Slowly, they made their way past several rooms that had been taken over by the ocean.
Every now and then, they found a sign of the people who’d foundered with the ship long ago: a mirror here, a silver hairbrush there. Once, they saw a sword dangling from a nail, and Liana’s eyes widened as she imagined herself exploring a pirate ship.
And in fact, that was exactly what the ship seemed to be.
Several minutes later, they reached the largest cabin they’d found so far.
It had to be the cabin of a pirate captain, Liana thought in awe—for there, in a heavy chest at the end of a collapsed bed, an incredible treasure of golden coins and jewels was gleaming.
Her heart pounding, Liana rested her hand against the wood of the chest. Perhaps, centuries ago, a pirate captain had stood where she stood right now.
What sort of battles had this ship seen? What sort of romances and desperate fights?
All of it was forgotten now. The ship and its treasure were all that remained, carefully conserved by the ocean.
And perhaps it had been conserved for them. Perhaps that was why the ocean had called out to them—because it had a gift for them.
Liana stared at the jewels.
There was a tiara decorated with sapphires. Wouldn’t that be exactly what the lady of the sea would wear? It would be a gift from the ocean, too. And even though she’d seen Timothy’s hoard, and he’d decorated her with diamonds and sapphires and chains of gold, this would be even more precious.
This would come from the ocean. And it would be something they’d found together.
Liana had just begun to reach out for the tiara when she heard the notes of the ocean’s song change.
She couldn’t even say what made her hesitate. She could feel that the ocean wouldn’t mind if they claimed its treasure.
Still—there was something else still calling out for her in its song. A gentle promise, a note that was so low and sweet that she hadn’t even been aware of it until they reached the captain’s cabin.
Something inside her knew that the note would fade away as soon as she took hold of the tiara.
But why wouldn’t she take the treasure? She was the lady of the sea, and her mate was the ocean dragon. She had a right to it.
Still, she couldn’t stop feeling a sudden yearning inside her. A need to keep exploring—even if it meant that the treasure would be forever out of her reach.
A moment later, she turned away. After all, what worth had a pirate’s treasure when she’d already found the most precious thing that life could offer?
Timothy was frowning at her, as though he couldn’t understand what was going on. A moment later, understanding dawned on his face.
He was hearing the same thing she’d heard now.
She held out her hand again, and without hesitation he took hold of it. Together, they turned away from the treasure, searching for a new adventure.
The soft melody and the eerie light drew them almost to the end of the ship. The cabins were less luxurious here—perhaps this was where the ordinary sailors had slept.
At last, they came to a small door at the end of a corridor. There was no name on the door, but light seemed to gently pulse from the keyhole.
It wasn’t locked. When they pushed it open, they saw that the mysterious room must have once been a simple storage room, not much larger than a cupboard.
But there, on an old, wooden box, rested the largest oyster Liana had ever seen in her life.
As they watched in awe, the light intensified, and then the shell slowly began to open.
Little by little, it revealed its treasure to them: a pearl of perfect white, shimmering in the blue light that seemed to pulsate around the oyster.
The pearl was as large as a hazelnut and without a single fault.
Liana swallowed as she looked at it, tears welling up in her eyes, which were immediately carried away by the salty ocean water.