Phoca, Luna and a few other of the selkies took turns pushing the boat for a time. Eventually the boat slowed, and Phoca peeked her head up over the side. "This is as far as we go, dearies."

"I understand. You have helped us so much! Thank you." Aurora bowed her head to the selkie.

"I will watch for your friends and lead them to the boatman also." Phoca told them. "I hope they can rejoin you on your journey soon."

"Is there some way we can repay you?" The Empress asked.

"If you are indeed Favored of the Fates, mention our service to you when you arrive. If you are not favored, please forget that we helped." Phoca said.

"We will," Devrim confirmed.

"One more thing: you are entering the waters where the merfolk roam. They are just as likely to drown you as help you. They are highly unpredictable. Stay on your guard, my dears." Phoca smiled at them as if they were her children. Aurora reached out of the boat and hugged the selkie around her smooth, wet neck.

"We will miss you, Phoca. Goodbye." Aurora said.

Phoca made a sound akin to a barking seal and slipped quietly into the water. Behind them the water rippled periodically as a head or tail appeared and disappeared from sight. The selkies headed back to shore.

Aurora sighed. They were alone again without a guide. They could see the top of the ice barrier in the far distance, but at the rate that Devrim could row, it would take all day and well into the night to reach the shore. "Let me help." Aurora's dark hair fluttered as she turned around and sat on the rowing bench next to her friend. Together they each took an oar and pulled against the water to begin the boat's slicing motion.

The repetitive pulling on the oars was new to Aurora, and her shoulders began to burn with the strain. Despite the cool temperature, Devrim had beads of sweat on his brow from his exertion. When they could row no longer, they stopped to rest.

"Oh no!" Aurora turned around. They had veered off course far to the east—the side Aurora was sitting on. Having not rowed a boat before, they had no way of knowing that rowing harder on one side of the boat would make the boat turn. Fortunately, Devrim was quick to identify the problem.

"It is my fault. I need to match your strength," the man said. He grabbed her oar and turned the boat back toward the correct angle. After a break and a snack, they headed out again. As they traveled, the water changed color from green to a dark blue. It was a subtle change, but had they known what it signified, the pair would have been on their guard.

"Is the sky getting darker?" Devrim asked, squinting as he looked up. Sure enough, the sun faded from view and the sky went dark. Devrim and Aurora tensed. Night was not due for many hours yet. They began to row faster.

"Come with me to the sea…" a song invaded their ears.

"Did you hear that?" Devrim asked.

"Mhmm. I did." Unlike the selkie's song, this one was in human-speak. Aurora was hyper-alert. Every one of her senses was warning her that danger was near.

The song continued. Its tune was seductive and haunting. It sounded like one voice and yet many all at once. "Come with me to the sea. We'll make a home below the waves. Abide with me and I with thee beneath the water deep."

The two humans rowed and rowed. The song repeated, sending chills down their spines. The source of the song was not visible, which only increased the tension in the air. Finally the two could move the oars no longer. They stopped in the darkness.

The song quieted. Below the surface, soft lights came close to the boat and began to circle it. "What are they?" Devrim asked.

"I think they are merfolk," Aurora whispered. As the lights grew brighter and larger, the song began again, this time without words. At the wide back of the boat a creature surfaced. She had hair the color of seaweed with coral tangled in the strands. Her skin was a luminescent light purple, like a jellyfish. Her eyes were golden-flecked and fierce, but the smile on her blue lips was gentle. Her upper body was covered in a myriad of shells. The mermaid lifted herself onto the back of the boat and her lower half, which was a glowing tale covered with scales of purple and blue, nearly blinded them in the darkness.

When their eyes finally adjusted, the mermaid was sitting on the edge of the boat, smiling coyly. "Have you come to make your home in the sea?"

Aurora tilted her head curiously. "The sea? We must be lost. I thought we were on a lake."

The mermaid narrowed her gaze at the Empress then shifted it to the man. Her eyes glowed. "Come with me to the sea." Her voice was echoey like she was speaking underwater as she held out her hand to the handsome man. Devrim's eyes reflected the mermaid's. His face curved into an unnatural smile. He reached out toward her fingertips.

"What are you doing?!" Aurora asked her friend. He did not answer. "Devrim, are you ok?" The mermaids' tune quickly drowned out her words. The rest of the merfolk surfaced around the boat and grabbed hold of the sides. Devrim took the mermaid's hand and stood. He leaned toward the mermaid, ready to plunge into the water.

"No!" Aurora grabbed Devrim by his coat and yanked him back into his seat. The mermaid hissed at her, showing sharp teeth beneath the welcoming smile.

A wicked grin came over the mermaid's face. "We only want to make you a home beneath the waves."

"You want to drown us? Leave us in peace!" Aurora called.

"Why?" The mermaid said with a laugh. The other merfolk laughed too. To them this was all a game.

Aurora felt the gold chain around her neck become warm. She pulled the chain from under her cloak. It was shining like a beacon in the darkness. The merfolk in the water recoiled while the one in the boat shielded her eyes. "You asked 'why?' Because we are humans and Favored of the Fates. Now let us pass!" The Empress's voice was firm. The song faded. Devrim came out of his trance, drew his sword and held it at the mermaid's neck. The creature's smile faded only slightly.

"Very well, you shall pass. I only hope you realize what you have asked." The mermaid slipped backward into the water, and it was quiet for a moment. Then, without warning, the water began to churn. The rowboat lurched awkwardly. Only by sheer luck did the pair manage to stay inside.

"Look out!" In the darkness a huge shape came rushing toward them. It was a giant wave. The pair was swept from the boat and caught up in the water's swift current. Aurora struggled to break the surface and breathe. She was successful, but was immediately plunged back into the deep in a disorienting twist. Her swimming skills were almost nonexistent, yet the Guardian's cloak buoyed her to the surface for another desperate gasp. She went on like this for some time until she lacked the strength to fight any longer. Her eyes closed and her body went still. Her mind went blank.

When the Empress awoke, she was laying on the shoreline. Her body felt like it had been ripped apart, but nothing actually seemed to be broken. She sat up and stretched, trying to relax the pain in her back. As her eyes scanned the shore around her, she quickly began to panic. Where was she? And more importantly, where was Devrim?