City of Lakeshore in the Mortal Realm

The boat was to leave first thing in the morning. As the team’s sole marine biologist—the cover she’s sought ever since arriving in Lakeshore—Sophia had to be there.

“Do you have the rest of the coffee order?” Sophia asked, balancing a tray in one hand while attempting to keep her duffle bag for the excursion on her shoulder.

“Yes, I got it,” Thomas replied. He fell into step beside her. “Soph, we’re fine. You can slow down, you know.”

Sophia laughed and slowed her pace. “Sorry. I just don’t want to be late. This is the biggest thing our team has ever had the chance to explore. I mean, it’s not every day an iceberg breaks off in the Atlantic.”

She’d received the call late last night about the excursion. There would be lots to see beneath the waves. Sophia craved to see how the ocean life fared with this new development.

Clouds began to roll overhead. A feeling of dread washed over her. She shouldn’t be doing this.

No. She had to do this.

Sophia inhaled sharply. “I can do this. We can do this.”

“Hey,” Thomas said, taking her free hand with his. “We’re going to be fine. It’s just a routine exploration.”

Sophia nodded. “Right.” Of course he wouldn’t know what that iceberg represented. She knew enough for the both of them.

“Sophia! Thomas! Glad you could join us,” Jessamine called out, waving to them from the deck of their excursion boat. She was one of the divers on their team.

The crew was settled on board already and happily accepted the coffee and pastries that Sophia and Thomas had brought.

“What’s the word from base?” Thomas asked. He pulled a pair of glasses from his pocket.

Ethan, one of the other crew members, pointed to a spot on a map. “Marjorie wants us out here. That’s where we’re getting the highest readings from, so it must be where the iceberg is located.”

“Readings?” Sophia frowned. She could already feel the ice moving in her veins.

“Yeah, apparently there’s been some weird signals going off that they want us to check out.” Ethan tapped the map. “We should be out there soon. Soph, you and Thomas will go down first and see what you can find. We don’t know what to expect so it’s best that we stick to pairs.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Sophia rolled her eyes. “Plus its protocol.”

Ethan chuckled. “Yeah. That too.”

The air turned frigid the further they got from the mainland. Sophia turned her head to the sky; it wouldn’t be long until they made it to the discovery point.

“You doing ok?” Thomas murmured to Sophia as they stood at the railing of the boat. He pressed his fingers lightly over the small of her back.

“Mhm.” Sophia ran her fingers along her arms and shivered. It wasn’t from the cold; she could handle the cold. This was different.

Her team was mostly mortal, save for herself and Thomas. Whatever was out here causing the strange readings would be more than they could handle.

“Damn, is it normally this cold?” Ethan asked, visibly shivering. His gaze lingered somewhere behind them. “Um, I think we’re here.”

The boat came to a violent halt. Sophia grasped onto Thomas for balance. Her head pounded, and she could feel the magic that pumped in her veins.

“We’re here,” Sophia whispered.

Thomas squeezed her hand. “Okay, everyone. Soph and I will go first and report back. Everyone is to stay here and away from the railings.”

“Thomas, these waters are too cold for us to explore safely.,” Ethan said. He showed them the thermometer reading.

“Negative degrees?” Sophia cried out. That was physically impossible. “The readings are incorrect, they have to be.”

“It’s not wrong.” He banged his hand on the side of the device. “Or at least I don’t think it is. But I still stand by what I said. I don’t think it’s safe.”

“We’ll be fine.” Even as she said it, she didn’t believe it. She pulled on her dive suit and let Thomas zip up the back.

Sophia dove off the side of the boat with Thomas close behind. Beneath the waves, they transformed. Thomas took Sophia's hand. Together, they swam toward the iceberg.

But the closer they got, the worse Sophia began to feel. Her locket urged her forward. Darkness spread across her skin. She felt Thomas grasp at her wrist. The look in his eyes was one of pure fear. The iceberg taunted them, drawing them closer with every chilling breath of despair.

Finally, they reached it, but it wasn’t what they expected. Sophia and Thomas were blinded by a bright light, engulfed in a world of darkness. And by the chill that now ran through their bones, they were trapped inside.

She saw her worst fear laid out before her. The world she and her coven had been protecting for so many years now in flames. Any chance of being with Thomas burned away into ash. He no longer fought to protect her; he was purely a Syfire. As he'd always been deep down, she thought. As he always would be.

“Darkness will win out,” a voice said. Blue eyes broke through the darkness. Andromeda. “This is bigger than the Aquarids versus the Syfires. This is what is waiting for you.”

"No!" Sophia tried to scream but the water filled her lungs making it impossible.

"We need your help, Sophia." Aphrodite shimmered into view. "Love and chaos must come together to stop the darkness." She held out her hand. "So what will it be?"

What will it be. The same words Andromeda had asked her so many years ago although to her it felt like mere days.

"I want to help," she replied. "Tell me what I can do to help."

Andromeda smiled. "Let's begin."