I don't know where I am.
The last thing I remember—hands. Cold, unrelenting hands dragging me beneath the surface of the fountain. And him. The Crown Prince. His eyes wide, horror-stricken, his hand reaching out—too late.
Now, I'm here.
Dark. Cold. Endless.
I was falling. No—sinking. Dragged into a place that had no surface, no light, no air. Just an abyss stretching forever, swallowing me whole. My body twisted, my arms flailed, but the more I fought, the deeper I sank. My lungs burned. My vision blurred. I kicked, I clawed, but there was no ground, no walls—just an infinite sea of nothingness pulling me further into its grasp.
This isn't just water. This is something else. Something far worse. Something ancient. Something hungry. Something unnatural.
A force. A presence.
I gasped, but there was no air. No ground. No walls. Just a vast nothingness swallowing me whole. My lungs burned, and my body screamed.
Then, a whisper crawled over my skin. Low. Unnatural. Everywhere.
