Vaela sits beside Kai, sipping silently from a crystal goblet, doing her best not to draw any attention to herself.
It wasn't working.
The breakfast table at the Aquesterian Royal Palace is a far cry from the usually peaceful and quiet affair.
The dining hall is encrusted with thousands of glittering sea-crystals, and crowned with a massive, open, domed ceiling, through which various sea creatures venture as Vaela and the royal family enjoy a delicate and colourful selection of foods. Though the meal and views were exquisite, the atmosphere felt more like a brewing under-sea storm.
"So, this is the blue-eyed siren that finally lured our brother back home." Nerina smirks over her stack of shrimpcakes. "The indomitable Vanessa Moonblood. Quite the catch, Kai."
Across the table, Kai's second sister, Marialle, tall, smokey, and solemn, stares daggers at Vaela as she sneers over a cup of kelp coffee, having yet to utter a single word to her all morning.
Meanwhile, Elsuana, his third sister, hadn't looked at the breakfast table or family even once, much less Vaela. Her eyes remain glued to a floating screen, flicking between financial and stock reports as she reviews a ledger in her hand.
But at least one Aquesterian royal was thrilled to have Vaela in their midst. Kai's youngest brother, Aquelin, stares at Vaela constantly. His eyes wide, cheeks flushed and his lips curled into a sly grin.
"Lady Moonblood!" he exclaims across the table, jumping onto his seat. "For you! The most pretty flower in the sea for the most beautiful maiden of the land."
"Oh!" Vaela chuckles. "Thank you, kind prince. It's very… pink."
"I journeyed, with danger to life and fin, to pluck it myself from the sky-gardens atop the northern spire… I almost died." he whispers, leaning in. "There were crabs this big!"
Kai nearly chokes on his drink as he tries to stifle his laughter.
At the far end of the table sits Queen Syranelle, their stepmother. She watches the chaos unfold across the table with wary amusement, hiding her occasional chuckles behind a decorative fan. She looks old, elegant and radiates in regal blues, and gleaming Aquarian jewellery.
"He's been writing poetry since you arrived." she informs Vaela. "But I believe he relinquished the pursuit when he couldn't figure out what rhymes with Moonblood."
"Mother!" Aquelin cried, his eyes filled with the look of betrayal.
Syranelle chuckles behind her fan before turning to Vaela with a warm smile. "Thank you again, Miss Moonblood, for bringing Kai back to us. Having him back with his family, enjoying breakfast… this alone makes you dear to me."
Vaela flushes red. "Oh, thank you, Your Grace, but I really—"
Before she could finish, a great door swings open and a royal attendant bows as he enters the hall.
"I am pleased to announce, His Majesty is ready for visitations."
The room freezes instantly before cutlery is dropped and chairs scraped across the marble floor. One by one the royal family moves through the halls in silence, marching toward the King chambers in a solemn procession. But as they approach the ornate, pearl-laden doors, they stop.
Kai turns to them, confused.
"Go," Syranelle beckons softly. "This is your moment, Kai."
He turns to Vaela who urges him forward with a firm nod. He grips her hand, swallows a deep breath and pushes open the doors.
The room inside is dim, barely lit by the soft light of small healing crystals that float around the air like spores. The king lay reclined on a platform woven of crystal and coral, his wrinkled skin hanging loosely from his thin frame and his breath slow and laboured as tubes pulse around him.
"Come to claim the throne, boy?" the king groans. "Go wait outside. I'm not dead yet!"
Kai doesn't flinch, he shares a somber smile with Vaela before kneeling at his father's side and clutching his hand tightly.
And for a long time, there was silence.
"I ran." Kai finally speaks. "I was scared, I was weak… I wasn't brave enough. Maybe I still am all those things. Maybe I always will be. But I do know this… Aquesteria is being torn apart. And I won't standby and watch it happen. Not anymore. Not while I breathe."
"This again?" the king bitterly scoffs. "How many speeches will you give before you actually do something?"
"This isn't a speech, Father." Kai replies calmly. "This is a promise. I forgot who I am and what I stand for. But never again. Someone special reminded me of what I'm meant to be."
He turns to Vaela and gestures gently.
She steps forward nervously and clears her throat.
"My name is Vanessa Moonblood. It is an honour to meet you, Your Majesty."
The king's breath catches in his throat. He slowly peels open his eyes and his strains to lift his neck.
And as his vision falls on Vaela… his world instantly stops.
He stares at Vaela in awe, who stares back at him wide-eyed and confused.
His breathing sharpens, rising and falling in uneven gasps as his fingers twitch and his body begins to tremble. He gawks at her as if she had stepped out of a vision, the weight of her glowing presence piercing his soul and unravelling decades of buried thoughts and feelings.
Kai startles, stepping back in wonder as he watches the ethereal moment blossom between them.
The king's mouth slowly parts as he whispers. "... Mother…"
And then… tears. Heavy, guttural and unrelenting sobs broke from the old man like a dam wall bursting open.
Kai's eyes shoot wide. "F-Father?!"
The room doors burst open as the entire royal family pours in. Little Aurelyn squeezes through to the front, valiantly wielding his flower like a sword. They all freeze as they watch their proud and impenetrable king weep openly into his sheets.
"I've been a fool!" he wails. "I've known so long! And yet! The bloody pride of me! I'm sorry… please. Forgive me! I've been blinded by my own ambitions. My own greed. I thought… No! There's no excuses… I've forsaken my vows… I'm a failure, a broken man pretending to be a king!"
"Darion!" Syranelle cries out as she runs to her husband's side, grabbing him into her chest. "Darling… w-what happened?"
"I just wanted to be remembered." he sniffles. "I wanted to be great. Like those who built the legacies that shaped this kingdom. But, I… I become something else. I want to change, Syrie, I need to."
He turns to Kai and hardens his expression.
"Send word to my brother! Cancel the summit. Effectively immediately."
The room stood in stunned silence.
Then erupted into howls of happiness. His daughters rush him, Aurelyn drops the flower and leaps onto his bed, Syranelle weeps onto his head as she embraces him tightly. And Kai stands quietly aside, jaw clenched and smiling as he wipes away tears.
In the chaos of the cheer, no one notices Vaela slip out of the room.
She steps into the hall, head in her hand, breathing shallowly as she tries to make sense of what had just happened.
"What did you do?" Lilith gulps as she slips onto Vaela's shoulder on a pillow of smoke. "That man looked like he just saw the faces of the Gods."
"I-I don't know." Vaela replies, her head in a daze as she stares ahead blankly. "I… just said my name. And he cried."
Lilith blinks, staring at her in silent bewilderment before suddenly vanishing.
Kai bursts through the door and sweeps Vaela into his arms. She gasps before melting into his tight embrace.
"Thank you…" he whispers into her neck, his voice quivering and thick with emotion. "Thank you for showing him what no one else could."
He held her tighter as she felt his warm tears falling onto her skin.
He finally pulls away, grinning widely, his eyes wet and shining. "I swear… if I didn't know you… I'd think you were an angel." he teases.
Vaela only smiles in response, her cheeks glowing red.
"You've given me everything..." he says softly, taking her hands into his. "If there's anything, Vanessa, anything you ever need. I'll always be there for you."
Vaela leans up toward him and kisses him softly. "Good!" she smirks as she wipes the tear-trails from his cheek. "For now… just don't run away again."
He kisses her again and quickly slips back into the room.
"You know," Lilith purrs as she appears again, sitting upside down on a chandelier in her human form. "I'm starting to think you might actually have been born for this business."
"What?" Vaela chuckles. "Falling hopelessly for forbidden men?"
"Well… there's that too. But seducing men… if you can even call this a seduction. Whatever you're doing to them, they're falling for you like bricks."
"He's mine?"
"Captured and conquered." Lilith says with a snap of her fingers. "He's all yours. He'll obey your commands like the most obedient little puppy."
Vaela looks longing towards the doors, her heart heavy, but warm and content. "I don't need to control Kai."
"No?"
"No… he's already going to do exactly what I want."
Lilith grins, fully-fanged and devilishly wicked. "That's my girl."