I awoke early the next morning, my head throbbing. Despite yesterday's events, I couldn't stop thinking about Ronan. Had he bought our ruse? Or was he just waiting for the right moment to make his move?

Kai was already awake, and had been for a while, if the coldness on his side of the bed was any indication. My stomach growled, reminding me that it had been ages since I'd last eaten or drank. Every part of my body ached, every muscle throbbed. Apparently, pushing my body to its limit had some pretty serious side effects.

A few tears leaked down my cheeks, a sob breaking from my throat before I could stifle it. The negative words that had been haunting me since yesterday resurfaced in my head. "'Doing this won't erase your past sins. You're still as weak and broken as your mother.'" I rubbed my shaking hands over my face, trying to push through the hopelessness that was smothering me.

Was Ronan right? Was I really just a weak and broken princess? Did I even deserve to bear the title? Those questions were interrupted by a knock on my door. "Come in," I called, placing my trembling hands under the blanket.

My grandmother swam in, her blue eyes filled with concern. To my delight, I noticed she was carrying a mug of bubble tea. As she shut the door behind her, she gave me a gentle smile. "How are you feeling?"

I considered my answer. "Fine. Just a little tired." I decided not to mention the depressive episode. I knew it would just make everyone worry, and that was the last thing they needed.

She extended the mug to me and I took it with a grateful smile. When she sat on the edge of my bed, I noticed her own hands were trembling. "Everything okay?" I asked, already anticipating the answer.

"Jay and Nerissa were debating whether to tell you this or not. They received the news late last night, but you were already asleep, and they hated to wake you." Though her voice was calm, the last word trembled slightly as it left her mouth.

A knot of fear had started to form in my stomach as she'd begun speaking. It coiled tighter and tighter with each word out of her mouth. "What happened." It wasn't a question.

"Stella has some family that lives in Pelathas. A courier got word to her that her mother and brother had gone missing. She left a few days ago and went to see for herself. What she found..." My grandmother trailed off, her eyes darkening with fear. "After asking around, she heard that there'd been activity at Rosewood Manor. Apparently, someone patched it up and has been living there ever since the attack."

My mind was working feverishly, trying to decipher her words. "But who..." The words caught in my throat, a choked gasp slipping out. "Ronan. He found Aunt Naia and Uncle Noah."

Fear like I'd never known took root in my stomach. Ronan was already angry about his sister. If he was actually crazy enough to believe my aunt and uncle, who knew how he would retaliate? "We... we have to warn Mom and Dad. There's no telling where or when they'll strike next." I knew I was rambling, but I couldn't stop.

The hopelessness that had been dormant inside me reared its head at my words. My grandmother put a hand on mine, forcing me to meet her gaze. "They're already taking precautions. In the meantime, we need to act as normal as possible. If we start panicking, that'll raise suspicion, and the last thing we need is chaos." Her gaze was firm as she looked at me.

I closed my eyes, taking slow, deep breaths. My mug of bubble tea sat forgotten in my hands and I gently placed it on my nightstand. As terrified as I was, I knew what I had to do. I was going to sneak out and swim to Rosewood. The question was, how was I going to be able to slip away?

I slowly rose from the bed, my hands trembling, and swam inside my closet. I threw on the first outfit I saw—a purple-and-grey dress with three-quarter length sleeves—and pulled my curls into a messy bun. "Where are Mom and Dad? Is Kai with them?" My words were muffled by the wall as I spoke.

She waited until I was back in the bedroom before responding. "Your parents have been in meetings with guards and officials all morning trying to figure out a plan. Kai is trying to get military support."

I was shrugging on my cloak before her words finished echoing. Breathing heavily, I started to swim out of our suite. My body was still not back to a hundred percent yet and it was letting me know loud and clear. Every muscle felt like it was coated in lava.

She grabbed my arm, stopping me. "Be careful, Isadora. We have no idea what their next move will be."

A nod was my only response as I swam out into the hallway. Eerie silence met me, the kind that usually follows an attack of some sort. My hands were hovering above my daggers, ready to grab them if need be. The only problem was, I had no idea what I was swimming into.

Another hand landed on my shoulder as I reached the entryway of the palace. The words were already on my tongue as I prepared to assure my grandmother yet again that I would be fine. Instead, familiar eyes met mine, filled with worry and determination. "I'm coming with you. You're still recovering, and we may be met with more resistance than you can handle on your own."

As much as I wanted to argue Nadia's logic, I couldn't. She was right. Even with daggers, I wasn't sure if I could handle two or more opponents. Luckily, she was armed with daggers of her own.

Silently, we swam into the open water, eyes alert and bodies tense. The current was dead—as if someone had pressed PAUSE on life. That only made me more vigilant. The trip to Rosewood took longer than usual—probably due to me having to stop and rest multiple times—so when we arrived, it was late afternoon.

Stella had been right. Rosewood had been completely redone. Even the stone blocks looked brand new—like they'd been put in recently. The windows were shut tight, but I knew we weren't alone. I palmed my daggers, keeping my eyes peeled as we swam towards the entrance.

I was barely holding myself upright, much less preparing to fight. Before we even got close to the door, it opened.

A mermaid swam out to greet us, her emerald-green eyes filled with smugness. "Hello, Isadora. You don't look so good. Guess life-or-death experiences have a serious drain on the body, don't they? And to think, you didn't even uncover my real plan." Aunt Naia's voice was filled with bitterness as she spoke, each word biting.

"Which is?" My voice was ragged, exhaustion coating it.

Wordlessly, she gestured to the front door. A heartbeat later, a merman swam out, his dark-green eyes bright. "Isadora. Long time no see." His tone was identical to Aunt Naia's, but edged with smugness.

"What do you want?" I asked, desperately trying to keep my voice from trembling.

Uncle Noah swapped a grin with Aunt Naia before reaching into his pocket. All the strength left my body in a rush, the ground rising to meet me. Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground, just barely supporting my weight. A dark-blue pendant on a string swung from his outstretched hand.

"Where's Ronan?" I asked, quickly trying to wrap my mind around this new piece of information. How could there be an identical copy of the Lost Soul Pendant? What was it capable of?

"Now we can continue our mission," Uncle Noah said, completely ignoring my question. "Gathering enough souls to take over all the realms. We've already conquered Nepptheas and Aquireth. All that's left are Pelathas, Aegrem, and Beltmare."

"You'll never conquer all of them," I said, hoping I sounded more confident than I felt. "We will stop you."

Aunt Naia gave me a pitying glance. "Oh, Isadora. You and your mother have the same false sense of hope. Always thinking that in the end, you will prevail. Well, not this time."

With that, she swam back into Rosewood, Uncle Noah on her tail. He met my gaze one last time before shutting the door, his eyes filled with a kind of cruelty I hadn't seen in a long time. A shiver ran down my spine when he finally broke my gaze.

Anger burned through me like lava, heating up every inch of my body until I felt like I was on fire. I readied myself to swim to Beltmare, despite the exhaustion coating my body. Nadia had never left my side, but now threw me a questioning glance. Now what? Her eyes seemed to say.

I took a deep breath and screamed at the top of my lungs. The scream ended in a broken sob as tears welled in my eyes. How could we possibly beat them? Not only had they upped their game, they were now in possession of a weapon that could potentially change everything for us.

"I don't know," I said, voice shaking as I answered her unspoken question. "I have to tell Mom and Dad what happened. Warn Kai and his parents."

The swim home again took longer than usual, so it was nightfall when we finally arrived. Torches, thankfully, had been lit up at the entrance of the palace, so we weren't completely in the dark. We were nearing our suite when a merman appeared in front of us.

"Kai," I said, relief and fear coursing through me. "Thank the gods I found you. Aunt Naia and Uncle Noah are—" I abruptly broke off when I glimpsed his face in the torchlight. His eyes were glassy and bloodshot, his face red.

I swam to him, gently taking his hand. "Are you okay?" I whispered, shoving my fear and anger down until I couldn't reach it. Right now, I had to focus on him.

He didn't flinch when I took his hand, nor did he respond. We swam back to our suite in silence. Every so often, I would glance over at him, glimpse that glassy look in his eyes. Something had happened.

He collapsed in bed without even changing his clothes. Silent sobs wracked his body, making tears well in my own eyes. "I'm right here," I whispered. He clung to me, my heart breaking as the sobs shuddered through him.

Eventually, I felt his body go limp, heard his breathing deepen as he fell asleep. I laid awake, listening to the sound of his breathing. As much as I wanted sleep, I was also dreading it. I knew that if I slept, my nightmares would just be filled with more of Aunt Naia and Uncle Noah's taunting. My need for exhaustion finally won, however, as sleep slowly claimed me.

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