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