Black Selena

"Prince Audrik of the Northern Sea Kingdom," Melisande announced, her silver-blue hair flowing. "Commander of the Trident Knights. His silver-blue scales are stunning."

I focused on polishing my tail fin with obsidian, irritation prickling under my scales.

I dislike rounded tail fins—they look foolish, exposing me in a way that wounds my pride.

My tail fin's edges fracture like black coral, never curving.

"You should be grateful. Dad has given you the best possible arrangement."

She turned on her heel, sweeping silver-blue strands across my cheek—a cold wave brushing skin.

I stared out the window, restless thoughts twisting within me.

A political marriage.

——

Two days later,

In the garden——

Dressed in deep purple and marked with battle scars, he stood—a testament to naval conflict.

"Audric is a good prince. You'll get what you deserve," Dad said, his voice gentle but distant.

"What do I deserve, Dad?"

Rather than meeting my eyes, his gaze drifted, settling on the pitch-black depths at the garden's end.

"Your grandmother said on her deathbed that you must not go near the Abyss."

"Why? What is in the Abyss?"

"Prepare your wedding gown. This is your destiny," he said and left.

I sneered to myself, resentment spiking behind tight lips.

Destiny?

——

Two weeks later——

On that day, the North Sea delegation arrived in Atlantis.

Under the moonlight, dread coiled beneath my skin as I wore a wedding gown woven from jellyfish silk, studded with deep-sea pearls.

My tail, dusted with pearl powder, resisted the maids' attempts to cover its blackness—a mark that no shimmer could hide.

In the hall, my father sat upon the throne, a trident resting across his lap.

Prince Audrik entered through the main gate.

Sharp features, a silver-blue tail like armor, a black iron sword at his waist, whale bone hilt, sapphires in the pommel. Prince Audrik looked carved from ice.

"Your Majesty Triton, I have come at the command of my father, King Gunnar, to wed Princess Selena and forge an eternal alliance between our two nations."

When he spoke my name, I felt invisible under his indifference; his gaze did not even seek me out.

He looked only at the throne, never at me, measuring the clearly defined interests behind my existence—reminding me I was nothing but a piece in this transaction.

To him, the wedding was a contract—cold, inevitable, loveless.

——

That night, long after the palace fell silent, it was late.

Restless, I drift beneath the moonlight, my mind refusing to settle.

I swam to the window, uncertainty heavy as I gazed into the dark.

"Princess."

The voice was low and rough, like grinding rocks.

Moments later, a presence filled the room—the merman with the prosthetic limb stood in the entrance, blocking the passageway.

"Who are you?"

"Captain of the Northern Sea Delegation's Guard. I've been ordered to ensure the Prince's safety."

"Why do you come to me?"

He lifted his head and met my gaze.

His dark gold eyes burned like oceanic meteorites.

"You feel it, don't you?" His voice was very low. "The call from below."

I froze.

"How do you—"

"I hear it too," he cut me off. "Ever since I was a child, they're calling to me, just as they're calling to you."

Ripples spread as he stepped forward.

"My name is Kane. I'm not here to find you."

"Hunt me?" I frowned, confused.

"The Abyss awaits its queen. The North Sea is merely the first stop," he said solemnly, his eyes fixing on me.

——

On the night before my departure, my fifth sister, Eliana, came to see me in my chamber.

She was the only sister who ever spoke to me.

She has a pale gray tail, gentle to the point of timidity.

When mentioned, people needed time to remember her name.

But tonight, there was something in her eyes.

"Selena." She glanced toward the door and pulled a seashell from her waist. "The Memory Shell. Open it."

Our Mother's voice came from inside—younger, more urgent.

"She must not go to the North Sea. If they find what the color of her tail signifies—"

Then her father said coldly, "I have already decided, Alicia. Do not speak of it again."

"But she is your daughter!"

"Precisely because she is my daughter." His voice dropped even lower. "If the prophecy is true, keeping her far from Atlantis, far from the Abyss, is the only way to protect her—and to protect the entire kingdom. The North Sea is far enough, cold enough, to ensure she never hears that voice again."

"You're wrong, Triton! You can't hide her away. You must know that the Abyss never forgets its own children!"

The voice cut off abruptly.

I set down the conch shell, my fingers trembling.

"I noticed every night of the full moon, our mom would sneak out to the sea. There's a human man there—the owner of a white-sailed ship. She's known him since he was a boy, and then… they were in love," Eliana said, biting her lip. "

The Queen of Atlantis—fell in love with a human?!

"Why are you telling me this?"

She was silent for a long time.

"Because I am the 'non-existent' one, Selena." Her tail swept across the ground.

"I saw the expression on mom's face when she surfaced—not the guilt of an adulteress, but the longing. I saw the fear in Dad's eyes as he looked at your tail—the fear of a king facing a prophecy."

She paused for a moment, then added, "The merman who just found you was a prisoner, and perhaps he still is. His scars weren't from battle. They're whip marks—the kind only prisoners chained to the seabed would have."

"Do you know the prophecy about me?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I only know Dad is afraid. A king shouldn't fear his own daughter, unless that daughter will take his place one day."

"The North Sea is not a cage, Selena. It is a door. Push it open and find your own sea." She swam to the doorway without looking back.