As dawn bled across the sky, painting it in gentle pinks and oranges, Sigurdr inhaled deeply, sunlight glinting on his whisker-lined muzzle. His glacial blue eyes remained fixed on the verdant smudge of Atlantis on the horizon. An intense longing, a siren's call, pulled him back to the jungle paradise of his birth – the paradise he had abandoned. He knew he should have warned them, but he’d fled without a word, inheriting his father’s habit of desertion, a curse that clung to him like a shadow. Shaking his thick, knotted mane, he faced the inevitable. He knew what he had to do.

He couldn’t shake memories of Hymn and their daughter. He knew he had failed them, but believed returning was the right thing. Paradise was the logical place to begin his search. Perhaps they were hidden within the jungle’s depths.

He waded into the frothy sea, his gaze stubbornly locked on Atlantis. Each stroke brought him closer to the island, closer to the truth he desperately sought.

Soon, the ocean floor rose to meet him. Water streamed from his two-toned hide, dripping from his belly and back into the cerulean waves. He shook off the remaining moisture and strode onto the familiar shore. The humid air washed over him, a stark contrast to Salem's arid climate. The jungle sprawled in either direction. But the scent of the new leader hung heavy in the air, his musk overpowering the sweet fragrance of the island's flowers.

His hooves followed a well-worn path into the jungle's depths. His heart hammered against his ribs, fear galloping wildly through his mind. What if she didn’t want to see him? What if she wasn’t here?

The fates, it seemed, had woven his path for this day. A familiar voice echoed through the jungle, yet a monstrous voice accompanied hers, sending a chill down his spine.

His brow furrowed, his ears twitching. A knot twisted in his gut as he pushed through the last of the vines. His glacial blue eyes locked first on the filly playing in the pond, water sparkling around her legs as she kicked and bucked. Then on Hymn, whose stance revealed her discomfort. Without hesitation, Sigurdr closed the distance, his glacial blue eyes flashing a challenge.

"It would seem you are unwelcome company," Sigurdr warned, fully aware he was trespassing. But there was no boundary, no ocean, he wouldn’t cross to protect their daughter and her.