CHAPTER 2
Syrena
Syrena overlooked Maerinys as the sun bathed their shores in a warm golden light for the first time in centuries.
The view was breathtaking. The towers glistened, and the ancient streets were washed clean by the sea as life returned to a place that had long been nothing but bones and ruin. It was both everything she dreamt of and everything she planned. And yet, as Syrena stood there, she felt nothing but rage.
Esmyra had done this.All by her fucking self.
The twin who had been lost to time, wandering the surface world, blind to the power running through her veins. The twin who hadn’t planned for this, who hadn’t sacrificed nor bled for it. And yet, in the end, she had been the one to bring the kingdom back.
Syrena’s hands balled into fists, her nails digging into her palms as her fingers wrapped around the rail.
It should’ve beenher.
For years, she had worked in the shadows of the depths, weaving together the remnants of a lost empire. She had convinced the people to wait—to believe she could one day restore them to their former glory. After she survived the gods’ betrayal, it had given them hope. Her subjects raised her to be their queen, following and worshiping her,trustingher to bring them back.
And yet, the moment Maerinys breached the surface, all eyes had turned to her sister.
The way the people looked at Esmyra, the reverence in their eyes, the way they whispered miracles ofKaelypsoreborn with no mention of Naerysa... It made her sick.
She wouldn’t be cast aside. Not again.
Neveragain.
Esmyra had no desire to rule, and that was fine—perfect, even. Syrena didn’t need her to want power, she only needed her sister to wield it when commanded, buying more time to complete her and Azarian’s plan.
But more than that, it would allow Syrena to control her. Because there was something else beneath Syrena’s jealousy. Something she hadn’t spoken aloud, even to herself.
Fear.
Esmyra had wielded a power beyond comprehension. If she could do that, what else was she capable of?
The weight of divinity pressed against her ribs, filling her chest until it was hard to breathe. Before the merging, Naerysa was always something Syrena could feel within her, like a darkness leeching off her.
When she was young, a constant fear whispered at the edges of her mind, but once Azarian told her the truth of it all, pride swelled in her veins. To learn she had been chosen as the goddess’s vessel became terror wrapped in glory. Her body was no longer wholly her own and carried a power older than every empire. Syrena was the chosen vessel of Naerysa’s soul, and she considered it the greatest of honors and sacrifices.
The goddess had looked into the endless sea of mortals and found her worthy.Her. Syrena Aeress. She didn’t see it as a curse like Esmyra did, but as a purpose. And that purpose was what drove her.
And she would do anything—giveanything—for her goddess’s approval.
“You’ve done well, my pet,” Naerysa purred in her mind.
Chills ran along Syrena’s spine; she wasn’t used to the goddessbeing able to freely speak to her. It was as if the merging had unlocked a cage, and now she was seeing through her eyes while listening to her thoughts.
Naerysa’s memories and desires had woven themselves into Syrena’s very soul, merging with her own. Nine centuries ago, the goddess within her wished to destroy her twin by absorbing her power. She might have succeeded too, if the other gods of Rymelle hadn’t intervened, murdering them both.
Kaelypso was a fierce storm, stemming from the trenches of the depths. She contained a more brutal power than Naerysa. Not only that, but she gained the love of the only man Naerysa ever desired: Irah, the God of Rage and War.
And now history was repeating itself in their new forms. Draevyn, a mortal blessed with Irah’s flames, had fallen for Esmyra. He was aprincefor fuck’s sake, and he was in love with a vicious pirate, having no interest in a queen.
“Even in this lifetime, Kaelypso has everything,” Naerysa hissed. “We will not suffer as we did before. They must be destroyed.”
Syrena’s jaw ticked, her teeth aching from the pressure as memories of both lifetimes swarmed her. Kaelypso had everything Naerysa didn’t, just as Esmyra was able to roam freely for centuries, while Syrena was bound to the ocean’s floor.
For now, she would smile while offering honeyed words, but in the end, she would do what needed to be done. This kingdom was hers, and she wouldn’t let anyone take it from her.
Soft footsteps sounded from behind as a pulsating magic sizzled at her back. She didn’t need to turn to know it was Esmyra.
