Chapter 1
“THE WRECK”
The mere thought of losing his hand startled her to her core — she gripped him tighter.
She was struggling to hold her breath, floating in the water. The Pacific salt stung her eyes, blurring her vision. She couldn’t stay afloat any longer.
“Aze… open your eyes,” she whispered, trying to rouse him.
If only he could open his eyes and balance himself a bit, she sighed. The weight of two bodies had started pulling her down into the depths of the ocean.
“Maggy, get the rescue boat… fast…” she screamed.
The cruise ship was engulfed in flames. The wreck had happened in a heartbeat — before anyone could fully grasp the disaster.
Maggy paddled furiously, trying to reach Fenn. But the ocean seemed vengeful.
⸻
12 hours earlier:
The ocean was calm — unnaturally so.
The gulls had gone quiet. So had the deck. The downtime after the party echoed like the mandatory stillness that follows a storm.
The ship glided slowly through the Pacific, as though careful not to disturb the volcanoes sleeping beneath the waves.
The jagged mountains in the distance looked peaceful — but not innocent.
“Do you think these mountains ever realize how much they scare sailors?” Max asked, curious.
“I don’t think mountains think, Max,” Aze replied.
“I think they do,” said Fenn. “That’s why they’re so shady.”
Maybe she believed it — or maybe she just didn’t feel like agreeing with Aze anymore.
Max gave a half-smile. “Yeah, they do look shady.”
Peach and purple — they rarely matched, but they always seemed to fall together at the end of seasons.
Aze gave a tired smirk and stepped away from their bickering.
The deck seemed to sleep in the cozy wind and warm sun.
Maggy was there, sunbathing in her yellow and mixing color liquids for another hangover.
“Where are they?” Aze asked Maggy as he dropped into the sunbed beside her.
“Who?” She stared at him, shielding her eyes from the sun.
“The other two.” Aze sat on the bench nearby, watching her mix the mocktail.
“Oh, they’re where they’re supposed to be at this hour,” she said, handing him a perfectly mixed drink.
“Will this help?” Aze asked.
“A bit,” she replied, as they both looked at the two by the railing, watching the mountains, lost in thought.
“So, what’s your plan once we return?”
“About what?” Aze asked, still looking at her.
“About what you’re looking at — and what you’re looking for,” she said, intrigued but cautious.
“Oh, this is good,” he murmured after a sip, dodging the weight of her question.
“I’ve decided not to chase anything anymore,” he added.
“Well… except work. I can’t live off scholarships forever.”
⸻
James came out, looking worried.
“Aze, Maggy…” The sound had the same hue as his eyes — in awe, but trying not to pour it out.
“I think we should cut the trip short,” he said.
“What?” Max came running.
“Actually, the captain thinks so… to be exact. Not me.”
“But what happened? What about Bali and the trekking?” He was concerned.
“We will discuss that once we land, Max,” James said, trying not to change his tone.
“But we’ve planned this for years, James, remember? And it’s just two more days before we return,” Max said.
“If the captain asked for this, there might be a reason, Max,” Maggy tried to console him.
It was past twelve. The sun had started running away to the horizon, trying not to witness the horror awaiting.
They had lunch and decided to have a fun talk on the deck.
Max was still in denial but trying to understand the reason behind the sudden change of plans.
“We’ll play a game — drink,” Max said, rebellious.
Though time marked twenty-five years and a medicine certificate for him, the kid inside never quite moulted.
“Do you want another drink, or is there a game called drink?” Aze asked, curious.
“The game where one says something, and you drink if you’ve done it,” Max explained.
“People call it Never Have I Ever, Max,” Maggy told him.
“Whatever. I’ll start — I never hid why I cut the trip short from my friends.” He looked at James.
“Oh, boy… it’s not a big issue. Relax,” James replied.
“So there is an issue?”
MS Artoria was a private cruise owned by James’s father, the mayor of York.
Either James was telling the truth, or he didn’t want to frighten his friends or ruin the mood of the trip they’d planned for five years.
“Okay, my turn,” Maggy said, smirking. “Never have I ever peed in the ocean.”
James raised an eyebrow. “We’re literally in the middle of it.”
Max laughed. “You better not be right now.”
Everyone laughed — even Aze, briefly.
Then Fenn raised her glass.
“Okay, me next…” Fenn looked at Aze. “Never have I ever been in love with one and kissed another.”
The tides went higher — or the deck went silent.
Aze’s face flawed like a storm was coming.
“And I’ll drink to it,” Max said, sipping.
Everyone paused — except Aze.
Aze sat there in silence for a minute, then tried to take the sip, hesitantly.
But he didn’t.
The game went on, turning the tides upside down — exploring each other one last time before their paths might collide and split apart.
An Artorian-Pacific coalition trip had been in their planner since the first year of med school.
It took nearly five years of proper planning.
They set off on the same day they graduated, certificates aboard.
The sudden cancellation of the trip was completely unacceptable, but they tried to make the most of the time together.
Their return tickets were already booked for one week later — the planned date of return.
Time passed. Night fell upon the cruise a little early.
Never had they ever returned from the deck this early.
Aze was trying to sleep — away from the questions.
“I think we could plan another trip. Maybe to Papua New Guinea — I’ve read about the culture there. It’s beautiful,” Max said, trying to start a conversation.
“Maybe,” Aze said.
Max kept talking, both unaware of when they fell asleep.
Aze suddenly woke up, feeling pressure in his chest. He stood up, panting — and realized it was the necklace he was wearing, the one from his mother.
He tried to take it off, but it felt like it was drawing something out of him.
He went out to the deck for fresh air.
He held it tight; his breath started calming.
The wind washed over him — growing stronger. The sky seemed a bit strange to him.
The frightening purplish hue. He had never seen it before.
“Argh! Not again.”
It was there — in his pocket. Again.
“The feather,” he muttered, pulling it out.
He realized the sky and his feather shared the same shade.
“But how… again?”
He stared at it, confused. He never kept it there. Never. And yet, every time something happened — something strange — it was always there. As if it knew.
It always found its way back when the world went off-balance.
The sky began to dance in the hue, and the ship started to float along with it.
Aze noticed the captain’s room growing busy — trying to handle the ship.
The purple hue illuminated the sky.
Aze couldn’t believe his eyes.
Huge creatures were rising from the west, flying overhead with purple wings.
His heart pounded in sync with the trembling.
The creatures circled the ship twice and vanished in to the clouds.
The feather. The necklace. Annis’s aunt’s diary. The palace. The dreams. And now this?!
“Who are you?!” he screamed out, using all the energy he’d been struggling to breathe.
“Aze!” Fenn came running from the room, hearing him.
A sudden jolt of the ship.
Something exploded.
Aze was thrown off the deck,out of the exploding force.
“Azeee!” he could hear her screaming.
But he was already flown off the deck,
with his tears salting the ocean.
And somewhere beneath the purple sky,
Fenn was already on her way down - after him.
