Sera had imagined many things hidden beneath the ocean.

Sunken ships.

Ancient ruins.

Maybe the remains of cities swallowed by some forgotten disaster.

She had never imagined a kingdom.

Aetheria rose from the sea like a dream.

Its towers were made of something that looked like glass but moved like water. Blue light flowed through transparent bridges. Enormous rings floated above the city, rotating silently around a central tower.

The ocean itself seemed to bend around it.

Sera couldn’t look away.

“Grandmother,” she whispered, “what is this place?”

Her grandmother grabbed her arm.

“Not here.”

The soldiers were getting closer.

Their white armor reflected the blue glow from the city.

The silver-eyed commander walked toward them.

“My name is Cael.”

He stopped several steps away.

“I am the commander of the Aetherian Guard.”

Sera stared at him.

“You called me princess.”

“You are Princess Seraphine Aster.”

“No.”

Her grandmother stepped forward.

“Her name is Sera Vale.”

Cael looked at her.

“You’ve hidden her well.”

“For twenty-one years.”

“You knew they would eventually find her.”

“I hoped I would die before they did.”

Sera looked between them.

“What are you talking about?”

Cael’s expression softened.

“Your grandmother never told you about your father.”

Sera’s heart tightened.

“My father died before I was born.”

“No.”

Cael looked toward the ocean.

“Your father is alive.”

Sera stopped breathing.

“Where?”

“In Aetheria.”

She looked at the glowing city.

“Why would he leave me?”

“He didn’t.”

Cael lowered his voice.

“He was trapped.”

A sudden explosion shook the shoreline.

The soldiers turned.

A black aircraft had appeared above the lighthouse.

Cael immediately drew a weapon.

“Get down!”

The aircraft fired.

A wall of blue energy appeared around them.

The blast struck the shield and exploded into thousands of sparks.

Sera stared.

“Who attacked us?”

Cael looked at the aircraft.

“The Dominion.”

“Who are they?”

“The government that controls the surface.”

Sera’s grandmother whispered:

“They have been searching for you since the night you were born.”

Another aircraft appeared.

Then another.

Cael turned toward Sera.

“We need to get you inside Aetheria.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“You shouldn’t.”

Sera blinked.

Cael continued.

“But right now, I’m the only person keeping you alive.”

He raised his hand.

A circular platform rose from beneath the water.

“Step onto it.”

Sera hesitated.

Her grandmother pushed her gently forward.

“Go.”

Sera looked at her.

“Come with me.”

Her grandmother smiled.

“I will.”

They stepped onto the platform.

Blue light surrounded them.

The world disappeared.

For several seconds, Sera couldn’t feel anything.

Then she was standing inside Aetheria.

The city was even more beautiful from within.

People walked along glowing streets.

Some had silver eyes.

Others carried strange devices that floated beside them.

Above the city was a second sky.

Artificial stars moved across it.

Sera stared upward.

“It’s beautiful.”

Cael looked at her.

“You haven’t seen the real city yet.”

They entered a massive palace.

The walls were covered with murals.

Sera stopped when she saw one.

A woman stood beneath seven moons.

Beside her was a man holding a child.

The child’s face looked exactly like Sera.

She touched the painting.

“Who are they?”

Cael answered quietly.

“Your parents.”

Sera turned.

“And the child?”

“You.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“Why was I sent away?”

Cael didn’t answer.

Her grandmother did.

“Because Aetheria was dying.”

Sera looked at her.

“The city?”

“Not the city.”

Her grandmother’s voice became quieter.

“The moon.”

Sera remembered the silver fragment that had fallen from the sky.

“What happened to it?”

“Twenty-one years ago, the moon began to collapse.”

Cael walked toward a large window.

“Aetheria was built inside the moon’s core.”

Sera stared.

“The moon?”

“Aetheria isn’t beneath the ocean.”

Cael pointed upward.

“It is connected to the moon.”

Sera felt dizzy.

“Then what is beneath us?”

Cael smiled.

“The original city.”

Suddenly, the palace lights turned red.

An alarm sounded.

A voice came through the walls.

**”BREACH DETECTED.”**

Cael immediately reached for his weapon.

“What happened?”

A guard rushed into the room.

“Commander, they’re inside.”

“Who?”

The guard looked at Sera.

“The Dominion.”

Cael’s expression changed.

“Impossible.”

“They have entered through the eastern gate.”

A distant explosion shook the palace.

Sera looked toward the doors.

“Why are they after me?”

Cael stepped closer.

“Because you are the only person who can activate the Heart of Aetheria.”

“What is the Heart?”

Before he could answer, a deep voice echoed through the palace.

Not from the speakers.

From the walls.

From the floor.

From the entire city.

**”SERAPHINE.”**

Everyone froze.

Sera’s eyes widened.

The voice sounded ancient.

Then it spoke again.

**”MY DAUGHTER HAS RETURNED.”**

The floor beneath Sera began glowing.

A symbol appeared beneath her feet.

Seven circles.

Seven moons.

And in the center—

a single black star.

Cael stepped backward.

His face had gone pale.

“What?”

Sera looked at him.

“What is it?”

Cael whispered:

“That’s impossible.”

“What?”

He looked at the symbol.

“The Heart has chosen you.”

The palace doors suddenly exploded inward.

White-armored soldiers flooded the room.

At their center stood a woman with silver hair.

She removed her helmet.

Sera stared at her.

The woman looked exactly like the woman from the hologram.

Her mother.

Alive.

The woman smiled.

“Hello, Sera.”

Sera couldn’t speak.

Her mother walked toward her.

“I’ve been waiting twenty-one years to tell you the truth.”

Then she looked toward the glowing symbol beneath Sera.

And whispered:

“Your father was never trapped.”

“He was the one who betrayed Aetheria.”