This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.

The storm had been unlike any other in Coral's memory. For three days, the waters above her underwater kingdom had churned with such violence that even the deepest coral formations trembled. Now, as the tempest finally calmed, an eerie silence settled over the ocean depths where she made her home.

Coral pressed her face against the crystal window of her father's palace, watching the last remnants of debris drift down from the surface world. Pieces of wood, torn sails, and strange objects she couldn't identify floated past like wounded birds seeking refuge in the deep. Her aquamarine tail flickered with nervous energy as she traced patterns on the glass with her fingertip.

"Coral, you shouldn't be watching the aftermath," her father's voice boomed behind her. King Nereon's presence filled the chamber like the tide itself, powerful and commanding. His silver beard flowed around his shoulders, and the trident in his hand pulsed with ancient magic. "The surface world's troubles are not our concern."

"But Father," Coral turned, her sea-green eyes reflecting the bioluminescent lights that adorned the palace walls, "what if someone needs help? What if there are survivors?"

The king's expression softened slightly as he looked at his youngest daughter. At nineteen, Coral possessed a compassion that both worried and amazed him. Her heart was as vast as the ocean itself, but her curiosity about the world above had always been a source of concern.

"The laws that govern our kind are clear, my dear daughter. We do not interfere with the surface dwellers, just as they do not venture into our realm. It has been this way for a thousand years, and it has kept both our peoples safe."