Page 32 of Seas and Scepters

"So I see."His cold green eyes moved from me to Eirik."And you bring a strange companion.Neither human nor siren, but something...in between."

"This is Prince Eirik of Vaelthorne," I said, straightening to my full height."He has sacrificed his humanity to join me here, as a creature of the sea."

My father's expression didn't change, but the Trident pulsed brighter in his grip."The very prince you were sent to kill.The one whose life would have completed your thirteenth trial and earned you the right to succession."His eyes narrowed."Yet he lives, altered though he may be.My curse remains unfulfilled."

"With respect, Your Majesty," Eirik spoke up, his voice clear and unafraid despite the danger that surrounded us, "I believe the terms of your curse have been satisfied.The human prince I was is dead.The Sea Witch Morgana's magic ended that life so I could begin anew here, with Selene."

A murmur rippled through the gathered court.My father's grip tightened on the Trident.

"You dare address me directly?You, who cost my daughter her rightful place as heir?"The water around us cooled noticeably as my father's anger manifested."What gives you the right to stand before me and claim technicalities?"

Before I could intervene, Eirik moved forward, his new tail propelling him with surprising confidence.

"Love gives me that right," he said simply."I loved your daughter enough to die for her—to surrender my crown, my kingdom, my very nature.I stand before you not as a prince of the land, but as a man who chose the depths for love of your daughter."

The Trident's light pulsed, but my father made no move to strike.Instead, he looked to my mother, something unreadable passing between them.

I swam to Eirik's side, taking his hand."Father, Mother—I failed my thirteenth trial because I found something more valuable than death.I found love.I found someone willing to give up everything for me, as I was willing to do for him."I drew myself up, channeling the royal bearing I'd been taught since birth."If that makes me unworthy of the crown, so be it.But I believe it makes me more worthy than I ever was as a killer."

Queen Thalassa leaned forward, speaking for the first time."And what would you know of rulership, daughter?What lessons has this...transformation taught you?"

I met my mother's gaze steadily."That true strength lies not in destroying others, but in finding the courage to create something new.That wisdom comes from seeing beyond our own waters.That the measure of a ruler isn't their ability to take lives, but their willingness to preserve them—even at great personal cost."

A strange expression crossed my mother's face—something that might have been pride.

My father remained stone-faced, but he leaned back in his throne, studying us both."Pretty words.But ruling requires more than sentiment.It requires sacrifice, hard choices, the willingness to do whatever must be done for the good of our kingdom."

"I know something of sacrifice," Eirik said quietly."As crown prince, I was raised understanding that my personal desires must come second to my duty.I was prepared to marry a woman who despised me, to rule a kingdom weighed down by ancient pacts and cold politics.When I chose Selene, I didn't abandon duty—I recognized a far greater one."

He gestured to the court around us."Your Majesty, your kingdom is magnificent, ancient, powerful.But it exists in isolation, clinging to traditions that may no longer serve it, much like my own.Through Selene's eyes, I've glimpsed a world beneath the waves that could forge new connections, new understandings with the world above.Together, we could build bridges rather than sink ships."

A heavy silence fell over the hall.I held my breath, watching my father's face for any sign that Eirik's words had reached him.The Trident's glow had dimmed, but whether that signaled calming anger or the quiet before a storm, I couldn't tell.

Then, unexpectedly, my father laughed—a sound so rare that several courtiers visibly startled.

"Caelum always said you were cleverer than the rest of us realized," he said, looking at me with new eyes."It seems your brother saw what I could not."

"What do you mean?"I asked, confusion replacing fear.

My father rose from his throne, the Trident held loosely in his grasp as he descended to our level."The thirteenth trial has never been what you believed it to be, Selene.Not truly."

"I don't understand," I said, looking between my parents.

My mother joined my father, her movement graceful and fluid."The thirteen deaths were never meant as a test of cruelty, but of discernment.The final trial—the thirteenth—has always been about choice."

"Every ruler needs strength," my father continued."The ability to take life when necessary.This, the first twelve trials prove.But the thirteenth...the thirteenth is where true rulers discover that greater strength lies in knowing whennotto kill.In finding value beyond death."

I stared at them, trying to process this revelation."But you cursed me.You cast me out."

"I did," my father acknowledged, no apology in his voice."Because you needed to understand the consequences of your choice.To know, beyond doubt, what you were willing to sacrifice.Your brother Caelum never reached his thirteenth trial.I needed to know you possessed not just the capability for mercy, but the courage to stand by it—even when at your own cost.”

"This was all a test?"I felt anger rising within me."You let me believe I had failed, that I had brought shame upon our family—"

"Because shame is meaningless compared to truth," my mother interjected softly."Every heir faces this moment differently.Some choose death and return triumphant with thirteen lives claimed, never knowing there was another path.They rule well enough, in their way.But the greatest rulers—those who truly transform our kingdom for the future—are those who discover that final truth themselves."

My father's gaze shifted to Eirik."And never before has an heir brought back one who was willing to change so completely for love.To surrender their very nature."He circled Eirik, studying his body."Morgana's mark is upon you.She does not give her blessing lightly."

"She said it was an extension of the protection my bloodline already carried," Eirik explained."Though I admit I don't fully understand its meaning."

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