They watched as the nereid jumped into the water and sunk to the bottom of the faux ocean in the shelter. Serena needed to make a choice by herself.

"Did I put too much pressure on her with my speech?"

Nero asked Altia with a heavy heart. He had to put it out of his chest. She leaned on him.

"Yes, you did. But that's not a bad thing. She has too much pressure on one side, sometimes one needs to equalize the pressure. I liked it. She has a good head. Give her time to put her thoughts together."

That subject was done. Nero changed the subject.

"Amaryllis was using some sort of Skill to keep us awake, did you notice? I saw some signs of active use of Essence from her. My mana was also recovering while we talked."

"Now that you mention it, something did refresh us. I doubt it was one of the professors or they would've used it more often. But I don't mind getting some sleep."

Nero wasn't sleepy but he wouldn't pass an invitation to go to bed with his wife.

"There's a brand new bed upstairs. I don't mind if we go test the elves' work," He proposed.

She pushed him away. "Just sleep. There's no mood for that."

They climbed the stairs carved out of the tree's trunk by elven magic and reached their bedroom. The mattress was divine and they soon fell asleep.

Serena sunk to the bottom of the saltwater pond and laid down on the sand watching the coral reefs. The illusion was nice and very realistic, but the lack of life was unnerving. The royal family back home had a private coral reef and she used to play around the coral all the time. The dangerous fish, the predators were kept away with a net. But it was still beautiful.

She sighed and closed her eyes. Finally free! Well, not as free as she wished but now she was with friends. She looked at her ring. The leaf tiara, the ring, Daisy. Mementos of her torment. Proof she survived and overcame the challenge, coming out stronger on the other side. And now she was free. Still hunted, but she could decide her fate.

Becoming Nero's sister, adopted by Byron and Rhynne was a tempting choice. She didn't want to give up her Skills, though. She opened the card pouch and drew the four Skills.

[Siren's Song] - epic Skill. Requires level 20. +15 Willpower. +15 Perception. +20 Charisma. Aquatic race. Gender: female.

+5 Willpower

+15 Charisma

"Lull yourself in the embrace of music, and sail to your ruin."

Effect: Spend 4 mana. Enthrall all creatures in a radius of Charisma feet. Enthralled creatures remain still and take no action unless attacked. Creatures attacked are immune to the effects of this Spell for 30 days. The effect lasts for 5 minutes or until the caster stops singing. This is a channeled spell and can be renewed for the same duration for the same mana cost. Effect based on Charisma. Resisted by Willpower. The caster can move at half their movement rate but can take no hostile actions or the spell breaks.

[Water Affinity] - epic Skill. Requires level 20. +15 Reason. +15 Willpower.

+10 Reason

+10 Willpower

+5 Charisma

"Water is change. Water is life. Water is ruin for those not born from it."

Effect: All your Spells and Skills are 50% more effective and cost 20% less mana and stamina if you are at least half-submerged in water. Your damaging Spells and Skills are 50% more effective against fire creatures or those vulnerable to water or ice. Your beneficial Spells and Skills are 50% more effective on aquatic or plant creatures. All parameters of your water or ice spells are increased by 50%. You take 50% less damage from water and ice effects.

[Ice Manipulation] - epic Skill. Requires level 20. +15 Reason. +15 Willpower.

+5 Vigor

+10 Reason

+10 Willpower

"Welcome to the frozen world."

Effect: You can manipulate, move, shape, and create ice. You can create Reason * Willpower cubic inches of ice for every 1 point of mana in a minute. You can manipulate Reason * Willpower cubic feet of ice for every 1 point of mana/minute at a speed of Perception feet per second. Ice you create or manipulate won't thaw for Willpower / 3 minutes, minus 1 minute for every 20 degrees above zero. If you chose to attack using ice, you can create and fire one ice dart for 1 point of mana, dealing piercing and ice damage based on (Reason + Willpower) at a range of Perception x 3 yards. If you have ice available, you can instead shape and fire Reason / 3 darts for 1 point of mana.

[Naiad's Kiss] - epic Skill. Requires level 20. +15 Vigor +15 Willpower. +15 Charisma.

+3 Vigor

+6 Endurance

+5 Reason

+6 Willpower

+5 Charisma

"Few fey have a kiss more powerful than the spring naiad. It can heal even deadly wounds or curse into a watery grave. - Balamarticus, grand archivist of Daltus' library."

Effect: Spend 10 points of mana and stamina and kiss a target. You are not immune to the detrimental effects of coming into contact with a target's skin. Choose one effect: Cure dehydration, staunch bleeding, and heal severe wounds based on Willpower + Charisma. OR cause severe dehydration, and curse the target to lose 5 points of stamina every second for 1 minute. Those drained of all stamina have all physical Attributes halved. An underwater target also either gains water breathing for 24 hours or immediately starts to drown. You can't use this Skill on yourself.

She released the cards and let them float next to her. Could she give them up? They were rightfully hers. It was too petty of her family to demand the cards back. And yet she knew they wouldn't give up on retrieving them. Because she was not considered worthy of these. Because she was more valuable dead. A martyr rather than a black spot in the family tree. She felt a revolt rising up from her stomach.

Staging a coup and becoming Queen was tempting but she would not murder her family. The leonals from Bast, especially prince Tyre, that bastard of a rapist, would claim he had the right to be King. She would have to murder her family and go to war against Bast. Then get the longest line of suitors wishing to marry her and become King. No.

Serena retrieved her cards, stopping them from slowly drifting away. There was a small current coming from the stream and disappearing at the bottom where the sand met the illusionary reef. To Coriander, these were worth billions of Essence. Nero was amazed at the millions they spent so far in hunting her, that was a drop of water in the ocean. And it was not about the Essence.

On a whim, she kicked against the sand and swam to the wall. it wasn't cold or hot. But it was hard. Up close like this, the illusion was obvious. The enchanted threshold shifted what she was seeing but the proportions were skewed. Serena kicked against the wall and returned to the beach. Nero had to add waves somehow. The still saltwater didn't look much like the sea.

The badger, Bruce if she wasn't mistaken, ran and sniffed her. She raised a hand but he ran away, scared of the water. Daisy stood next to the portal far away. Serena flicked and returned to the depths. Not depths, just thirty feet down. She sat down and hugged her knees. What should she do? What did she want for her future? Considering the constraints she was subjected to.

Adoption. Did Nero know she was older than him by one year? Would Byron and Rhynne accept her? She covered her eyes and searched her soul. Calling Nero 'brother' would be extremely easy. She even felt warm just from thinking of doing it. The truth was, she liked him but not as a man. As a friend, definitely. A brother would be even better. After what happened, she didn't want them to touch her, much less be romantically involved. Serena was aware Altia felt some jealousy. Becoming sister-in-law would dispel that irrational seed of worry from the woman's mind. At least one good thing from no longer being royalty. She didn't have the obligation of having children anymore.

She replayed what Nero told her. He shone so brightly when he spoke of his achievements. He opened his heart and showed his pain, his weakness. And how it propelled him to become stronger. The versatility he displayed was just amazing.

Serena relaxed and laid down on the sand, her hair lazily floating around her. She closed her eyes. Her heart knew what it wanted. She would not give her tormentors the taste of victory. She too would carve her own place in the world. If Nero could become someone out of nothing, she wouldn't settle for less. She could live without being a princess, but the sense of entitlement characteristic of her station remained. She wanted everything.

Her decision made, she relaxed and fell asleep.