- 11 hours ago
Reborn to Leave Him
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:01Please, let me see Grandfather one last time.
00:04You're the one who killed Sienna.
00:06But he had gone mad.
00:07You're going to the grave with her!
00:09Sienna is my sister! I would never kill her!
00:11I tried to explain, but Hunter wouldn't listen.
00:14I could only struggle desperately toward the shore.
00:17Yet Hunter dragged me back in the end.
00:22And tortured me to death.
00:25When I opened my eyes again,
00:27I was back on the day of the pearl draw.
00:30Those who drew a red pearl
00:31would become the first female commander
00:34of the Royal Title Guard.
00:36Those who drew a white pearl
00:37would be sent to the Abyss Trench
00:39to serve as low-ranking scouts.
00:42In my previous life,
00:43I drew red and married Hunter Sloan,
00:46the son of the Merman King.
00:49What followed was ten years of betrayal.
00:51Every night while I slept,
00:53they tangled together in the guest chamber next to mine.
00:56Between my sister and me,
00:59whose body do you prefer?
01:02Is that even a question?
01:03Come here, baby.
01:06Later, my sister was ambushed during a mission.
01:09Abyssal Demons tore her scales apart.
01:11Hunter blamed me for choosing the red pearl,
01:13claiming it led to her death.
01:15He falsified a wartime report and sold me out.
01:18The Abyssal Demons captured me
01:20and ripped my tail in.
01:23Then he used his family's power
01:25to frame my grandfather for treason.
01:27My grandfather died in chains.
01:30Now, staring at the two shells holding the pearls,
01:33I already knew my answer,
01:34lowering my head.
01:35Tail curled beneath me.
01:37In the most respectful posture,
01:38I said,
01:39I choose the Abyss.
01:40Let Sienna be the commander.
01:42My grandfather stared at me in shock.
01:44Giving up the command
01:45means giving up your marriage to Hunter.
01:47Are you sure?
01:48Before I could answer,
01:50the door was slammed open.
01:51Hunter slipped in without warning.
01:53He pulled Sienna straight into his arms.
01:55Sienna,
01:57thank the gods you're alive.
01:58Hunter Sloane's voice was hoarse.
02:00He looked at her like she was a priceless relic
02:02he had nearly lost.
02:03In front of my grandfather,
02:05Hunter dropped low,
02:06tail coiled tightly beneath him,
02:08his forehead touching the ground three times.
02:11Lord Calloway,
02:12the one I truly want to marry is Sienna.
02:15I know I'm already engaged to Quinn,
02:18but I don't love her.
02:19Please,
02:20let me form a true bond
02:22with Sienna.
02:23That was when it hit me.
02:24Hunter had been reborn too.
02:26Even hearing it from his own mouth,
02:28my chest still burned
02:29as if scorched by salt water.
02:31I hid my shock
02:32and reached out to help him up.
02:33He slapped my hand away,
02:35his voice thick with disgust.
02:37Don't touch me.
02:38I've only ever loved Sienna.
02:40Don't get the wrong idea.
02:41My grandfather cut in
02:42Quinn is going to the Abyss.
02:45You two can set a date for the ceremony.
02:47Hunter froze for a moment,
02:49then broke into a wide smile,
02:51pulling Sienna closer.
02:52I can finally bond with you!
02:54The tenderness in his eyes was so full
02:56it was almost overflowing.
02:57I watched silently.
02:59That warmth had once been mine fine.
03:01It didn't matter.
03:02I already had a better plan
03:04they'd see soon enough.
03:05Once the hall fell quiet,
03:07I escorted my grandfather back to his room.
03:09Grandfather,
03:10if I meet someone suitable on the front edges,
03:13I'll marry there.
03:14He was silent for a long time.
03:16Just stay safe,
03:17he finally said.
03:18That's all I ask.
03:19I looked at his bent back
03:21and before I could stop it,
03:22my eyes began to sting.
03:24In my last life,
03:25he'd kept me close after the wedding
03:27so he could look after me.
03:29This time,
03:30I was the one who was going to protect him.
03:33I quickly completed my registration
03:35with the National Guard.
03:37On my way home,
03:38I stopped by the coral market
03:39to buy my grandfather's favorite sweets
03:42and began planning what came next.
03:44A war was about to erupt in the abyssal trench
03:47with heavy casualties.
03:49I had to use my memories from my past life
03:51to change the outcome
03:52and the key to that
03:53was finding the fat shark
03:55working in the seaweed kitchen,
03:57Jess Sheridan.
03:57Just as I was wondering how to locate him,
04:00I ran into Hunter and Sienna at the open market.
04:02When Sienna fawned over the newest Tide Mirror,
04:06he didn't complain once.
04:07In my previous life,
04:09I had begged him for weeks
04:10to come pick out a wedding dress with me.
04:12Every time,
04:13he brushed me off,
04:14saying he was busy serving the guard.
04:16In the end,
04:17I bought everything myself
04:18and carried it home alone.
04:20Yet here he was,
04:22leisurely strolling through the market with Sienna.
04:25Hunter,
04:26nobles shouldn't show off.
04:27But I love these veils so much.
04:29What should I do?
04:31Hunter's expression was gentle,
04:33without the slightest resistance.
04:35Sienna,
04:35if you like them,
04:36I'll buy them all.
04:38I gave a bitter smile
04:39everything I had done for him before,
04:41completely worthless.
04:42I turned to leave,
04:44but Sienna spotted me.
04:45She pulled Hunter along,
04:47a smug smile on her face.
04:49Quinn,
04:50what are you doing here?
04:51Grandfather already picked the wedding date.
04:53You're my sister.
04:55You have to come.
04:56I avoided looking at their clasped hands
04:58and kept my tone steady.
05:00I still need to prepare for deployment.
05:01I think,
05:01if you don't come,
05:03I'll burn your mother's memorial conquer.
05:06My vision went dark.
05:07Sienna and I shared the same father,
05:09but not the same mother.
05:11After my mother died,
05:12that conch was the only thing I had left of her.
05:15Sienna knew that.
05:16That's why threatening it always worked.
05:18I nodded.
05:19Just as I was about to leave,
05:20she called out again.
05:21Her gaze flicked to the pearl pendant at my neck.
05:24She smiled sweetly.
05:26Hunter doesn't quite have enough for the moon prism.
05:28Why not use your little pendant as collateral?
05:31My face went cold,
05:32my voice hoarse.
05:33If you can't afford it,
05:35don't buy it.
05:36This pendant is old.
05:37It's worthless.
05:39Hunter spoke up.
05:40Sienna,
05:42we can use a shell harp instead.
05:44Same effect.
05:45So Hunter wasn't completely without feeling toward me.
05:48He knew exactly what that pendant meant to me.
05:51Quinn,
05:52are you upset because Hunter and I are close?
05:55But Sienna's eyes welled with tears.
05:57I just wanted a gift from you to bless our bond.
06:00Her voice trembling.
06:01You can't even give me that?
06:03She turned away,
06:04shoulders trembling.
06:05A heartbreaking sight,
06:06Hunter couldn't stand to see her upset.
06:08His expression turned cold instantly.
06:11Ordered me,
06:11Give it to her.
06:12I refused instinctively.
06:14Hunter lashed out with his tail,
06:16striking my ribs.
06:17I crashed into the coral.
06:19He ripped the pendant from my neck
06:21and shoved it into Sienna's hands.
06:23A cold smile curled at her lips.
06:26She opened it,
06:28took out my mother's photograph,
06:29and crushed it into powder right in front of me.
06:32I lunged forward,
06:33but it was too late.
06:35My mother's image flickered in the current,
06:37then scattered into nothing.
06:39Something inside me snapped.
06:41I slapped Sienna hard.
06:42She clutched her cheek,
06:44feigning shock,
06:45then began spinning lies.
06:47Quinn!
06:48Why would you give me a memorial photo
06:50as a wedding gift?
06:51I know you love Hunter,
06:52but you can't use something like that
06:54to sabotage us!
06:55A crowd gathered,
06:56as whispers,
06:57pointing fingers.
06:58She's after her own sister's fiancé?
07:01Disgusting!
07:02What kind of mermaid curses
07:03her sister's engagement day?
07:04I heard none of it.
07:06I collapsed to the ground,
07:07scooping up the drifting dust
07:09with trembling hands.
07:10Hunter stood over me,
07:12looking down.
07:13Don't think I'll pity you, Quinn.
07:14You know what I'm capable of.
07:16I didn't answer slowly.
07:17I lifted myself into the water
07:19and addressed the crowd.
07:20I, Quinn Calavan,
07:22swear here and now,
07:23I have no feelings for Hunter Solon.
07:25I'm going to the Abyssal.
07:26From this day forward,
07:28we go our separate ways.
07:30I went to a healer
07:32to have my wounds treated.
07:33By the time I returned home,
07:35Sienna was already in the dining hall.
07:37Grandfather wasn't there.
07:38He had gone to the Sloan estate
07:40to handle the marriage arrangements.
07:43Sienna looked up at me
07:44as if nothing had happened.
07:45She looked happy,
07:46as though the scene she had staged
07:48at the market an hour ago
07:49didn't exist at all.
07:50I walked straight back to my room.
07:52The pearl cabinet stood open.
07:54A sense of dread hit me instantly.
07:56The conch was gone.
07:58I lost control.
07:59I rushed out,
08:00grabbed Sienna by the collar
08:01and slammed her to the ground.
08:03My vision went black.
08:04I punched her once,
08:06twice again.
08:06I screamed.
08:07My hands clamped around her throat.
08:09I wanted her dead.
08:10Where is my memory, Conant?
08:11Burned it.
08:12Blood traced a thin line
08:14from the corner of Sienna's mouth.
08:15Threw it into the seaweed furnace.
08:17But her eyes gleamed with triumph.
08:19Your mother was such a kind woman.
08:22Even when she was dying,
08:23she still lit fires to keep me warm.
08:26Rage flooded me.
08:27Why?
08:28I've already given you everything!
08:31It felt like my blood was burning.
08:32What more do you want?
08:34Sienna shoved me off
08:36and gasped for air.
08:37What I want?
08:38Do you want to know
08:38what I went through in my last life?
08:40You deserve to suffer what I did
08:42100 times over!
08:44So she had been reborn too.
08:46I spat out blood
08:47and glared at her.
08:48Last time,
08:48grandfather didn't cheat.
08:49You died because of your own stupidity.
08:52Still talking tough, huh?
08:54Sienna forced out a twisted tongue.
08:56Before I could react,
08:57she yanked me closer
09:00and struck me hard across the face.
09:02Before I could pull back,
09:03a kick slammed into my spine.
09:05I crashed onto the reef.
09:07A heavy stool came down on my head.
09:09Blood ran down my face.
09:11Hunter's eyes were bloodshot
09:12as he loomed over me, cursing.
09:14I couldn't hear a word.
09:15He pulled Sienna into his arms,
09:17his hands trembling
09:18as he checked her injuries.
09:20Then he slammed a shell bowl
09:21onto the table,
09:22pressed its jagged edge
09:23against my throat.
09:24The dizziness faded.
09:26At last,
09:26I could hear him.
09:28Quinn,
09:28don't fool yourself
09:29into thinking I still love you.
09:31Touch Sienna again
09:32and I wouldn't mind
09:33killing you again.
09:34I lay on the floor
09:35watching them cling to each other.
09:37Nausea churned in my stomach.
09:39I crawled toward the furnace.
09:41The seaweed flames
09:42had already gone cold.
09:43Hunter dragged Sienna over
09:44and stomped hard
09:45on my already broken hand.
09:46Did I say you could leave?
09:49Apologize to Sienna.
09:51Now.
09:51The pain was unbearable.
09:53I lifted my head
09:54looking at Hunter's twisted face.
09:56I muttered.
09:58The bandage on my head
09:59was soaked through.
10:00My conch.
10:01He didn't hear me.
10:02He just kept demanding
10:03that I apologize.
10:04I gave up.
10:05I collapsed.
10:06Darkness swallowed everything.
10:07Eventually,
10:08Hunter lost interest.
10:09He left me in the ashes
10:11and swam away with Sienna.
10:13When I woke,
10:13Grandfather still hadn't returned.
10:15I did everything I could
10:17to bandage myself,
10:18then dragged my battered body
10:19into the current,
10:21rushing toward the abyssal trench.
10:22Time was running out.
10:24I had to find Jess Sheridan.
10:26The current carried me
10:27to the trench outpost,
10:28and then I blacked out again.
10:30When I came around,
10:31an ugly overweight shark man
10:32was sitting beside me.
10:34My heart pounded
10:35as I called his name.
10:36Jess Sharon.
10:37The shark flinched.
10:39Its dark eyes fixed on me warily.
10:41Who are you?
10:42How do you know my name?
10:44Catching my breath,
10:45I told him about the coming war,
10:47describing it as visions from a dream.
10:49In my last life,
10:50I had learned from Sienna
10:51that he was the son of the sea god.
10:53An accident had drained him of his power
10:56and sealed him inside the body of a shark man.
10:59To keep him safe,
11:00the sea god had arranged for him
11:01to blend in among the frontline kitchen crew
11:04while a solution was sought.
11:06Nobody here knew his true identity.
11:08Behind his back,
11:09they called him Fat Fin
11:10or just the Pudgy One.
11:12Right now,
11:13the most important thing
11:14was to earn his trust
11:15and get him to take me
11:17to the true god of the sea.
11:18Will you marry me?
11:19The moment the words left my mouth,
11:21Jess narrowed his eyes.
11:23The next second,
11:24he turned to call for the guards,
11:25panicking.
11:26I grabbed him
11:27and fell off the bed.
11:28My wound split open,
11:29but I didn't care.
11:31My name is Quinn Calloway.
11:33My mother was an ocean witch.
11:35I know a way to restore your true form.
11:37Jess studied me with suspicion
11:38and put me through question after question
11:40until he was satisfied
11:42I wasn't an enemy agent.
11:43I'll need to think about it.
11:45A few days later,
11:46Sienna and Hunter's wedding took place.
11:48Hunter sat in the room,
11:50distracted,
11:51constantly asking who had arrived.
11:53After the guests had left,
11:54he went to find Grandfather,
11:56trying to keep himself composed.
11:57Lord Calloway,
11:58where is Quinn?
12:00Today is her sister's engagement ceremony.
12:02Why didn't she come?
12:03Grandfather looked around the empty hall and sighed.
12:06You expect her to sit here
12:08and watch the man she loves
12:10being intimate with her own sister?
12:12Hunter's heart dropped.
12:13He suddenly remembered that night,
12:15the argument,
12:16the way I had crawled toward the furnace.
12:18Before he could ask anything else,
12:20a messenger fish rushed in,
12:22waving a scroll wrapped in the current.
12:25Lord Calloway,
12:26official orders from the Abyss Command.
12:28Quinn is married.
12:30Hunter could hardly believe it.
12:32He snatched the scroll.
12:34Who is married?
12:39The little courier fish grinned,
12:41innocent as ever.
12:42Why Big Sister Quinn's?
12:44There's a command seal on it and everything.
12:47Brother Hunter,
12:49what are the odds,
12:50both your weddings on the very same day?
12:52Hunter felt his heart skip.
12:54He turned the scroll over and over,
12:56read that name again and again,
12:58then collapsed onto the coral floor.
13:01The girl who had once sworn
13:02she would never love anyone but him
13:04had turned around and bound herself to someone else.
13:07He remembered that night,
13:09me on the floor,
13:10covered in blood,
13:11dragging myself toward the seaweed furnace
13:13with a sickly look on my face.
13:15And in a flash,
13:16the image overlapped with one from his last life.
13:18Me on the ground,
13:20my torn tail trailing behind me,
13:22prostrating in front of him and begging.
13:24She has someone she loves now.
13:26Hunter sat there muttering to himself,
13:27dazed.
13:28She was my wife!
13:28How can she marry someone else?
13:31Hunter cut his own finger and sent the blood out.
13:34A forbidden tracking spell.
13:36But the ocean didn't answer.
13:38He'd forgotten that I was the daughter of an ocean witch.
13:41The forbidden tracking spell was one I'd taught him in our last life,
13:45and I had long since erased my own traces.
13:48And then,
13:49while Hunter sat there in despair,
13:50he saw Sienna.
13:51Sienna was drunk,
13:52her eyes glassy.
13:54She pulled him up off the floor with a soft voice.
13:56What's wrong?
13:57What are you doing sitting down there?
14:00Hunter stared at her,
14:01dazed.
14:02Then something cool flickered in his eyes.
14:04The next second,
14:05his hand cracked across her face.
14:07Quinn's mother's memory conch.
14:09Where is it?
14:10It can find Quinn!
14:14Sienna sobered up instantly.
14:16She held her cheek,
14:17staring at Hunter in disbelief.
14:19What?
14:19Hunter?
14:20I've never even seen that thing!
14:22Hunter knocked her hand away and slapped her again.
14:24I'm asking you where the memory conoch is.
14:26Where did you hide it?
14:28Sienna was speechless.
14:29She covered her face.
14:30Tears poured down.
14:32Why would I ever touch anything of Quinn's?
14:34She said this place wasn't her home anymore.
14:37She must have taken it with her.
14:39Hunter's vision blacked out.
14:40He pressed a hand to his chest.
14:42She,
14:43she isn't coming back.
14:45Suddenly,
14:46he staggered to his feet,
14:47didn't even go back to the bridal chamber,
14:50swam straight to the Sloan estate,
14:52grabbed a travel pack,
14:53and tore off for the Tideway station.
14:55Sienna chased after him in a daze
14:57and threw herself in his pack.
14:58Hunter,
14:59where are you going?
15:01This is our wedding day.
15:02Hunter wouldn't even spare her a glance.
15:04Move.
15:05I want to see with my own eyes who Quinn married.
15:08A flash of resentment crossed Sienna's eyes.
15:10She clamped onto his tail fin
15:12and refused to let go.
15:13You're still thinking about her?
15:15You regret marrying me?
15:16Hunter shook her off impatiently.
15:18I don't have time for this.
15:20Move!
15:20When force didn't work,
15:22Sienna changed her face in a heartbeat
15:24and started packing his bag for him.
15:26Fine.
15:27I'll go with you.
15:28I was wanting to see Quinn myself anyway.
15:31At that,
15:31Hunter's face softened.
15:33He let her come along,
15:34but they'd barely reached the entrance
15:36to the Tideway station
15:37when a squad in silverscale armor stopped them.
15:40At the head of the squad was Hunter's father,
15:42General Sloan himself.
15:44The general's quiet authority
15:45made Sienna shrink her tail back
15:47and even Hunter didn't dare open his mouth.
15:50Go home.
15:51I won't say it twice.
15:52Hunter didn't dare defy his father.
15:54He and Sienna had to slink back home,
15:57frustrated.
15:58Soon after,
15:59the front in the abyssal trench
16:00grew so unstable
16:01that they couldn't have gone
16:03even if they'd tried.
16:04Meanwhile,
16:05Jace and I were spending busy
16:06but fulfilling days down in the abyss.
16:09In the beginning,
16:10marrying Jace really had been a partnership
16:12and nothing more.
16:13It was the fastest way I could think of
16:15to earn the Sea God's trust.
16:17That war in my last life
16:19had killed half of our kind down here.
16:21I had to save them.
16:22Marriage of convenience or not,
16:24Jace still gave me a grand ceremony.
16:26After we wed,
16:28I told the Sea God every detail
16:29I remembered about the coming war.
16:31He was skeptical at first,
16:33but I correctly predicted several events in a row
16:35and eventually he chose to believe me.
16:38In the end,
16:39we won decisively.
16:40After that battle,
16:41I was made battalion commander
16:42of the Northwest forces.
16:44The Sea God set up
16:45a coral cottage
16:45just for the two of us
16:47so Jace and I could look after each other.
16:49I took the risk of going down
16:51into a deep sea volcano
16:52to find a fairy herb
16:54that blooms only once every hundred years,
16:56and I poured power into it
16:58using my witch's soul pearl.
17:00Day after day of treatment,
17:01his shark seal broke,
17:03and his Sea God's power slowly returned.
17:05I had never seen
17:06a more perfect male merman in my life.
17:09That kind of Sea Witchcraft
17:10tears at the body especially hard,
17:12and I took the backlash
17:13from treating Jace.
17:15I needed a full month of recovery
17:16to come back to myself.
17:18Through all of it,
17:19Jace stayed by my side.
17:20Day after day,
17:22Jace was careful and gentle.
17:23The sea greens chowder he made
17:25tasted like nothing else.
17:27I only learned later
17:28that he had been secretly feeding me
17:30a sacred elixir.
17:31One meant only for the Sea God.
17:33Under his care,
17:34I grew stronger,
17:35and my battlefield record
17:36kept getting better.
17:37When we first married,
17:39people at the front called us
17:40the beggar and the fat pig,
17:42but no one laughed at us anymore.
17:45Now they all said
17:46we were meant for each other.
17:47The nickname for Jace
17:48had gone from fat shark
17:49to big bro.
17:51I was still not entirely thrilled
17:52with that one,
17:53but Jace just laughed.
17:55Don't worry about them.
17:56In my eyes,
17:56you're a goddess.
17:57Quiet days like that
17:58went on for half a year,
18:00until I happened to see
18:01Hunter and Sienna
18:02outside the outpost.
18:03I just picked up medicine
18:05from the healer
18:06when I ran straight
18:06into the two of them,
18:08prowling around
18:09outside the outpost.
18:10Our eyes locked.
18:12Hunter sprinted
18:12toward me at once.
18:14He didn't spare a thought
18:15for the Sienna
18:16right beside him.
18:17He just pulled me
18:18into his arms.
18:19Quinn!
18:19I knew you weren't married.
18:21You still care about me.
18:23Sienna's face went dark
18:24in an instant.
18:25Hunter didn't notice a thing.
18:27I stepped back quickly,
18:28putting space between us.
18:30Sorry.
18:31My husband is at home waiting.
18:33I need to go.
18:34Hunter's body locked up.
18:36He stared at me, blank.
18:37Just then a few of my comrades
18:39swam past.
18:40They spotted me and grinned,
18:41throwing me casual salutes.
18:43Commander Quinn,
18:44who are these two?
18:45Big Bro wasn't feeling well today,
18:47so he wasn't in the kitchen.
18:48I am dying for that
18:50Sea Greens chowder of his.
18:51The moment Sienna heard Big Bro,
18:54she clapped a hand over her mouth
18:55like she'd seen a ghost.
18:57Sis, your husband isn't the,
18:59that fat shark
19:00from the seaweed kitchen, is you?
19:02I frowned.
19:03Watch how you speak.
19:04He is not a fat shark.
19:06Sienna scoffed,
19:07her eyes dripping with contempt.
19:09Quinn,
19:09everyone knows there's a fat shark
19:11in the seaweed kitchen,
19:12grinning like an idiot all day.
19:14Came out of nowhere,
19:15some country nobody.
19:17Sure, it stings that you didn't
19:18get to marry Hunter,
19:19but is it really worth
19:20degrading yourself like this?
19:22My expression hardened.
19:23The comrades who'd been
19:24passing by stopped walking.
19:26They didn't look pleased.
19:28And who exactly are you two?
19:29How do you even know Big Bro?
19:31These two are newlyweds.
19:32They're happy together.
19:34Don't you think you're going
19:34a little too far?
19:36Watching everyone take my side,
19:37Sienna ground her teeth in fury.
19:39Hunter stepped forward,
19:41his voice catching.
19:42You really did marry someone else?
19:43You're really not coming home?
19:45I looked at his wounded little face
19:47and felt nothing at all.
19:49Hunter, my parents are gone.
19:50This is my home now.
19:52You're the one who said
19:53you only ever loved Sienna.
19:54So what are you doing here?
19:55Last life and this life both.
19:57He never knew what he actually wanted.
19:59Hunter clamped down on my arm
20:01and wouldn't let go.
20:02Just as we were locked
20:03in that standoff,
20:04a comrade swam up supporting Jace,
20:07who was burning with fever.
20:08When Jace saw me hemmed in like that,
20:10he tensed up at once
20:12and pushed his way over.
20:13The Jace of today had long since
20:15shed the bloated body
20:16the seal had given him.
20:17He stood tall and lean,
20:19sharp-featured
20:20with a brilliantly shimmering tail.
20:22I touched his still-hot forehead,
20:24my chest aching with worry.
20:25You're sick
20:26and you're out wandering around?
20:28Sienna rushed up
20:29and stared at the tall,
20:31broad-shouldered,
20:32sharply-chiseled Jace,
20:33so shocked she could barely speak.
20:35Who are you?
20:37Where's the fat shark?
20:38Jace fixed her with a wary stare.
20:40And who are you?
20:41You forced your way into the outpost.
20:43You're crowding the battalion commander.
20:44I am well within my rights
20:46to treat you as a spy.
20:47Sienna seemed to crack right there,
20:49screaming in disbelief.
20:50You're the battalion commander?
20:52How are you the commander?
20:54You should have been caught
20:55by the Abyss Demons,
20:57torn apart, broken.
20:58How can you possibly be the commander?
21:01Everyone stared as Sienna came apart,
21:03her ranting growing more deranged.
21:05Their faces darkened.
21:07Hunter looked at Jace
21:08standing beside me
21:09and turned green with jealousy.
21:11Quinn, you.
21:13My husband is sick.
21:14You'll have to excuse us.
21:16Jenny, could you deal
21:17with these two for me?
21:18I'm taking Jace home.
21:19With that,
21:20I took Jace's hand
21:21and turned for home.
21:22Hunter tried to follow,
21:24but the others closed in
21:25around them
21:25with practiced ease.
21:27Armed and ready,
21:28mindful of his father,
21:30Hunter didn't dare push it.
21:31Back home,
21:32I brewed up Jace's medicine
21:33and fed it to him
21:34a careful spoonful at a time.
21:36He blinked at me,
21:37sneaking glances,
21:38testing the words out
21:39before he spoke.
21:40Those two who came today,
21:41are they relatives of yours?
21:43My hand stilled.
21:44I nodded.
21:44Yes, my sister and her husband.
21:47Probably came up from back home.
21:48Jace hesitated.
21:49But you said
21:50you didn't have any family.
21:52I was quiet for a long moment,
21:53those terrible scenes
21:54from my last life
21:55crowding back in.
21:56I didn't know how to explain.
21:58Jace saw my mood drop,
22:00just pulled me gently
22:01into his arms
22:02and told me it was alright.
22:03I tilted my chin up
22:04and kissed the corner
22:05of his mouth.
22:06Thank God I have you.
22:07Right then,
22:08a commotion broke out
22:09beyond the door.
22:10I tucked him in
22:11and swam out to look.
22:12The guards had let
22:13Sienna and Hunter
22:14into the courtyard.
22:15Both of them
22:16were looking at me
22:17with that smug tilt
22:18of the chin.
22:19Commander,
22:20Officer Sienna says
22:22she'd like to see you.
22:23It was only then
22:23that title registered.
22:25Sienna was in
22:26the Royal Tide Guard
22:27now too.
22:28Hunter glanced
22:29toward the window,
22:30then took up
22:30that won't be
22:31questioned tone again.
22:32Quinn,
22:33you can't be eating well
22:34or sleeping hell
22:35in the abyss.
22:36Come home with me.
22:38What good can
22:38a quarter man man
22:39from the seaweed kitchen
22:40possibly do
22:41for your career?
22:42I'll talk to my father,
22:43get you transferred back.
22:45You'll live with us.
22:46I looked at him
22:47in disbelief.
22:48The whole thing
22:48was absurd.
22:49I turned to walk away
22:50and Sienna sidled up
22:52and gripped my wrist
22:53whispering against my ear.
22:55Mom's memory conch.
22:57Don't want it back anymore?
22:58My gaze sharpened.
23:00I turned my head
23:01and stared her down.
23:02You said last time
23:03you'd burned it.
23:04You were lying?
23:05Sienna straightened up
23:06and pitched her voice
23:07back to normal.
23:08When you've made up
23:09your mind,
23:10come to the Black Coral Forest.
23:11I'll be waiting
23:12whenever you're ready
23:13to come home, sis.
23:14She took Hunter's arm
23:16to leave.
23:16Hunter cast a complicated
23:18look at me,
23:18but in the end
23:19he followed Sienna out.
23:21I stood rooted there,
23:22my thoughts running
23:23in a thousand directions.
23:25I glanced back in
23:26at Jace,
23:27fast asleep,
23:28dropped a soft kiss
23:29on his forehead
23:30and turned in the direction
23:31of the Black Coral Forest.
23:33The whole way there
23:34the water was empty.
23:35Hardly a soul in sight.
23:36I gripped the trident Jace
23:38had forged specially for me,
23:40pushing forward
23:40by the moonlight
23:41filtering down
23:42through the surface,
23:43every nerve tight.
23:44I reached the mouth
23:45of the Black Coral Forest.
23:47Still no one in sight.
23:49Just as I was about
23:50to turn back,
23:51something heavy
23:52slammed into my tail fin.
23:53My body twisted
23:55on instinct to dodge
23:56and I tumbled down
23:57into a wide coral pit.
23:58I looked up
23:59and there was Sienna
24:00that eerie smile
24:01on her face
24:02and the water blade spear
24:04she had leveled at me.
24:05I made myself sound calm.
24:07What do you think
24:08you're doing?
24:09Killing a fellow officer
24:10this close to command?
24:11Do you understand
24:12what they'll do to you?
24:14Sienna stared down at me,
24:16the jealousy and disgust
24:17in her voice
24:18impossible to hide.
24:19You should have been dead
24:20in the first place.
24:21Why is it that
24:22even with a second life,
24:24everything still
24:25comes easy for you?
24:26Hunter is still
24:27thinking about you.
24:28What is so special
24:29about you?
24:30All I need
24:31is for you to die
24:32and everything is mine!
24:34She swung the spear
24:35and the currents
24:36around her twisted hard
24:37and fish scattered.
24:39The water churned
24:40at the reefs
24:41and pulled itself
24:41into a blade
24:42that lanced toward me.
24:45I twisted aside
24:47and stared at her
24:48in shock.
24:49Are you out of your mind?
24:51Doing this could pull
24:52the enemy right down on us!
24:54I could see clearly now.
24:56Sienna's hatred for me
24:57had reached its peak.
24:58The most important thing
24:59for me to do right now
25:00was get my mother's
25:02memory conch back.
25:03I'll ask one more time.
25:05Where is the conch?
25:07Sienna laughed coldly
25:08and crouched down
25:09so she could look
25:10at me from above.
25:12You actually believed that?
25:14The conch was burned
25:16that very day.
25:17Oh, and by the way
25:18I should mention,
25:20Grandpa hasn't been
25:21doing too well
25:22while you've been away.
25:23Hearing about Grandpa
25:24made me see red.
25:25This life,
25:26I've given you
25:27everything you wanted!
25:28Why would you go
25:30and hurt Grandpa?
25:31Sienna's face
25:32turned dark in an instant,
25:34her eyes burning.
25:35Not enough.
25:36You know what I was thinking
25:37right as I died last time?
25:39If I can't be happy,
25:41none of you get
25:42to be happy either.
25:43So I used my last breath
25:44to write a forged letter
25:45to Hunter.
25:47I told him you and Grandpa
25:49had been pulling
25:50strings together
25:51just to get the Sloan family
25:53to hand you a rank.
25:55I told him the reason
25:56Hunter's grandfather
25:57died expectedly
25:59was that you switched
26:00out his medicine!
26:01Sienna,
26:02you've lost your mind!
26:04Is there one word
26:05of truth in your mouth?
26:07Sienna laughed
26:07almost manically.
26:09So what if there isn't?
26:10So what if I did it?
26:12I was jealous.
26:14I was jealous of you.
26:16Why should every single person
26:18love you
26:18and worry about you?
26:21In any case,
26:23Hunter has always believed
26:24every word
26:25out of my mouth.
26:26I listened to her rave,
26:28my heart aching
26:28for the Grandpa
26:29of my last life
26:30and pulled in a deep breath.
26:32You think Grandpa
26:33didn't know it was you?
26:34You think General Sloan
26:36couldn't have tracked you down
26:37if he'd wanted to?
26:39Grandpa specifically
26:40sent you to the Abyss
26:42as a scout
26:43so the Sloanes
26:45wouldn't be able
26:45to reach you
26:46and this is how
26:47you repay him?
26:49You have no idea
26:50how much my father
26:51and Grandpa
26:52left behind
26:53just to keep you alive.
26:55You know nothing.
26:57You haven't come home
26:58a single time to ask.
26:59Sienna listened,
27:01slowly going still.
27:02I was panting.
27:03Do you have any idea
27:05where Hunter dragged Grandpa
27:06in my last life
27:08to torture him?
27:10How dare you?
27:11She wrapped her arms
27:12around her head
27:13and shook it desperately,
27:14but it didn't last.
27:15She slid right back
27:17into that sneering look,
27:18her eyes full of murder.
27:20I don't care!
27:21I never imagined
27:22Jace would turn out
27:23so good-looking
27:24this time around.
27:26Once you're dead,
27:27I'll divorce Hunter
27:28and marry him!
27:29Her water pistol
27:30leveled at the center
27:31of my forehead.
27:33I raised my trident too,
27:35our eyes locked.
27:35Sienna,
27:37we're sisters.
27:38Does it really
27:39have to come to this?
27:40She laughed wild and loud.
27:42Sisters?
27:43Fine!
27:44Then surely Big Sister
27:46wouldn't mind
27:47paving the way
27:48for her little sister!
27:50The moment she said it,
27:52the currents twisted again.
27:53I shut my eyes tight,
27:55but in the end
27:56I couldn't bring myself
27:57to strike her.
27:59And yet the one
28:00who fell was Sienna.
28:02She crumpled stiffly
28:03into the coral pit,
28:04blood spreading
28:05from between her scales
28:06like ink through water.
28:08I stared frozen,
28:09calling her name
28:10over and over.
28:11But the one
28:12who pulled me up
28:13out of that pit
28:13was Hunter.
28:14Sienna!
28:15Sienna!
28:16Sienna!
28:16Sienna!
28:16Sienna!
28:17Sienna!
28:17Sienna!
28:17Sienna!
28:17Sienna!
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