I blink my eyes open as a tiny drop of water lands on my forehead and I see the ceiling of a cave. There is water on the walls, causing little drops to drip on my body every now and then. I lift my arms, seeing my smooth pale skin, and I sit up with a jolt. I smooth my hands over my right arm, then my left, and then to my stomach under the grey dress I’m wearing. I was hit with a fireball, so how is my skin fine?

“I healed you,” the Sea God’s voice comes from across the room, just as he stands up and walks into the only light in the middle of the room. The light comes from the ceiling and a hole at the top of the cave. I pull myself off the straw bed and stand up, my long grey dress falling to the floor. I have never seen this dress before and I know he must have dressed me. I keep my eyes on his gold ones as I step closer.

“Can you read my mind?” I ask.

“No. You spoke out loud,” he tells me, and I choose to believe him. I feel inside myself, feeling my bond to my pirates and how they all feel alive, but distant. The Sea God comes over to me, offering me a white fur cloak, which I accept and put on. I pull my hair out of my cloak, and see that its far longer, reaching my waist now. I want to ask how that is possible, but I can’t waste time with the Sea God by asking questions like that.

“Tell me how you know the king?” I ask him.

“The king was once a poor boy, a forgotten child. A child that I gave access to my home and he stole from me years later. He stole my twin crowns, god-laced gifts, and used them to boost the powers he stole from one of my changed ones,” he says, anger making his gold eyes glow brighter, but all I can hear is that the Sea God did all of this. He made a poor boy into a powerful, evil king.

“Why? Why didn’t you stop him?” I scream at the man standing in front of me. The Sea God, the one who could have stopped all this with a wave of his hand. The thoughts of what just happened fly through my mind. I have no idea if the rest of them escaped. My family, my pirates, and everyone I have ever cared about could be stuck in that castle.

“Even gods cannot stop their children. Only guide them and hope,” he says, folding his hands. You wouldn’t think he was a powerful god from his torn clothes and scraggy beard. I wouldn’t have thought he was anything but an old man, if I hadn’t seen him save me. 

“You gave him those powers! You let him keep that crown!” I shout, stepping closer as my own powers call for me to use them. I glance up at the top of the cave, seeing the water swirling and the sky just visible above. We are in the middle of the Storm Sea, the sea he saved me from when no one else could. It should scare me, but it doesn’t. I’m done being filled with fear.

“I also gave you your powers. I also saved your life and brought you here,” he responds.

“You want a deal? A deal between us?” I ask. I think back to every night for months that he has whispered the same thing to me, the same promise of a future after everything. 

“Yes. It is the only way to save those you love,” he says, a sharp pain shooting through my heart at the thought of my pirates, my chosen. 

“Tell me the riddle once more, the deal you told me once,” I request, knowing I need to hear it again before agreeing to it.

“A deal is sought after, a deal will be made.

The price is clear, the truth will not be forbidding. 

The true heir of both water and land must take the throne. 

The fire-touched king must fall at the hands of the water-touched pirate.

Changed ones must never have the throne and only a changed one can give the crown to the new queen.

The crown needed to win, can only be found where life lives within water.

Only ice will bring the map, if she does not fall.

If the deal is not agreed, then the sea will never be saved.” He says each word with power. The words surround my memory and I know there are a lot of demands in that riddle. If I even get one wrong, then I could lose everything. They say the Sea God is the master of tricks, as well as the sea. 

“This is the only way,” he tells me gently as I walk over to him.

“Call my dragon here, let her take me away, and I will agree to this deal,” I tell him, knowing that the only way I’m getting out of this cave is with help. My pirates can’t help me now, but I need to save them. I need to save the sea.

“The deal is made,” the Sea God says, his gold hair lifting like there is a breeze. Then, my dragon’s roar sounds through the cave.

I turn, hearing a loud crackling noise and then a huff of cold air that blows my dress around. My dragon walks into the cave slowly, giving me time to really look at her. She is massive, the size of a house, with shiny white scales, and a blue scale under her right eye. Her bright blue eyes watch me as I reach a hand out.

“Vivo, I need your help. I need to leave and get to Fiaten,” I plead, holding still as Vivo presses her cold, rough nose into my hand. She steps back and lowers her head, so her nose is touching the floor. It’s a strange position she holds herself in.

“She is giving you permission to ride her. Dragons always recognise those who protected them, and you saved her. You are her rider, Cassandra,” the Sea God says, and I turn to look at him.

“I will complete our deal and free my people. Changed ones will not be hunted, not for a kiss from a god,” I tell him firmly.

“I would never mark a child, a baby, if it wasn’t necessary for me to survive. I must mark changed ones, knowing I will lose them. Gods must pay the long price of time,” he says, his words floating around my mind. “If I die, the sea dies with me. This is the price of the world of gods, a world you could join if you wish,”

“I could be a god?” I ask.

“That is your second deal. There must be a new god soon. I must choose, and the deal is yours, but the price is high like I warned.”

“What is the price?’

“You will lose your chosen, they will never see you again. Unlimited power in exchange for love. That is my offer,” he says, linking his hands together and waiting for an answer I give him straight away.

“Love. I will always choose them.”

“Time doesn’t change for me. I gave up what you will not. If it means anything, Cassandra, I wish I had made the same choice as you many years ago,” he tells me.

“I feel sorry for you, but time is changing and I have a world to save,” I tell him firmly. Things are going to change now. I will make sure of it. I am not going to stop, no matter who hates me in the end. I must save the world. I must save the sea.

“You are the strongest changed one, and when you wear the crown, you will be able to win. Your power will be as strong as his,” he tells me as Vivo lets out a long huff.

“And what then?” I ask.

“You will save the sea and all will be free. Or we will all fall at his hands,” he says, stepping back.

“Thank you for saving me. Is there a price?” I ask him.

“The price is already paid,” he tells me, and I give him a confused look. I don’t expect him to answer me and he doesn’t. I look back at Vivo, and to the large spikes on her back. I climb up her wing, slipping a little on her shiny scales but managing to pull myself in between two of the biggest spikes. I wrap my arms around her spike in front of me with the one behind pressed closely into my back. I don't think I will fall off, but I’m about to ride a dragon for the first time. I can hardly believe the person I was months ago. I was a girl hidden, and now, I’m a dragon rider.

“Vivo, we can leave,” I tell her as I pull my cloak tightly around me, excited to get back to my pirates. She stands up, turning around as I look back at the Sea God watching me go. He looks happy almost, pride shining in his eyes. I turn back as Vivo gets to the end of the cave, and there’s a waterfall. It’s the place from my dreams, the same cave and the waterfall that always opens when I’m woken up. It makes all of this suddenly seem more real. Vivo leans back, her bright blue eyes meeting mine, and I stroke a hand down her neck.

“Let’s go home, Vivo,” I say, and her head snaps forward to look at the waterfall as she takes a few steps back and then runs towards it. I lower my head and hold on tight to her spikes as the harsh, cold water pounds against my body and I open my eyes as water pushes hard against them. It stings, making it nearly impossible to open them, but the sight in front of me is worth it. We are in the sea, and Vivo is swimming up towards the top of the water using her large wings to swim. I try not to scream as she uses her large wings to swim harder, and my back is pushed hard against her spikes as water pounds against my face. I can’t do anything but hold on. It gets harder to breathe, and I start coughing for every breath as she swims. When Vivo and I break from the water, I take a deep gasp of cold air as I wipe the water out my eyes and catch my breath. When I’ve calmed down a few moments later, I look down at the Storm Sea.

“I’m flying, we are flying,” I whisper, and Vivo lets out a loud roar that shakes her entire body. There are clouds everywhere, a storm right in front of us and lightning flashing against the sky, but Vivo flies us straight up through them. I hold on tight as water pounds against me for a moment until she breaks through the clouds, then uses her wings to smooth herself out. I open my eyes once more to see her just gliding in the air, hearing the sound of her beating wings. I lean back to look around at the purples and oranges painted across the sky up here, the peace above the storm, and the sun we are flying towards. Everything is warmer up here, and the warm breeze is drying my clothes and hair as we fly.

“Thank you. I don’t know if you can understand me, Vivo…but thank you for coming for me,” I say, and she huffs, a shiver going through her, and I smooth my hand over the wet scales on her neck.

“I never forgot about you, not once. I wish I could have protected you more when you hatched and I wish I could have seen you grow into the beautiful dragon you are now,” I tell her honestly, “but we are together now, and you have a place by my side if you wish it.” She lets out a loud roar, ice shooting from her mouth and I watch as it drops through the clouds.

“We will need to fight. We have to save the sea, save Calais,” I whisper to her and she growls, tilting her body to the side. I hold on tight as she suddenly shoots down into the clouds. I keep my eyes open, watching around her head as the clouds disappear to show an island full of mountains, huge mountains that nearly touch the sky. Vivo flies quickly towards them.

“Fiaten,” I whisper, knowing it couldn't be anything other than that. I hold on as Vivo flies us straight to the biggest mountain in the middle of lots of little ones. It takes her a while to get to it, but I can’t believe the amazing views I get to experience from up here. She flies around the largest mountain until I can see a large stone platform cut into the side. It’s a landing platform, that much is easy to spot from the air, but I doubt you could see it from the bottom of the mountains.

“Land there,” I tell her, and she tilts her body towards the landing. Three people in black cloaks run away when they see Vivo and me, running back towards the large doors that go inside the mountain. Vivo lands with a large thud that nearly knocks me off her back. She growls loud, loud enough that I flinch until she stops, knowing she doesn’t mean to hurt my ears.

“Thank you,” I whisper to her, stroking her back and lifting myself down as she bows down for me once more. I slide down her scales on her side, much easier than climbing on, and Vivo’s loud roar is the only warning before an arrow comes flying towards me. I lift my hands, thinking of a wall of water and a wave of water shoots out of my hand, knocking the arrow away and slamming into the person who shot it at me. I lower my hands to see two men on the floor by the doors, their bows and arrows on the ground next to them. Ten more men run out of the doors, holding a mixture of daggers, bows, and swords, looking like they want to kill me. They all have black leather outfits, except for two of them who are wearing black cloaks and hold no weapons. None of them make a move to attack me, but I keep my hands in the air just in case.

“Stop!” a familiar voice shouts. Then, I see Dante pushing through the men and stopping as he stares at me in utter shock. I can’t help the smile that lights up my face as I run over to him and throw my arms around his neck.

“Dante,” I whisper. And he pulls away, holding my face in both of his hands as he looks at me. His eyes search every bit of my face as I do the same with him. Dante looks much better, with his brown hair and beard cut short, his blue eyes searching mine for something.

“You’re real?” he asks, not at all what I was expecting him to say.

“Yes,” I answer, confusion all over my face when he still just stares and his mouth drops opens a little.

“Is everyone here? Did you all escape?” I ask him.

“A year ago, Cassandra. We escaped the castle a year ago, just after we watched you fall off a cliff,” he says. His voice is gruff and full of emotion as I try to process his words. I’ve been gone a year, but it only felt like moments with the Sea God. I look up into Dante’s light eyes, his eyes that have always reminded me of the sea, and I know everything has changed except one thing. He still looks at me like he loves me. I lean forward, kissing him as he returns my kiss with just as much passion.