Under The Sea

Chapter Thirty-Six - The Most Powerful Force

Axel had been so relieved when he and Bast had freed Clara that he hadn't even noticed Phaedra sneaking up on them, enraged by the battle outside. He barely had time to register her presence when he was hit by the blast, once again shooting him into the air. He was more surprised, however, when, amid his disorientation, Samuel's arms wrapped around him.

Samuel cradled Axel in his hands, allowing him to recover from the blow as he found Finn and Paxton, and who led them back to their newly established base within the Kingdom, out of Finn's parents' shop. Samuel placed Axel down on a slab, checking him out as others gathered in the room when his grandmother entered.

"You must be the man who's stolen my grandson's heart," Elaine says as she approaches them, shaking Samuel's hand. "It's very nice to meet you."

"Your grandson?" Samuel asks as he shakes her hand, turning to face Axel, who was recovering.

"Samuel, Lady Elaine Hallaire," Finn introduces, "Lady Elaine, Prince Samuel Kristley."

"T-The pleasure is all mine, ma'am," Samuel returns, as Elaine moves past him to coat a balm onto Axel's side, where the blast had hit.

"So, does anyone know how we are going to defeat this crazy witch?" Paxton exclaims, unable to keep his nerves in check as Finn glares at him.

"We need a plan," Axel winces as his grandmother moves away, "this was not supposed to be the battle, we only planed out a rescue."

"Well, we don't have a choice now," Finn quips.

"How was your mother going to defeat her int he past?" Samuel asks, turning his attention to Axel, who shrugs and glances over to Elaine.

"Your mother never planned to use magic to defeat her," Elaine reveals. "Phaedra is too powerful. As I mentioned before, there is only one force more powerful than any magic that exists."

"Love," Axel concludes. "My mother had hoped that her love for her sister would be enough to pull her back from the ledge."

"But that failed," Paxton insists, unable to stop himself, despite knowing what he was referencing.

"No, it didn't work the way Lilith wanted," Elaine concurs. "Despite the outcome, Lilith realized that her family would be safe. She made the ultimate sacrifice to save the people she loved. In doing so, Phaedra had backlash from her own magic that kept her unable to approach Latistan for so long, ensuring her children's safety."

"But she's back in the Kingdom and neither of them are safe," Samuel insists.

"Yes, but it's also been fifteen years during which Phaedra could recover and plan. Magic isn't a permanent force... and neither is love. It needs a tether that keeps it in this world, and that tether must have broken."

"It did." Axel's expression falls before he realizes. "I have a plan."

🐚 🐚 🐚

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Samuel asks as they sneak through the castle, the sirens otherwise preoccupied outside.

"No," Axel returns as they approach the throne room, "but it's all I've got."

"We can find another way."

"No, we can't," Axel stops, turning to face Samuel. "She's too powerful and her power is that much stronger now that she holds the scepter."

"You could die."

"I know." Axel sighs against Samuel's lips before closing the centimeters between them, reveling in the taste and feeling of his lips against his own.