To Kill a Kingdom

Lira stands on the deck of the Saad and sings to the sound of the ocean while the crew sleeps. She is lost in thought, worrying about what it will take to kill her mother. A familiar melody plays through the air, followed by a force crashing into the side of the ship. The Flesh-Eater pulls his monstrous form aboard the Saad, stalking towards her. He claims her as his and kisses her; she can taste the decay on him, but he recoils from her and spits as if she tastes disgusting.

Then the Sea Queen pulls herself aboard the ship, gripping Lira in her newly human form as the song plays louder. Lira finally recognizes the song as her own, which plays from a seashell around her mother’s neck. Her mother asks her if she has killed the prince, but Lira hasn’t. The queen questions Lira’s strength and points out that she’s cursed with human emotion. Lira, however, isn’t so sure that her emotions are a curse. She sees the way they bind the humans together, and how they bind her and Khalia: They make them a family, thereby increasing their strength.