Love and Deepwater • A Rafayel story

The final breath

The Lord of the Southern Shore paced, his mind ablaze with greed and ambition. The news of the royal doctor had reached his ears, revealing a truth that sent shivers down his spine.

Enoria's heart, once frail and fading, now pulsed with a vitality that defied reason. The physician, who always knew about their Lord's obsession with the prophecy regarding their princess,  marveled at its newfound strength, even claiming they could hear the ocean's beat within its beats. To them, it was a miracle, a blessing bestowed upon the princess.

But the Lord knew better after he studied the ancient text left by his father and grandfather regarding the prophecy, and even talked to the Foreseer, himself. Legends that spoke of a weapon —a force that could reshape the world, a power coveted by kings and gods alike. And now, it might be hidden within Enoria.

Yet, Rafayel, the Lemurian they had captured, haunted the Lord's thoughts. He knew that the merman's eyes held secrets, and his presence reeked of magic, even though they were camouflaged by the unknown. The Lord suspected that Rafayel was the source of Enoria's newfound strength —a gift given by him, perhaps, from the very depths they sought to conquer.

Maybe the medics' tales about a forbidden love created the weapon they were searching for underwater.

The old king's plan changed as night fell. At first, he wanted to kindly ask Rafayel, when he would be brought downstairs, shackled and weakened. The Lord would confront him, and demand the truth.
But the guards told him that he had escaped alongside his pet, their first Lemurian and the king's precious pet, and the Lord understood that maybe he had not been as weak as they all thought. Maybe he was the cause of all the wrongdoings that happened in his city since he arrived. It could have been funny, how they had been stupid to not notice anything when all the disappearances happened when he arrived in their city.

The lord understood that maybe the heart of the sea —the ultimate power— was within his reach. That maybe it was the healthy heart that beat inside of Enoria's chest. Now, all he needed was to extract it from inside of her. And all the power of the seas would be under his grasp!

So he waited and paced.

And paced.

And paced.

Until it was time to start the plan that had been materializing in his brain for hours, a smirk on his noble wrinkled face.

As the moon hung low, the Lord entered Enoria's chamber. The princess lay there, her skin pale, her breaths shallow.

She was asleep.

When he walked closer, he felt her chest, searching for any hints of the weapon he had been searching for.

Invisible to human eyes, the heart scale Rafayel had gifted her rested inside her, pulsing with an otherworldly light. A light that the Lord couldn't see but his fingers trembled as he reached for it.

He always had intuition about otherworldly things, he had been the first Lord to participate in Lemurian incursions and captured many of them thanks to it.

Enoria, feeling the Lord's hand, suddenly awoke and whispered:

'My lord,' she said, her voice sounding tired. She brought the blanket closer, hiding her chest from the man's reach. 'What troubles you, this late at night?'