human.
He smiled.
"Beautiful."
I smiled.
"You've never seen the sky?"
"Not like this."
I touched his face.
"Welcome to my world."
He looked at me.
"Your world?"
I nodded.
"Our world."
Then the sea behind us began turning black.
The ocean rose.
Higher.
Higher.
A massive wave formed.
Everyone froze.
Seraphina whispered,
"It followed."
The wave towered above us.
Then a voice came from inside it.
My voice.
"Bjei…"
I stepped forward.
Shawshank held my hand.
The creature spoke again.
"You brought me home."
The wave crashed.
But instead of drowning us…
the entire ocean pulled backward.
Something enormous emerged from the water.
A creature taller than any building.
Its body was covered in black scales.
Its eyes were golden.
And on its forehead was the same mark as mine.
I stared at it.
My heart stopped.
Because I knew that mark.
I had seen it before.
In my dreams.
In the ancient photographs.
On Elara.
On myself.
And now…
on the creature.
It looked at me.
Then it smiled.
"You finally came back."
I whispered,
"Back from where?"
The creature leaned closer.
"From me."
Shawshank stepped in front of me.
The creature laughed.
"You still don't understand."
It pointed at me.
"She isn't my daughter."
Everyone went silent.
The creature pointed at Shawshank.
"And he isn't my servant."
Then it looked directly into my eyes.
"He is your other half."
My breath caught.
Shawshank's hand went cold in mine.
The creature smiled.
"And when you finally remember what happened the night you were born…"
The ground beneath us began shaking.
"…you will understand why I have been waiting for you."
TO BE CONTINUED…