The next morning, Serenil found himself in the royal aquatic gardens, a sprawling oasis of interconnected pools and magical streams. Liselotte had requested his company, and King Sylas had insisted.
The young mermaid princess surfaced with a splash, her silvery blue hair cascading over her shoulders, water droplets dancing in the air.
"You look so serious all the time, Serenil! Smile a little, will you?"
He didn't respond, arms folded as he watched her twirl in the water.
"Do you even know how to have fun?" she asked, puffing her cheeks. "Or is your brain always stuck in war mode?"
Serenil gave her a rare glance. "Fun is a distraction."
Liselotte swam up and leaned against the pool's edge, mere inches from him. "Then maybe you need a distraction, sword prince. You're marrying me, after all. You should at least know what kind of fish I am."
"You're more shark than fish, it seems."
She giggled. "Not the first time I've been told that. But I like you, Serenil. You're strange and scary and silent. But deep down, you're just like me—swimming against the current."
As she splashed him and darted away with a laughing twirl, Serenil stared into the rippling water, a quiet storm stirring behind his emotionless eyes.
Two brides. Two worlds. And a kingdom on the edge of war.
Voidrender hummed faintly at his side.