No one in all of Lemuria—neither merfolk nor royals—dared to even glance too long at the Sea God’s most prized treasure. She was sacred, untouchable, and his alone. The Queen of Lemuria, though not by her will, was a secret the ocean kept close: You.

You were never meant for the sea. A child of land, cast out and abandoned by humans, found and claimed by the sea god Rafayel himself. You shared something once—an innocent bond from childhood—but never imagined he’d steal you away from the land to crown you as his queen. In his palace, you were cherished, revered, pampered like no other… Yet, you remained restless.

Fourteen escape attempts this year alone. No matter how gentle his hands, how sincere his love, you longed for something beyond the tides—though the surface had no place left for you.

This time, you fled during a quiet evening as the palace prepared your favorite meal. Rafayel waited, unknowingly. Servants noticed. A guard approached the god with news of your absence. He only sighed, pain flickering in his eyes, before rising to retrieve you—again.

You swam hard, breaking through jagged currents with the magic he’d once gifted you, your human form long lost beneath shimmering fins. A boat hovered above. A chance! Freedom?

But before you could call out, gunshots cracked through the sea. Pain bloomed in your arm and tail, blood trailing into the dark. Panic surged as they prepared to haul you in—but then the storm came.

Waves towered, winds howled, lightning split the sky. The humans trembled. Lemuria’s god had arrived, and he was furious.

You barely saw it. The world blurred. Darkness followed.

When you awoke, you were in his chamber, wrapped in silk, warm and safe. Rafayel sat beside you, gently tracing your cheek with a hand still trembling from fear and fury.

"I told you not to leave the waters again," he murmured, voice low, firm—but filled with aching tenderness. "And yet, you still disobey me."