RIPPLE

{Eighteen}

The water is merely inches from my toes.

         It calls me back to Poseidon's sanctuary. Although its the middle of the night, I couldn't seem to get to sleep after a dreadful Waverly nightmare woke me up and even the gardens beauty wasn't enough to help me forget the pain.

        I just wanted to forget. I want to forget Alexandra's scream, Ronan's blood and Mikhail's tight embrace. Empty promises hung in the air between us and none of us talked about Ronan's dying wish. I want to forget the blood that dripped between the floorboards, and the fear in Waverly's eyes.

        Monsters can be born and made.

         The palace feels emptier without Lachlan, Waverly and Ronan and will feel even emptier with me now gone as well.

        “Out for a midnight swim?” Mikhail always has a knack for finding me when I don't want to be found. “I didn't think you would leave without saying goodbye.”

        “It's easier that way . . . ”

         “What about your coronation tomorrow?”

        “Mikhail, I have to do this and it would be a lot easier if you trust me.”

        Mikhail limps up behind me, “I do trust you. I just wish there was another way.”

        “I'll be back. I promise.” We embrace for a long while, and I don't realize I'm crying until he leans away, lips brushing my cheek. “Take care of your mother and Tate and I'll be back before you know it. But I have to save Lachlan.”

        I slip my dress to the ground and stand a mere inches from the tide. This is the moment that I feared. How could I possibly promise Mikhail something that was a lie? Poseidon would try to make sure that I never leave this ocean again.

         Everything has to be made right with Atlantis, and Lachlan deserves to know everything that happened to his father and what happened while he's been gone. The moon glistens against the dark water, illuminating sparkling little diamonds against a surface I may never again get to see.

         I try to mesmerize this moment, breathing in the fresh air and trying not to feel uncomfortable while Mikhail watches from the sidelines. Taking a deep breath, I briefly close my eyes to send a silent message to all my sisters: I'm coming home.

         The first step into the water is cold, and so is the second. The tune of Atlantis no longer calls me home, but I step farther and farther into the water I realize that the pull is leading me towards Poseidon's sanctuary. Towards Lachlan. These waves know I've come home, and they relentlessly take hold of me and I feel the change before it happens.

        My legs painfully twist and without the medication, the pain in my ribs is almost unbearable. It takes a little longer for my legs to morph into a glittering green tail and I dive beneath the surface without a second glance back towards Mikhail, knowing that I might not have been able to return having seen the torn look in his gaze . . .

         The single ray of moonlight offers little light here in the blue ocean, and it feels strange being back home. This no longer feels like home. I'm torn between the surface world and the only world I've ever known; and I am here to save my Prince Charming.

         Poseidon sent me to come for you, I hated hearing their voices invading my thoughts now that I knew what they sounded like on the surface. Sadness slightly tinged Glimmer's words as I could see her gracefully swim into view. She doesn't look the same as she did on the surface; and I wonder how my sisters will take the news of Waverly's betrayal and Ronan's death.