"Why not? You’re my husband, so of course I should go with you when you’re about to face something dangerous."

Azul froze in place. He didn’t even have the desire to breathe or blink. The only thing he did was stare at Roxanna with his blue eyes. The sound of the gently flowing river and the soft breeze made the atmosphere around them feel incredibly peaceful, the kind of feeling that was like coming home after a long, exhausting day.

It was the kind of feeling that made Azul realize that Roxanna would be the death of him, and he was certain that she was one of the answers that could fill the emptiness in his heart.

"Azul?" Roxanna called his name softly, making him flinch slightly. "Are you alright?"

Azul blinked and finally smiled. "Yes," he said, his voice sounding brighter than before. "Yes, we will go to the ocean together!"

Roxanna was about to say something, but Azul suddenly reached out to her and pulled her into the water. "But if you want to come with me to the ocean, then you have to get used to being in the water too!"

The moment her head went underwater, Roxanna panicked. [I’m drowning! I’m drowning!]

She became even more frantic when she realized that her feet couldn’t touch the riverbed. She even thought she was going to drown, but before any of the terrible things in her mind could happen, Azul had already pulled her back out of the water.

Without thinking, Roxanna wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and her legs around his waist, clinging to him like a koala on a tree. "Azul! I almost drowned!"

Azul didn’t look guilty at all. Instead, he let out a soft laugh.

He leaned back a little so he could see her face clearly. "You’ll be fine." He smiled, tilting his head as he looked at her wet face. "As long as you’re with me, I won’t let you drown."

"B-But still! That was scary!" Roxanna protested. "Deep water is really scary!"

Roxanna could swim, but that didn’t mean she could float well. Even back at the river on Golden Mountain, when she almost drowned, she had completely panicked.

"Deep water isn’t scary," Azul said gently. "There are a lot of beautiful things you can see underwater, even in this river."

Roxanna frowned. "But I can’t hold my breath underwater for that long."

Roxanna frowned. "But I can’t hold my breath for that long."

"Do you want my help?" Azul asked all of a sudden.

Roxanna looked at him suspiciously. "Help? What kind of help? If you’re trying to teach me how to swim, then—"

"No." Azul let out a soft laugh. "That’s not what I mean."

Before Roxanna could something more, Azul suddenly cupped her face and pulled her closer.

Her eyes widened in shock. "Azul—mmph—!"

He kissed her. At first, her mind went completely blank. But then, she felt something strange. It felt like something cold slipped into her mouth, but it wasn’t water.

It felt smooth and gentle, almost like a soft current flowing inside her.

Was this Azul’s magic?

Her eyes widened in confusion, but before she could react, Azul pulled away—only for a brief second—before dragging her back into the water.

The moment they went under, Roxanna’s panic came back. [I’m going to drown again!]

Azul held her firmly, his gaze calm as he spoke, his voice somehow reaching her even underwater. "Breathe."

No, he wasn’t speaking with his mouth. His voice echoed directly in her mind, as if he was using some kind of telepathy or maybe echolocation.

Roxanna, on the other hand, shook her head quickly because she didn’t dare let the water fill her lungs. Even though she could heal, it would still be very painful.

But Azul stayed close. One of his hands held her firmly, while the other gently touched her cheek, as if telling her to trust him.

"Trust me," he said softly.

For a moment, she hesitated. But then, slowly, she opened her mouth.

She expected the water to rush in, but it didn’t.

Instead, that same cool feeling from before wrapped around her, allowing her to breathe as if she were still above the surface. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Her eyes widened in disbelief because she could breathe underwater.

Tiny bubbles slipped past her lips as she took another careful breath, still clinging tightly to Azul. When she looked at him again, her eyes were filled with shock.

"You see?" Azul smiled softly, his blue eyes glowing faintly in the water. "I told you... it’s not scary."

[How can I breathe underwater?]

Azul replied, "Because I gave you some of my magic. For now, you can breathe underwater for fifteen minutes."

Roxanna gasped. [You... you can hear my thoughts?!]

[So I was right all along! My husbands can hear my mind!!]

"No, no, no, you misunderstood," Azul quickly explained. "When I give you a part of my magic, we become connected, so our minds are linked as well. For fifteen minutes, we can communicate underwater. After that... I won’t be able to hear your thoughts anymore."

[Azul’s heart rate increased (2/3)]

Roxanna frowned slightly. If he really couldn’t hear her thoughts before, then why did he panic so much when she thought about it?

However, before she could think more about it, Zoey the crocodile suddenly appeared from behind Azul, startling her.

No—not just Zoey. Other crocodiles began approaching them as well.

At first, she panicked, but when she remembered that Zoey and the other crocodiles were their friends, Roxanna calmed down.

"It seems like Zoey wants to show you something!" Azul said. He quietly let out a breath of relief when Roxanna’s attention shifted to something else.

[Show me something?] Roxanna repeated in her mind, glancing at Azul.

Azul nodded. "Yes. Zoey has been waiting for a chance to do this."

Roxanna tilted her head slightly, curiosity slowly replacing the last bit of fear in her chest.

Zoey circled around them once, then gently nudged Roxanna’s arm with her snout, as if asking her to follow.

Roxanna hesitated for a second, instinctively tightening her hold on Azul.

"Don’t worry," Azul said softly. "I will help you swim."

His words were enough to calm Roxanna. Still holding hands, they swam down toward the bottom of the river.

The light from above grew softer as the water around them became a little darker. Small fish darted past them, their scales catching the faint light.

Roxanna’s eyes widened in wonder. She had never seen anything like this before.

The only time she had ever seen fish swimming like this was in an aquarium, but experiencing it directly felt completely different.

Azul was right. The river wasn’t scary at all!

[The river is so beautiful!] Roxanna thought.

Azul pulled her closer and said, "I told you."

For some reason, everything felt peaceful underwater. When she was above the surface, the river had sounded loud and restless, but the deeper she went, the quieter it became.

The rushing noise faded away, leaving only a soft, gentle hum around her.

Roxanna slowly relaxed and her grip on Azul loosened just a little, though she still stayed close to him. Her eyes wandered around, taking in everything; the swaying plants, the drifting bubbles, the fish moving freely as if this place belonged to them.

She let out a small giggle when she saw a group of colorful fish swimming around her. Just like the fish, the crocodiles also moved around her, as if they were protecting her from the strong current.

Not long after, they finally reached the place Zoey wanted to show her: the riverbed.

Roxanna’s eyes widened the moment she saw it. There were so many shining stones scattered across the riverbed, glowing softly under the water.

For a moment, Roxanna forgot how to move. Her eyes stayed locked on the glowing stones, her breath slowing as she drifted closer.

[They’re... beautiful...]

The soft light reflected in her eyes, making them shine just as brightly.

"Before you came into this world, I used to spend a lot of time in this river," Azul said softly, making Roxanna turn to look at him. "Whenever my ex-wife hurt me or when I felt sad, I would come down here. I’d dive to the bottom of the river, just to look at these stones."

Roxanna’s heart ached as she imagined the Azul from before, the one who had been hurt again and again, left with no choice but to hide his pain by sinking into the water, trying to forget everything.

"Roxanna," he said softly. His eyes looked gentle, but there was something fragile in them, like he was holding back tears.

"I may not remember my past, my old home, or even my family," he continued gently. "But I’ve always known one thing."

He paused for a second. "Water is my home and this river is my home now."

"Even if I find my old life in the ocean, I promise I will come back here." He lifted his handd and gently touched her cheeks. "To come back to this river and to come back home to you."