Darkness. A flare of light from a torch. Muffled cries. The feeling of ropes restraining my hands behind my back. I blink the spots out of my eyes, breathing heavily, and realize I'm tied to a chair. We're in a large room, roughly the size of my and Kai's rooms. The bitter taste of metal fills my mouth and I fight against waves of nausea. When another pair of eyes locks onto mine, a muffled cry of my own escapes from behind my gag.

Aunt Bella is directly across from me, tied to an identical chair with a similar gag in her mouth. From what I can tell in my quick scan of her body, she seems unharmed, but the scent of fear is heavy in the water. I want to call out to her, but the gag prevents me from speaking. The sound of a door opening makes us both flinch.

I don't make a sound, but Aunt Bella cries out from behind her gag. He turns to me and I have to bite down hard to prevent my own cry from escaping. It's the merman from my dream. "Who is this?" His voice is cold, almost taunting.

I jerk my chin away before he can grab it, but instead of forcibly grabbing it, he turns back to Aunt Bella. His face is contemplative now, but malice shines in his eyes. He rips her gag off and throws it to the ground. Gasping for water, her gaze darts between the merman and myself. "Please, Dad. I'm begging you. Please don't hurt her!"

Something clicks in my brain, though I keep my face emotionless. Instead of answering, he swims back to me, gaze sweeping the length of my body, all the way from my head to my tail. "This is the famous 'princess of Aegrem'?" His voice sharpens, an undercurrent of malice wedged beside the coldness.

I don't break his gaze, even though every muscle in my body is screaming at me to look away. "Well, it's an honor to meet you, Princess." He says the last word with so much mockery that for once I'm thankful for the ropes restraining my hands.

"Where are we? What do you want with us?" My voice is steady and emotionless, despite the fact that nerves are coursing through my body.

"To watch you suffer. I want to watch as your whole world crumbles around you, watch as you witness the death and destruction of everyone and everything you ever loved. Just like your grandfather would have wanted." The gleam in his eyes as the last word leaves his mouth tells me everything I need to know. Back when my grandfather was still alive, they had worked together.

He reaches into his coat pocket, revealing a syringe with a thick, murky liquid inside. My heart stops. I know exactly what's going to happen next. Whatever's in that syringe is going to permanently destroy the mental wall inside my head, allowing the ghosts to again come and go as they please. Only this time, it'll be much worse.

"You can stop this, you know," he says suddenly, as if sensing my thoughts. "All you have to do is swear that you will not interfere with my plans in any way." He never cracks a smile, but I can see a glint of dark humor in his eyes. He knows how much family means to me. He knows that I will do whatever it takes to save them, even if it's the last thing I do.

I can hear Aunt Bella sobbing quietly behind me, begging weakly. "Dad, I'm begging you! Please don't hurt her. Please!"

Everything happens in slow motion, yet it feels like it's over in an instant. The piercing pain as the needle is injected into my arm. The sense of the metaphorical wall inside my head slowly crumbling into dust. The intense pressure behind my temples, building with every ragged breath I take.

I scream behind my gag, eyes widening until I feel like they're going to pop out of my head. I can't move, can't so much as draw water into my lungs as I feel that familiar pressure build behind my temples until it feels like my head's going to explode. Faces appear in the corners of my vision, snarling and furious. This is a hundred times worse than before.

I have to swear to him. That's the only way this will end. But what will happen to Aunt Bella if I do? I squeeze my eyes shut, breathing through the pain. "Okay!" I shout. "Okay. I... I promise I won't interfere."

The second the last word leaves my lips, the pressure instantly goes away, like it was never there in the first place. All the strength leaves my body in a rush as I slump against the back of the chair. My head lolls on my shoulder, eyes half-closed. Even breathing takes an insane amount of effort.

He snickers, then leaves the room. Only when I'm sure that he's gone do I attempt to lift my head. I realize my mistake a heartbeat later as blistering pain shoots through my skull. The scream that comes out of me jerks me from sleep.

Before I so much as opened my eyes, the same blistering pain shot through my skull, causing me to cry out. The wall was still in place, but I could feel it disintegrating with every ragged breath I took. Pure exhaustion coated my bones, resulting in my movements being sluggish and clumsy. I managed to get dressed and swim down to breakfast, albeit agonizingly slow.

My eyelids were impossibly heavy, like an anchor was perched on each of them. The swim to the dining room seemed to take an eternity. Only when I was sitting at our table, a plate of food untouched in front of me, did I manage to crack my eyes open. Blurry figures swam in and out of my vision, low voices barely reaching my ears.

A hand came to rest on my back, causing me to almost jump out of my seat. "Isadora?" The voice, while muffled and faint, managed to reach my ears.

Kai. His voice was so soothing. Like ocean waves, gently rocking me from side to side. "Izzy, can you hear me?" He spoke again, voice edged with panic this time.

There was something I needed to tell... someone. It was on the very edge of my brain, just out of reach. I could hardly muster the energy to breathe, much less speak. Exhaustion had again begun to creep into my bones, lulling me to sleep. I just let it wash me away, drifting into that blissful oblivion until I was unconscious.

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