“I hope the bastard who thought of making fire waterproof burns in Hell.”

Joohyun growled furiously at the still lit torch sconces in the East Wing of the palace. It was so awfully in line with the Lord Kangta’s prudent character to never leave a hallway dark in case of intruders, but it made it so unnecessarily hard for the mermaid to even make it close to an exit without being seen by a guard and “respectfully” escorted back to her room.

“Respectfully my tail.” The princess snorted. “The next guard who tries to touch these is going to find his head up his in five seconds.” She eyed the shadow of a guard at the end of the corridor; it lengthened, then disappeared around the corner. As quick as any dolphin, Joohyun darted down the hall in the opposite direction; two lefts, a door, and a sharp right later, she found herself under the exquisite stone archway that so many nobles had entered in high hopes that they’d woo her, and left with a stoic expression, tears, or a few cuts, depending on the princess’ mood.

Making her way over to a patch of coral where she’d be aptly hidden, Joohyun allowed a sly smile to creep onto her face. It wasn’t the first time she’d snuck out of the palace at night, but each and every time she did, the same exhilarating feeling of utter freedom overwhelmed her. No father, no idiot men, no nagging sisters – no, nothing but the soft currents that caressed her smooth skin, the jagged pastel forms of coral that glistened in the soft light penetrating the waters from above. It was breathtaking, in a sense; never once had the sheer beauty of the ocean failed to amaze her.

And yet, here she was, all too ready to leave it behind. Joohyun stifled a sigh. She loved the sea, she really did, but it had been ruined for her through years of being holed up in an overrated, oversized marble cage. The mermaid needed a fresh start, and there was nothing, as she’d read, fresher than a cool beach breeze. The day she’d breathe in that salty scent would be the day she could throw the past away and begin again, free of the title of princess that suffocated her 20,000 leagues under.

Joohyun set her lips in a thin line at the thought. Beautiful or not, she was determined to leave the sea, no matter what it was that the witch demanded from her. Liberation comes at a price, after all.

Seulgi was still asleep when the silver ring that lined her finger began to sparkle, and Yeri couldn’t help but sigh. The Lord could never know for sure whether or not the witch was available to answer his call, so the sea-faerie couldn’t quite hold it to him, but she thought that his fabled intuition would at least give him some sense of good timing. Right now was most certainly not a good time.

But neither was it a good idea to reject the Lord’s summons. With a huff of indignance, Yeri slipped the ring off of Seulgi’s finger and put it on her own. She glanced at the sleeping witch. It had been a few days since she’d had to forcefully remove the mask, but the sheer mental exhaustion still overwhelmed the woman – and Yeri couldn’t blame her; a sea-faerie’s magic was nothing to be trifled with.

Yeri traced a few runes in the water slowly, deliberating whether or not to cast a concealment spell over the witch, but the flash of the spell would likely wake her, so she waved her hand through the runes, effectively dissipating the magic. There was a good chance that nobody would come knocking at their door; the debacle with the merman was sure to put the public off for about a week. It usually did.

With a last look at Seulgi, Yeri let out a little smile – the peaceful aura surrounding the witch was something rarely seen, and she wholly deserved it – before disappearing, leaving naught behind but a tiny bubble of air.

The sea-faerie rematerialized in a room of gold-gilded marble, but contrary to its typically placid atmosphere, the palace was all in an uproar around her. Yeri blinked a few times, stumbling as a guard nearly crashed into her – nearly, because she hastily froze the whole throne room to recollect herself.

All eyes trained on her, Yeri wove her way through the immobilized figures to the root of the chaos – an aging yet handsome merman, whose showy yet still protective cuirass matched the décor of the room.

With the flick of her finger, the sea-faerie unfroze the room and let the stunned merfolk fall to the floor in a stupor. She then aimed a glare at the disheveled merman in front of her.

“Pardon me, my Lord, but – what the hell?”

The witch’s domain was said to lie to the west of the palace, hidden somewhere in a great coral reef that lined the perilously deep Augur’s Trench. It was rather ironic that a being so well known for its dark curses would live amongst such a vibrant sea-jungle, but Joohyun found it funny, chuckling to herself as she sped westward along with the currents. Perhaps if the witch’s habitation wasn’t so horribly ominous, the entity in question wouldn’t be, either.

The entity. Joohyun barked out a short laugh. Nobody had ever given a solid account on whether the witch was male or female; some people recalled a hulking, man-like shape, others an abnormally shimmering mermaid, and even more so recalled nothing at all, as they were dead soon after encountering the witch. Joohyun didn’t fear much, and death was no exception. It was just the passing to another stage of life, one in which she hoped she might have legs.

A massive, bright pink stalk of coral abruptly interrupted the princess’ thoughts, and then a yellow one and an orange one, and suddenly Joohyun found herself surrounded by a flock of neon colors that brazenly jumped at her eyes. She stopped herself from powering through the reef and idly glanced around, allowing the fatigue from swimming many miles to seep into her muscles.

The reef was just as stunning as it was known to be; aside from the bright, popping coral, a plethora of fish swarmed the young mermaid, and she laughed in delight as a few clownfish playfully butted the tips of her fingers. How could the witch possibly be so dark if it lived in such a place as this?

Joohyun’s brows furrowed, creasing her forehead. She was here – in the place where everyone said the witch lay, and yet there was no witch in sight, no dark magic, no flowing tendrils of death. Perhaps there was still some looking to be done. The princess’ eyes darted around the reef, but still she found nothing until she looked up towards the surface.

About fifty meters above her head, a ray of sunlight pierced through the water and glinted off a small, almost crystalline object, scattering the beam of light across the top of the reef. It was suspended in the middle of the deep, neither floating nor sinking, and as Joohyun slowly made her way up towards it, it seemed to vibrate, pulsing out tiny disturbances in the water that somewhat reeled her in – here! Here I am! Look!

And Joohyun did look, eyes tracing the vibrations through the water as she looked down at the reef that was now below her. When she finally managed to process all the bright colors, she stifled a gasp as she realized that ever so slightly to her right, a small patch of dark black permeated the heavily saturated reef. The pulsing object sent the vibrations more quickly now, almost laughing at her realization, while at t