Page 30 of Seas and Scepters

She leaned against me, her head resting on my shoulder."You are the strongest person I have ever known, Eirik.If anyone can endure this transformation, it's you."

We sat in silence again, the minutes ticking away toward midnight, toward the end of one life and the beginning of another.I thought of my father, standing alone on that dock as I sailed away.I thought of Princess Astrid, who deserved a husband who could love her fully.I thought of the kingdom I had been raised to rule, now destined for other hands.

But when I looked at Selene, at the way the firelight gilded her features and the starlight reflected in her eyes, I knew I was making the right choice.Whatever life awaited me beneath the waves—be it joy or sorrow, acceptance or exile—it would be a life with her.And that was worth any sacrifice.

As midnight approached, we made our way back to the Calling Pool.The moon hung directly overhead now, its reflection perfect in the still water.At the edge of the pool, I removed my boots and outer garments, leaving only my lightest clothing.Selene did the same, her movements growing more graceful, more fluid as we neared the moment of her return to her true form.

"Last chance to change your mind," she said softly, her fingers intertwining with mine.

I raised our joined hands to my lips, pressing a kiss against her knuckles."My mind was made up the moment I saw you."

The moon reached its zenith just as we stepped into the pool together.The water was surprisingly warm, embracing us like a living thing as we waded deeper.When we reached the center, where the water came to our shoulders, the surface began to glow once more with that eerie blue-green light.

Morgana rose from the depths before us, more ethereal and terrifying than before.In her hands she held what appeared to be a shell as large as a dinner plate, filled with a swirling, iridescent liquid.

"Prince Eirik of Vaelthorne, son of Aldric, descendant of the bloodline I marked with my protection," she intoned, her voice resonating through water and bone alike."Do you freely choose to end your human existence and begin life anew as a creature of the sea, bound to its depths and its mysteries forever?"

"I do," I said, my voice steady despite the fear coursing through me.

"Princess Selene of the Obsidian Deep, daughter of Nereon, failed heir to the throne of the northern seas," Morgana continued."Do you accept this sacrifice as fulfillment of your father's curse, and take this transformed man as your mate in the world beneath the waves?"

"I do," Selene answered, her grip on my hand tightening.

"Then drink," Morgana commanded, holding the shell out to me."Drink and become."

I took the shell in my free hand, unwilling to release Selene even for a moment.The liquid inside shimmered with colors I had no names for, swirling hypnotically.I raised it to my lips and drank deeply, the taste like nothing I had ever experienced—salt and sweetness, pain and pleasure, fire and ice all at once.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened.Then agony erupted throughout my body, as if every bone were breaking simultaneously, every muscle tearing, every nerve ending afire.I might have screamed; I couldn't tell through the roaring in my ears.The water around us began to churn violently, and I felt Selene's hand slip from mine as the current pulled us apart.

Through the haze of pain, I saw her transform—her legs melding together, scales erupting across her lower body, gills opening along her ribcage.She was magnificent, terrible, glorious—a creature of myth and legend returning to her true form at last.

My own transformation was less visible but no less profound.I felt my lungs collapse and reform, my legs fuse and stretch, my skin harden in places and grow impossibly sensitive in others.The scars that had marked half my face since childhood burned as if freshly made, then cooled suddenly, the sensation replaced by a tingling numbness that spread across my features.

Throughout it all, one thought kept me anchored to sanity: Selene.Her name became my mantra, my prayer, my reason to endure the unendurable.Selene.Selene.Selene.

When the pain finally began to subside, I found myself floating in the now-calm waters of the pool, my body transformed beyond recognition.Where my legs had been, a powerful tail now propelled me through the water with effortless grace.Gills fluttered along my sides, drawing oxygen from the water as naturally as I had once breathed air.My hands were webbed, my skin shimmering with faint scales that caught the moonlight.

And Selene—she was beside me again, her own transformation complete.Her tail was magnificent, covered in scales that shifted from silver to blue to green depending on how the light struck them.Her hair floated around her like a living cloud, and her eyes glowed with an inner light that made my breath catch—or would have, had I still been breathing air.

"Eirik," she said, her voice different underwater—musical, layered with harmonics no human ear could perceive."You survived.You're here."

I reached for her, marveling at how easily I moved through the water, how natural it felt."I told you," I replied, my own voice strange to my ears, "I choose you.I choose us."

She touched my face, her fingers tracing where my scars had been."They're gone," she whispered."The marks of your protection—they've transformed too."

I raised a hand to my cheek, feeling smooth skin where ridged scars had been for most of my life.Before I could respond, Morgana's voice echoed around us.

"The protection remains, but in a different form," the Sea Witch said, drifting closer."Look."

She conjured a mirror of polished shell, holding it before me.My reflection showed a face I recognized yet didn't—my features sharper, more angular, my eyes now a blue so deep they were almost black.And where my scars had been, intricate patterns of luminescent markings now swirled across my skin, like living tattoos that pulsed with their own inner light.

"The mark of my protection, adapted to your new form," Morgana explained."It will identify you to all creatures of the sea as one under my aegis.Even Nereon will hesitate to harm one who bears it."

"Thank you," I said, unable to fully express my gratitude for this unexpected gift.

Morgana inclined her head, her expression softening slightly."You have both chosen to defy the expectations of your worlds for love.Such courage deserves reward."She gestured toward the depths of the pool, where a faint glow was visible far below."Go now.The way to the Obsidian Deep lies open before you.What reception awaits you there, I cannot say—but you go together, and that is more than most are granted in this life or any other."

With those words, she began to fade, her form becoming transparent until only her obsidian eyes remained, watching us for a moment longer before they too vanished.

---