"My grandmother?"
The words barely left my mouth.
I stared at Shawshank, waiting for him to laugh and tell me he was joking.
He didn't.
Instead, he kept looking toward the darkness where the voice had disappeared.
"My grandmother is dead," I whispered.
"I know."
"Then how can she be calling me?"
Shawshank slowly shook his head.
"I don't know."
"You said she came here."
"Yes."
"When?"
"A very long time ago."
"Why?"
His eyes met mine.
"That is the part nobody wants you to know."
A cold shiver moved through me.
I wrapped my arms around myself.
"Tell me."
Shawshank hesitated.
"Bjei, some secrets are dangerous once they're spoken."
"I don't care."
"You should."
"I just heard my dead grandmother call my name from beneath the sea. I think I'm past being scared."
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he reached for my hand.
His fingers slipped between mine.
The warmth of his touch calmed me.
"Come with me."
"Where?"
"Somewhere I can show you something."
We walked through the underwater garden.
This time, I noticed that the creatures hiding among the coral were watching us.
Some looked curious.
Others looked afraid.
Nobody spoke.
Eventually, we reached a large stone door covered with strange symbols.
Shawshank placed his palm against it.
The symbols began glowing.
The door opened.
Inside was a small room filled with old objects.
Pearls.
Broken crowns.
Ancient books.
And photographs.
I walked toward a table.
There was a photograph lying beneath a layer of dust.
I picked it up.
My heart stopped.
It was my grandmother.
Young.
Beautiful.
And standing beside her was a man I had never seen before.
But that wasn't what shocked me.
Behind them was the same underwater palace I had just seen.
I dropped the photograph.
"No…"
Shawshank picked it up.
"She came here with him."
"Who is he?"
"We don't know."
"You don't know?"
"He disappeared."
"Where?"
"The surface."
I looked at him.
"Was he human?"
Shawshank nodded.
"Then why was my grandmother here?"
"She loved him."
My chest tightened.
"What happened to them?"
Shawshank's expression changed.
"They were separated."
"By who?"
"The queen."
I stepped backward.
"Why?"
"Because humans and sea people were never supposed to fall in love."
I stared at him.
A strange feeling settled in my chest.
"Then why did you save me?"
Shawshank looked at me.
"Because I couldn't let you die."
"That isn't an answer."
He stepped closer.
"Maybe I don't have one."
Our eyes met.
For a few seconds, neither of us moved.
I could hear my own heartbeat.
Then he gently touched my cheek.
"I've seen you before."
I swallowed.
"Where?"
"In my dreams."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"Before you ever came here, I dreamed about you."
A nervous laugh escaped me.
"That's impossible."
"I know."
"What did you dream?"
"You were standing beside the sea."
"Doing what?"
"Crying."
My smile disappeared.
"That was me."
"Yes."
"How?"
"I don't know."
He lowered his hand.
"But every time I woke up, I heard the same words."
"What words?"
Shawshank looked directly into my eyes.
"When the girl returns, the sea will awaken."
Suddenly, a loud explosion shook the entire room.
I jumped.
Shawshank immediately pulled me against him.
"What was that?"
He looked toward the door.
"We've been found."
"By who?"
Before he could answer, the stone door burst open.
A group of guards rushed inside.
Their weapons were glowing.
One of them pointed toward me.
"Take her."
Shawshank moved in front of me.
"No."
The guard stepped forward.
"The queen wants her."
"She isn't going anywhere."
"You know the law."
Shawshank's eyes hardened.
"I know the law."
"Then move."
"No."
The guard raised his weapon.
I grabbed Shawshank's arm.
"Please…"
He looked back at me.
His expression softened.
"Stay behind me."
Then a voice echoed through the room.
"Enough."
Everyone froze.
A woman entered.
She wore a long silver gown that floated around her like waves.
A crown rested on her head.
She looked directly at me.
And I knew immediately.
This was the queen.
She smiled.
"Bjei."
I couldn't speak.
She walked toward me slowly.
"You look exactly like your grandmother."
My heart pounded.
"You knew her?"
The queen smiled.
"I knew her very well."
"What happened to her?"
Her smile disappeared.
"She broke the rules."
"What rules?"
The queen looked at Shawshank.
Then back at me.
"She loved someone she wasn't supposed to love."
I felt my throat tighten.
"My grandmother loved a human."
"Yes."
"And my mother knows?"
"Yes."
"Angela knows all of this?"
The queen nodded.
"She knows more than you could imagine."
I stepped forward.
"Then why did she never tell me?"
The queen's eyes became cold.
"Because she was afraid you would become exactly like your grandmother."
"Like her how?"
The queen leaned closer.
"Falling in love with the wrong person."
Her eyes shifted toward Shawshank.
I followed her gaze.
Shawshank was staring at me.
And suddenly, I understood.
The queen wasn't warning me about the past.
She was warning me about him.
The queen turned away.
"Take her to the palace."
The guards moved toward me.
Shawshank grabbed my hand.
"Run."
We ran.
Behind us, the guards shouted.
The underwater kingdom blurred around me as Shawshank pulled me through a narrow passage.
My heart was pounding.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere they can't find us."
"Shawshank!"
He didn't stop.
"Why are you helping me?"
He finally looked back.
His eyes met mine.
"Because I think your grandmother left something here for you."
"What?"
He stopped.
A massive door stood before us.
On it was a symbol.
The exact same golden symbol glowing on my ankle.
Shawshank stared at it.
Then he looked at me.
"Whatever is behind this door…"
He took a breath.
"…has been waiting for you."
I reached toward the door.
The moment my fingers touched it, the entire underwater kingdom went dark.
And a woman's voice whispered from behind the door:
"Bjei… I've been waiting for you."