Chapter Twenty-Four

STAY.

Safe.

Calm.

Stay.

Here.

I blinked as a small light in the distance suddenly caught my attention and the whispers became hard to hear. I didn't remember where I was or how I got here, but I knew I was somehow floating like a single grain of sand in the tide. I wanted to stay here where everything felt peaceful and free, but something inside me said I needed to swim to that blue light.

Slowly, I waded closer, and as the light got bigger, it started to take shape. The darkness around me got lighter, until it was like I was swimming through crystal-clear turquoise waters, and as the scene before me cleared, I realized what I was seeing.

A woman stood with her back to me, and every part of her was tinted a shade of blue, including her clothes. Or rather, every part of her was water . I couldn't tell where the water ended and her form started. She and the tide were almost one in the same, with only a faint outline of her form amid the element. Long blue hair fell down her back in waves. Her long-sleeved, open-back dress glittered and shimmered in the calm waters. She stared off at a light of her own, and she was as still as a statue.

Inching closer, I called out, "Excuse me. Can you tell me where I am?"

At the sound of my voice, her shoulders stiffened, and the light that had been glowing in front of her dimmed before fading away. Slowly, the woman turned around. All thoughts in my head, every beat of my heart, every inhale of breath stopped.

Time stood still.

The earth ceased its orbit.

Nothing seemed to matter or exist outside of this moment when my eyes locked onto her blue ones.

"Bria?" she whispered.

Fighting to form words with my suddenly dry tongue, I croaked, "Mom?"

She stared wide-eyed at me, and she slowly covered her mouth with her hands. Shaking her head, she gave a disbelieving laugh. "I must be dreaming."

I swallowed hard. "If you are, we're having the same dream."

Her eyes met mine again, and when they did, the shock keeping us rooted in place shattered. We rushed forward, and the moment she wrapped me in her arms, I broke. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I buried my face in her neck. My body trembled with sobs, and she squeezed me tighter like she couldn't get close enough.

Alesta.

My mother.

She was here .

For the first time, I knew what it was like to be taken in her arms, to be held to her chest, and cradled like I was the most precious thing in the world. For the first time, I knew what it was like to hear the sound of her sweet voice as she said my name. No fantasy or dream of mine could compare to this very moment when I finally— finally —had my mom.

Inhaling deeply, I noted the hints of salty sea mist, water lilies, and a hint of citrus. She smelled like the ocean breeze, and that knowledge made my tears come harder. "So that's what you smell like."

She laughed, the sound light and airy. She pulled back to look me over from head to toe. "Look at you. My little Dewdrop, all grown up." Her tear-filled eyes met mine as she asked, "How are you here?"

I wiped at my eyes and sniffled as I tried to regain my composure. "I'm not sure where here is."

Realization crept into the lines of her brow, and she slowly nodded. "You have the ability to change, just like me."

There were too many emotions crashing around inside for me to properly process what she was saying. "Change?"

She waved her hand at the turquoise waters around us, which I suddenly noticed didn't seem to have any end or beginning. There was no bottom, no surface, nothing. Just water that got darker and darker the further it went. Even my own body looked like hers; no real solidity to it but more like my being had been reduced to the element surrounding us.

"It's hard to explain," she said. "But you're not really anywhere right now. You are water."

My mind immediately went back to a distant memory. An explanation that I'd heard somewhere—I couldn't seem to recall who had told me—about Water Fae's lost abilities. More specifically, about the ability to become water if we were strong enough. I looked down at my hands again and stared at my now bluish skin.

"So I'm water right now?" I whispered with awe seeping into my words.

She nodded. "I'm no expert since I was never taught this skill, but essentially, you exist as water right now. You move with it, flowing, drifting, existing without a body and inhabiting water itself as one. Your body and spirit are part of the water."

I searched my brain for how I ended up like this, but I … I couldn't seem to remember. I couldn't recall what I'd been doing or where I was before this. It felt like I'd just always been here, drifting and floating like she said.

Meeting my mother's eyes again, I asked, "How is it that you're here? I thought you were—"

I couldn't finish the sentence. To even say the words while looking her in the eyes made fresh tears spring to life.

Anguish suddenly swept over her features, and she cupped my cheeks and wiped the tears away. "Oh Dewdrop, forgive me. There's so much … so much to tell you and explain, but I'm afraid there isn't time. You need to go back before you get stuck here, Bria."

My brow furrowed as I tried to recall a before . Where had I been? I was sure I'd always been here as the water where life was calm. Easy. Nice. Everything else, faint memories of places and people, seemed like a dream. It was all too far away for me to grasp or see clearly. But I could see my mom now, and looking into her eyes, I was able to remember my ache for her. I'd been denied my mother for so long, and having her right here in front of me reminded me of that part of myself—I was Water Fae, orphaned and a Princess trying to lead her Kingdom. Everything else … Was there anything else?

Something in my face seemed to startle Alesta. Her face fell as she whispered, "It may be too late."

Shaking my head, I asked, "What's too late? This is where I belong. As water with you."

Tears filled her eyes. "As much as I love this, my sweet girl, you don't belong here. Can you try to … I don't know … re-form and go back to the surface?"

Her suggestion muddled my mind. It sounded like foreign words and illogical suggestions leaving her lips. "Re-form? Surface?"

She sighed deeply and closed her eyes. She wiggled her fingers, and the water touching her outline seemed to bubble and vibrate. "I may be able to send you back, but I need to build up to that. It's been too long since I've done something of that magnitude." She opened her eyes and searched my gaze. Smiling softly, she relented, "I guess that means we have some time to talk and explain."