The coastal ruins of Nareth’s Bay were nothing like Kael expected.

The city, once a glittering trade hub, now sat half-sunk beneath gray waves. Rusted cranes leaned like broken bones, shattered windows stared like hollow eyes, and sea mist clung to everything like a shroud. Nature had reclaimed it, but something darker also lingered in the fog.

Kael stood at the edge of a collapsed pier, eyes scanning the flooded ruins. Beside her, the man with ember eyes—Ashen, as he finally told her to call him—studied the air with his hand raised.

“She’s here,” he said.

“How can you tell?”

“The ocean is restless. It knows she’s stirring.”

They crossed a tilted bridge into the heart of the ruins.

“She’s close.”

Suddenly, the water below them rippled—violently.

Something massive moved beneath the surface. Kael backed away from the edge just as a column of water surged upward—and a figure emerged within it.

A girl, floating above the water, her hair suspended like seaweed, her eyes glowing blue. She was silent… and unmoving.

“Lira,” Ashen whispered. “She’s awakened.”

Kael stepped forward. “Hey! It’s me. I’m Kael—I think we used to—”

The water exploded outward.

A spear of ice shot from the depths, grazing Kael’s shoulder. Lira raised her hand—expression cold, distant. The sea churned violently around her.

“She’s not in control,” Ashen growled. “The Frost has touched her mind.”

Kael didn’t hesitate. She threw up a wall of fire, shielding them from another ice strike. “Then we bring her back.”

She charged forward, fire swirling in her hands, dodging waves and shards of ice. The sea tried to drown her path, but Kael leapt—flame propelling her forward—and landed right in front of Lira.

“Look at me!” Kael shouted. “You’re not theirs. You’re Water-born, not ice-bound!”

For a heartbeat… nothing.

Then—Lira’s hand trembled. Her pupils returned. The storm calmed.

But before Kael could breathe, the sky darkened.

From the fog above, a figure descended—shrouded in black mist, with hollow eyes and clawed limbs that shifted like shadows.

Ashen's voice rang out: “The Shadeborn. He’s here.”

Kael turned to face the new threat, flames roaring to life.

And this time, she wasn’t alone.

Lira raised her hand. A whirlpool surged behind her, shaped like a serpent.

The elements had reunited.