The sound of a door slamming shut makes my eyes fly open. I flinch, my body jolting forward with the movement. Harsh lighting immediately makes me close them. When I feel the hand strike my cheek, I cry out as they fly open again. My cheek stinging, I blink away the tears that form.

I'm in a unfamiliar room, more than half the size of the dining room at home. The first thing I notice is that I'm again tied to a chair. When the face appears in front of my own, I almost want to shy away. Eyes that I'm almost sure had once been filled with love and warmth stare at me, now cold and hard. "My darling niece," she says.

"What do you want?" I ask, my voice sharp. She grins, the sight chilling me to the bone, and snaps her fingers, the sound making me flinch.

Two mermen appear, dragging something between the two of them. The smell hits me first, followed not a second later by the body. It's one of the two servants that were found dead in their rooms. The merman is maybe two years younger than Dad, with caramel-colored hair and electric blue eyes that are staring sightlessly up at the ceiling.

Suddenly, the room is packed with mermaids and mermen, all staring at me with disappointment in their eyes. What breaks my heart clean in half, however, is the two mermen floating off to the side, a mermaid beside them. They're all staring at me with the same disappointment as the others, though their eyes seem to pierce my heart with the force of a hundred daggers.

Aunt Naia begins speaking, but I don't hear her. I don't hear anything. I just stare at my husband, my eyes pleading. Kai's face doesn't so much as shift, though I finally tear my gaze away and look back at my aunt. "What are you going to do to me?" My voice sounds extra loud in my ears, like it's been amplified somehow.

A guard swims into the room, clutching something in his fist. Hushed whispers begin circulating in the crowd, eyes darting between my face and my aunt's. When he opens his hand, revealing the object, all the strength drains from my body in a rush. "W-where did you get that?" I ask, my voice shaking.

"It was found in you and your husband's suite," she says. "It's a shame, too. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this." Without another word, she's suddenly swimming towards me. I immediately try to reach for the dagger at my waist, but I'm too slow.

She quickly fastens the pendant around my neck, a cruel grin on her face. I want to scream, but I can't find the breath. I want to move, but my body is numb. I can only stare straight ahead.

Not a second later, the pain in my head returns. The last thing I see before I lose consciousness is Aunt Naia's face, malice in her gaze.

I opened my eyes, a frightened gasp escaping me. It took a minute for my heart to slow down, another for my hands to stop shaking. Somehow, Aunt Naia's plan is to blame me for the deaths of the servants, using the Lost Soul Pendant as leverage.

Tears overflowed from my eyes, making it impossible to see anything in front of me. A sob broke from my mouth, then another as I put my head in my hands. What were we going to do?

I rose from the bed, needing to do something to distract myself. I had just finished getting dressed when I heard the sound of our door opening. Kai swam in, concern in his gaze. "How are you?" He asked.

A thin smile creeped across my lips as I turned to face him. "I'm fine," I said, but my eyes told a different story.

He didn't respond, just wrapped me in a hug. I buried my face in his shoulder, breathing in his scent. It had only been a day that we'd been apart, but it'd felt like a lifetime.

I wanted to cry, but I didn't think I had any tears left. Besides, we all had more important things to focus on. I finally pulled away, focusing on his face. "How's your mother doing?"

From the way his eyes softened as he took in my trembling hands at my sides, he'd obviously figured out that there was something I wasn't telling him. He didn't press me, though. "Good. She and I spoke well into the night about the situation and how we would handle it. She's going to separately question each of her ladies-in-waiting to make sure that their stories aren't conflicting, should they be asked to testify."

I nodded, but truthfully, I was only half-listening. Finally, I couldn't hold it in any longer. The words came out in a rush, tripping over one another. "AuntNaiaplanstoblamemeforthemurderofherservants." I rubbed my eyes, avoiding Kai's own.

He gently pulled my hands down from my face. "No one will believe her. She's just scared. That's why she was looking for someone to blame. So when they finally do start looking into the murders, they won't even think to point any fingers at her."

I clutched his hand as we swam down to breakfast, trying to slow my pounding heart. I was so focused on making it to our table without completely breaking down that I didn't notice the silence that suddenly fell over the room, nor the gasps that rose in the water. Kai suddenly squeezed my hand, the motion sharp.

"Isadora." His voice was emotionless, the portrait of boredom, but I didn't miss the way his hand tightened on mine. I looked up, my eyes searching the dining hall. My heart stopped dead in my chest as I beheld the queen at the front of the room, two guards flanking her. It wasn't the cool, cunning smile on her face that created a knot of fear in my stomach.

It was the hilt of a dagger clenched in her fist, the malice in her eyes. As mine had just done, her eyes searched the dining hall, widening in anticipation as they landed on me. I was frozen in place, unable to do anything but stare as she drew back her arm, angling the dagger.

I watched it slice through the water, heading straight for me. I was sure my family had to be shouting at me to move, get out of the way, but I didn't hear them. I could see nothing but the dagger, hear nothing except for the pounding of my heart. I had one thought before the blinding pain began, blocking out all my other senses: I hope she gets what she deserves.

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