Chapter 96

Maren

The sea closes over us without a splash.

For a heartbeat I expect cold, pressure, darkness—but instead there’s warmth, light, a rhythm like breathing. The water glows from within, folds of silver current coiling around us as though we’ve stepped inside a living lung.

Kaelen’s hand is still in mine. His fire doesn’t die; it changes. The heat flickers along his arm, turning the color of dawn,