After a while, he fell silent and let out a heavy sigh, staring at her dark wings.

  “Forgive my reaction, child…” he said quietly. “It’s just… demons… they left deep scars on my people.”

  “How did it happen?” Riza asked softly.

  “Three centuries ago,” the King began, his eyes clouding with memory. “When the Demon King was destroying humans on land, he didn’t forget us either. He poisoned the currents, turning clean water into venom. He set horrific deep-sea monsters on our cities. Those were dark times.”

  He carefully—almost gently—placed his huge palm on Riza’s head and stroked her hair.

  “But those times have passed. And I can see you’re different, Riza. Come here. I can see you’re a good girl.”

  Riza froze, staring in surprise at this sea giant who had just tried to kill her—and now looked at her with such sad tenderness. It seemed the underwater kingdom had decided to break every stereotype for good today.

  I don’t know how much longer that banquet went on—Atlanteans seemed to have a completely different relationship with time and sleep. As I sank into a deep half-doze, feeling Finnayn’s fingers combing through my hair, the world around me turned into a steady hum of voices and the splash of water. Comfort magic and a heavy meal did their work: I finally shut down completely.

  I woke up to someone insistently shaking my shoulder.

  “Zen, Zen, Zen! Wake up, sleepyhead, time to get up!” Riza’s voice rang bright—full of energy I catastrophically lacked.

  “Yeah, yeah… I’m up…” I stretched lazily, feeling how stiff my whole body was.

  The farewell was warm. King Atlant slapped my shoulder one more time so hard sparks practically flew from my eyes. Finnayn waved sadly, and Arbir promised that next time we’d have a “rematch.” They escorted us out in magical bubbles and literally “dropped” us onto the same beach I’d been dragged from.

  The underwater adventure was over.

  I stood on the sand and felt like I was soaked through with the smell of sea, fish, and some deep-ocean incense.

  “So where to now?” Riza asked, shaking sand off her cloak.

  I didn’t answer. Instead, I just flopped onto the warm, sun-heated sand. The sun shone right into my eyes, pleasantly warming my face.

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  “I don’t know…” I mumbled—and slipped back into sleep.

  “Zenhald!” Riza stomped her foot in outrage, but a minute later I felt her lie down beside me. “How can you sleep this much? You were the one who said you don’t have time!”

  “I don’t know…” I whispered drowsily. “Maybe it’s a side effect of the King’s ‘fork’…”

  They woke me when the sun was already touching the edge of the ocean, painting the sky in impossible purples and reds. A sea sunset was even more beautiful than the forest’s. I sat up, brushing sand off my clothes. The sea smell still clung to me, reminding me of the underwater palace.

  Elvindor and Lucida were sitting a little aside by a small fire.

  “Finally,” Lucida turned. “We were starting to think you’d decided to hibernate until the Demon King returns.”

  I stood, rolling my stiff neck, and looked at my companions.

  “Alright,” I said, watching the dying sun. “Where do we go now?”

  The sun finally sank below the horizon, leaving only a narrow strip of phosphorescent surf. The smell of the sea—heavy, salty, alive—still chased us, but our thoughts were already flying far beyond the beach.

  “Well then, great traveler,” Elvindor came up, leaning on his staff. “Enjoyed having sand in your boots? Time to change climates. We should visit an old friend of mine. He lives in the North—lands where the snow hasn’t melted for centuries.”

  “The North…” I narrowed my eyes, remembering Zariil’s cold embrace from Lucida’s stories. “Is it far?”

  “At our pace—about a week,” the elf answered. “But believe me, it’s worth every blister.”

  “Fine. We move,” I said shortly.

  We rose into the sky again. Flying over the sea at dusk felt magical: Riza darted around me, trying to catch starlight reflections in the water, while I drifted lazily on air currents, feeling the sea breeze slowly give way to the sharp, biting wind of the mainland.

  When it was time for our first rest, the ground beneath our feet was hard, and the grass was gray with холод.

  “Alright, Riza,” I stood before her, rubbing my chilled palms. “You’ve mastered water. Now we’ll move to its harder—and more honest—form. Ice magic. It’s not just frozen water. It’s structure…”

  Riza bounced in place, wings twitching impatiently. “Oh, I know! I’ve seen you do it a thousand times, Zen! It’s like… forcing water to change its lattice, right?”

  She didn’t wait for my long explanation. Riza thrust her hands forward and focused, and I saw the mana around her fingers begin to vibrate, instantly sucking heat from the air. In the same instant, a perfectly smooth, transparent sphere of ice materialized between her palms. It glittered in the firelight like a huge diamond.

  For a moment, I lost the ability to speak.

  “You… you did that?” I stepped closer, studying the sphere. There wasn’t a single crack, not one air bubble. Perfect form.

  “I just remembered how you did it.” She smiled, and a cold gleam flickered in her eyes. “It’s easy when you know where to look.”

  I looked at her, then at Elvindor and Lucida watching from the shadows. Something pricked inside me—pride mixed with a faint unease. She was learning at a frightening speed.

  “Not bad, Riza,” I forced my voice to stay even. “But a sphere is only the beginning. Ice can be a shield—or it can be a dagger. Tomorrow we’ll teach you how to turn that ‘diamond’ into a storm.”

  I lay down on spruce boughs, pulling the cloak over myself. The sea still hovered in my eyes, but in my ears the northern wind was already whistling.

  End of Part Two.