Chapter 126
The room seems to shrink around me as my grandmother’s words sink in. My stomach churns, a cocktail of disgust, disbelief, and something unnameable swirling in the pit of it. Felix Becker. My grandfather. It's not a hunch anymore, not a theory…it's the truth.
The man who started all of this. The man who ripped two innocent sirens from their home after they saved his life.
That’s how he repaid them—by delivering them into the arms of monsters, ruining their lives, turning one into an experiment, and trying to murder the other. And yet, when I look at Cora, there’s nothing but compassion and sadness in her eyes.
“Felix Becker is my grandfather,” I say, my voice sounding hollow, even to me. “But… how? It happened so long ago.”
Cora pauses, a distant look settling over her face. Her fingers, long and elegant, lace together in her lap as if she’s bracing herself. “Delphinium and I,” she begins softly, “we used to dare each other to see how far we could stray from home.
The entire North Pacific was our playground. One day, we came across a ship—not unusual, we saw many—but there was an explosion, and the ship began to sink. Young and ignorant of human ways as we were, we watched it play out, unsure of what to do.”
She glances at Wake, then back at me. “When we saw Felix sinking below the waves, Delphinium wanted to leave him. Let nature take its course. But it was I who insisted we get close to the sailor.”
Her voice trails off, and I lean forward, my nails biting into my palms. “You rescued him,” I whisper. “There were accounts recorded by Enigma. They say you stayed on that island with Felix for months.”
Cora’s lips curve into a sad, bittersweet smile. “Those months felt like minutes. Delphinium never trusted him, of course. She was too wise, too cautious. But I… I was young and foolish. Besotted. Felix fascinated me. He was a puzzle I wanted to solve, a game I wanted to play.”
Wake interjects, his voice calm but weighted. “He was your mate.”
I hold my breath, unsure if I’m about to shout or vomit. Maybe both.
Cora sighs. “In all my years of research, I have yet to discover exactly where our evolutionary trees diverged—Homo sapiens and the Enkian. But I have a theory. I believe humans are descended from Enkian who fled the sea long ago. Regardless of how it began, one thing is clear: despite our differences, we are biologically compatible. If I had known this then, perhaps I would have been more cautious. But as it was, I didn’t realize I was with child until we were aboard the Enigma ship.”
Her expression darkens, and her voice drops. “That’s when Felix… snapped. He attacked me when he found out. Delphinium managed to get me back into the sea before it was too late. Fortunately, we were still in Twilight territory.”
Wake nods grimly. “Your homesea healed you.”
“Yes,” Cora replies. “But more than that. I was so close to death that I cried out to Electra to save my baby. Lightning struck me, crystallizing my body in sea glass. I went into stasis, encased in a chrysalis of sorts, for years.
A little over a decade had passed before a fishing trawler pulled me from the seafloor. When my chrysalis shattered, I emerged with legs instead of fins, my injuries were completely healed, and the baby I was carrying was strong. I knew what it meant. Electra had willed it—she meant for me to stay on land and raise my child as human.”
“And you haven’t set foot in salt water since,” Wake says, his tone more observation than question.
“I did come to lose my connection to the sea. It was painful, but I believe, necessary,” Cora replies. “All part of Electra’s plan.”
I swallow hard, trying to process it all. “You keep saying that, but what does it mean?”
Cora’s gaze shifts out the window, toward the endless blue horizon. “I followed the earthquakes,” she says cryptically. “I know you don’t understand, but in time, you will. My life has unfolded exactly as it was meant to, even the painful parts.”
I clench my fists. “Like when the man you loved betrayed you.”
Cora turns back to me, her expression calm but firm. “He did what he believed was right.”
“By selling you out to a militant government agency?” I shoot back, my anger bubbling over.
Cora rises to her feet, her movements graceful but commanding. “I didn’t make all the right choices either, Phoebe,” she says, her voice laced with a quiet intensity. “There are Enkian who would die before betraying their own. There are ancient rules to ensure that those with less discipline cannot betray their people, even if they tried. I was not burdened with these failsafes, and the entire Eastern Twilight has suffered for it. I am not blameless in this.”
I push to my feet as well, my frustration spilling over. “You’re making excuses for him. Why? I thought being a mate meant something, that the gods or whatever put you together for a reason. All he did was hurt you!”
Cora steps closer, cupping my face with both hands. Her touch is warm, grounding, but her eyes are piercing. “There is purpose in pain, darling. It took me a long time to realize this, but I did.” She gestures to the space around us. “All of this—everything I’ve done—it’s my purpose. I never wanted to involve you in a battle that wasn’t yours, but I couldn’t simply walk away either. Someone has to take a stand.”
Wake’s voice cuts through the tension. “Take a stand against what?”
Cora closes her eyes, her breath trembling as she exhales. When she opens them again, her gaze is steady and heavy with meaning. “Leviathan is waking.”
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