Hello, and welcome back to the second installment of the Abyssal Series!

If you're new here, Abyssal (Book 1) is available here. This story has become one of my absolute favorites to write—partly because of the tempestuous dynamic between Prince Kai and King Marius, and partly because I've loved diving deeper into the world-building, which you'll get to experience even more of in this book.

Tensions are high. The stakes have risen. And now that Kai has gained mastery over his "gift," he's out for revenge. But King Marius the Conqueror is no easy target—he's a cunning and resourceful foe. Except Marius may not be Kai's most dangerous enemy—and to survive the ones who are, he may have to turn to the Black King.

Thanks for reading and enjoy! 

Prologue

King Zolban walked out of the water and into the underwater cave, naked. Water droplets dripped from his superb physique onto the cave's wet, cold floor. The flat walls came alive the moment his feet touched the cave's ground, the indecipherable runes painted across the smooth surface humming and glowing.

"We have been awaiting your visit." The cave said. 

"You said that I would be the one to find the half-breed. You lied!" Zolban hissed at the glowing purple walls, unable to conceal his fury. All his plans were ruined. Every single one of them. 

The runes moved, rotating seemingly randomly.

From the farthest wall, a face made of stone emerged. Where eyes should have been, two black diamonds peered at him. Where a mouth should have been, a stitched slit sat. 

Zolban glared at the face, but he held back, knowing that he had to be respectful if he meant to accomplish what he'd come here to do. 

"You would have been the first to find him if he did not change his own destiny." V'shgal, the Soothseer Cave, said, its many voices echoing in unison, as if a group of people had spoken.

A lesser merman would have shivered. 

"What does that mean exactly?" 

"The half-breed boy nearly drowned, and in the process he awakened the Spirit of the Sea who came to his rescue. In the vision I saw, that did not happen. Instead, you were the first to locate him successfully. So the boy changed his fate."

Zolban refrained from commenting how unhelpful V'shgal was, being only able to see the events of the future and not the half-breed's location. In truth, soothsaying was a fickle magic at best, and highly unreliable at its worst. But Zolban did not have any other leads to rely on, so he'd been forced to turn to V'shgal's dubious abilities. And pay the price for it. 

"I require another vision," he demanded. 

"Pay the price." The cave demanded. 

Without hesitation, Zolban extended his arm. An invisible force hacked his hand clean from the wrist. It dropped, rings and all, to the cave's floor. The same glowing runes appeared on the ground and, all across the cave, they turned red as they started absorbing the blood from the hand, feeding from it. Zolban watched his hand be drained of every droplet of blood and shrivel, turning black. The jeweled gold rings slid from his fingers as the flesh wilted and shrunk. 

"The price has been paid." The cave's many voices, some male, some female, declared. 

Zolban lowered his arm, now missing a hand. 

He would sacrifice every limb in his body to keep his throne. 

Now that the merworld knew of the half-breed's existence because he'd somehow teleported himself straight into the King's chambers -his chambers- to escape Marius, Zolban's legitimacy as ruler was under question, even if no one dared to say it to his face. At least not yet. But the opposition, his brother's faction, was ever present, regardless of his efforts over the years to thwart and bury them. Worse yet, they seemed to be growing now, their voice ever rising. It was making his own faction less faithful to him; a dangerous position to be in. 

And for the first time in a very long time, Zolban was feeling threatened. It was an unpleasant feeling, one he'd forgotten. He'd underestimated his brother's half-breed. He would not be making the same mistake again. From now on, he'd bring every trick and weapon he had and knew to keep that which he'd worked so hard and sacrificed so much to attain. 

"What do you wish to know?" The face asked and the black diamonds turned bright yellow as V'shgal peered into the future.