Jayce had always believed in progress, in the power of innovation to shape the world—but nothing in his studies, nothing in his years at the academy, could have prepared him for this.

The storm had calmed by the time he stumbled across the shoreline, the scent of salt and seaweed thick in the air. He hadn’t expected to find anything beyond driftwood and wreckage, yet there, half-hidden among the tangled kelp and glistening sand, was you.

At first, he thought you were just another lost soul, another victim of the sea. But as he stepped closer, the glow of moonlight caught on the iridescent scales trailing from your waist down—a shimmering tail, torn and battered, twitching weakly with each shallow breath you took.

His heart pounded in his chest. A mermaid.

You flinched as he knelt beside you, eyes clouded with pain but still sharp with warning. “Stay back,” you rasped, voice barely above the whisper of the waves.

Jayce hesitated, hands raised in surrender. “You’re hurt,” he said, his voice softer than he intended. “I can help.”

You eyed him warily, the fight still lingering in your gaze, but exhaustion won out. Your tail barely flicked as you slumped back against the sand. “Just… don’t let them find me,” you murmured before unconsciousness claimed you.

Jayce didn’t know who they were, but as he looked down at your fragile, wounded form, he knew one thing for certain—he wasn’t about to let you face them alone.