This time, my return to consciousness was slow and gradual. I cracked my eyes open, relieved that I could now do so, wincing at the light that streamed in through the open windows. My head still pounded, but I didn't feel nauseous or dizzy. Once again, I had no idea how I'd gotten here.

Voices filled my ears, their words low and muffled. "How is she?" "Healing. What happened?" "I wish I knew. Some guards found her a few leagues away from the palace."

I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my blurry vision. A face came into view, pale and worried. His eyes were filled with concern, so much so that I instinctively wanted to reassure him, tell him that I was okay. He placed a cool hand on my cheek and I moaned in pleasure.

"Kai," I rasped, my throat raw. Tears spilled down my temples and into my hair as I looked up at him. Visible relief flashed across his face as he loosed a heavy breath.

He looked up at someone else, his voice loud in the sudden silence. "Her fever's gone down, but it hasn't broken. Her collarbone seems fine, but I would recommend a few day's rest, just to be sure."

Dad's voice was softer, but I could hear the worry in his tone. "Okay. We'll keep her here for now, but you're welcome to stay with her if you want."

Dad looked down at me, worry etched in his features. "Oh, Izzy. We were so worried. What happened, baby?"

Ronan's face flashed in my mind, along with Aunt Naia's smug expression. I sat bolt upright, ignoring the bolt of pain shooting through my head at the sudden movement. "Ronan," I rasped. "Where is he? Aunt Naia... she..." I trailed off, breathing heavily. It was so hard to speak, to remember.

Kai put a hand on my shoulder. "He's currently in the infirmary. Queen Naia has since been brought to the dungeons and is under heavy surveillance. We're searching for Aurora, but so far, no luck." He ran his free hand through his hair. "What happened, Izzy? When the guards found you..." It was his turn to trail off.

"After we spoke, I knew I had to go to Nepptheas. I had to see if Ronan was okay. When I got to the gates, however, I immediately noticed something was off. I spun around in a slow circle, daring whoever was watching me to show themselves. Then, everything happened at once. A hand clapped down on my collarbone, somehow hitting the still-healing wound." Here I had to stop and take a breath, my collarbone twinging.

"I let out a strangled scream, biting my tongue so hard I tasted blood. Another set of hands twisted my own behind my back, binding them with rope. I wanted to call for help, but it was an effort to breathe through the pain, never mind speak. Blackness had started to creep into the edges of my vision then, despite my best attempts to stay awake. I could have sworn I heard Ronan's voice, begging me to stay awake. But I couldn't." My voice broke.

"When I regained consciousness, nausea and dizziness hit me like a slap in the face. I opened my eyes, then quickly shut them as my surroundings tilted and blurred. My head was pounding, my mind foggy. The last thing I remembered was reaching Nepptheas' gates and someone ambushing me. After a minute or two, I was able to focus enough to survey my surroundings. Then I heard voices. You and Dad." My stomach lurched again, and I took slow, even breaths, trying to fight off the nausea. I closed my eyes, breathing deeply.

Kai moved his hand from my shoulder to grasp mine, clasping it gently. "You need to rest, gather your strength again. Luckily, it was only a minor concussion, but we don't want to take any chances. Your mother is tending to Ronan, but I know she'll be relieved to know you're awake. He will, too, I imagine."

As the words left his mouth, I remembered something else from the dream a few nights ago—a detail I hadn't realized I'd kept buried. My eyes filled with tears again, but I hastily brushed them away. "I need to see her. There's something else, and all of you need to hear it." All the while, dread curled into a knot in my stomach, pushing aside the nausea.

Dad nodded. "I'll go let her know." When he left the suite, the tears began anew, flowing down my face and dripping onto the blanket.

Kai glanced at the door, slightly ajar, then back at me. "This is serious, isn't it? Does it have something to do with Ronan?"

I nodded tearfully, hating the hiccups that came out of me as I tried to steady my breath. As much as I wanted to tell him right there and then, I made myself wait, made myself calm down until my breathing was steady and the tears gone. A few minutes later, the door opened, revealing Mom and Dad. The latter's face was tense, the former's worried. She glanced from Dad to Kai to me and then back again. Her hands shook slightly as she raised them and began signing. What's going on, Izzy? Are you okay?

I took a deep, steadying breath, exhaling deeply. I glanced at Dad, who gave me a nod, and I relaxed slightly. He'd quietly told Mom everything on the way, and I was glad he'd done so, because it meant I wouldn't have to drag myself back through the feelings, the images, again. Because I knew that what I had yet to say would be just as hard to hear, to process.

"Ronan came to me in a dream a few nights ago. He's on our side," I quickly added, recognizing the wariness in the eyes watching me. "He told me that he would do whatever he could to help bring Aunt Naia and Aurora to justice. He also said that he'd been promoted to the guard. I asked him if he'd managed to glean anything that might help us connect them to the atttack, or..." I trailed off. "Who in our family she may have been planning to kill next."

That statement prompted mixed emotions. Dad's eyes filled with anger, his fists clenching at his sides. Mom gasped, bringing a shaking hand to her mouth. Kai just stared at me, but I could see in his eyes that he was just as shocked as I had been. "He'd nodded as he moved closer and lowered his voice. According to him, they hardly come to the dungeons anymore, save for rare occasions. But he'd said a few days ago, there'd been a new group of prisoners brought in."

Mostly mermen, with a couple mermaids sprinkled in. The mermen were silent and gruff, staring straight ahead and not acknowledging anyone. The two mermaids wore fearful expressions, but they, too, stayed quiet. He said he couldn't find any signs of harm on any of them, but that he could practically feel the fear radiating off of the mermaids."

"I'd asked him if he thought any of them had anything to do with the attack, thinking if I could just get a few of them to speak up, that I could prove that Aurora and Aunt Naia had truly acted alone. Of course, we'd also never considered the fact that they might have had accomplices. Ronan shrugged and said he wasn't sure."

My hands trembled as I spoke, my heart beating so fast I thought it was going to burst out of my chest. "He'd said that the mermaids talked, but never about the attack. Mostly, they just talked about their families, how much they missed them. The mermen spoke up every once in a while, but their words were cold and clipped, never inciting conversation. He'd been watching, though, waiting for anyone to come down to the dungeons. But mostly it had just been him and the prisoners." My voice broke on the last word, but I forced the tears back.

I wasn't done. If anything, I was just getting started. "That's when I woke up. After breakfast, I took a trip to Nepptheas, wanting to see if Ronan was okay. I couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened. When I got to Nepptheas, I immediately noticed something was off. I spun around in a slow circle, daring whoever it was to face me instead of hiding in the shadows like a coward. Then everything happened at once. A hand clapped down on my collarbone, somehow landing on the still-healing wound. Another set of hands twisted my own behind my back, binding them with rope. I wanted to call for help, but could barely breathe through the pain, never mind speak."

I'd been looking at my hands as I'd spoken, but I glanced up now, surveying the faces before me. They all wore shocked expressions. "The pain coupled with the exhaustion from multiple near-sleepless nights was impossible to resist. As I surrendered to the unconsciousness tugging at me, I could have sworn I'd heard Ronan's voice, begging me to stay awake. When my eyes fell closed, I hoped with everything I had that he would be right by my side when I woke up. Consciousness came in the form of nausea and dizziness. As hard as I tried, I couldn't remember how I'd gotten there. The last thing I remembered was arriving at Nepptheas' gates and being ambushed."

The aforementioned tears came back with a vengeance, rolling down my cheeks and blurring my vision. "After the nausea subsided, I managed to take a good look at my surroundings. I sat in the center of a room, tied to yet another chair. 'Hello,' I'd called out. 'Ronan? Anyone?' The word had barely left my mouth when the door opened. I held my breath as someone swam in, a worn black cloak covering their features. When the door closed behind them, they removed their hood, revealing raven-black hair and worried eyes."

I took yet another steadying breath. "Ronan had a worried expression on his face, and as he handed me a mirror, I understood why." I gestured to my face, the still-healing bruises. "He said when he'd found me outside the palace, I'd been all but unconscious. A knock on the door quickly interrupted the story. He swam to open it, revealing a glimpse of blonde hair."

Here I had to stop and choke back a sob. "Aunt Naia swam in, completely ignoring Ronan. Her gaze was trained on me as she bent down and took my chin in her hand. 'Oh, Izzy,' she'd said. 'You just couldn't let it go, could you?'"

Anger boiled inside me, pushing aside the sadness. "I replied by asking her if she really knew me at all, really thought I would ignore a threat against my family. 'I know you a lot better than you think.' Before I had a chance to respond, she swam over to Ronan. 'I know you would do anything to protect those you love. Would you do the same for a traitor?'"

A few tears leaked down my face, but they were pure rage now. "A burly merman whom I hadn't noticed before swam in front of Ronan, throwing a grin over his shoulder to me. She knew about his betrayal. That's when he..." I couldn't continue. I began sobbing, feeling as if my heart was physically breaking.

Kai swam to me, wrapping his arms around me. "When Ronan arrived at the infirmary, he only said that he tried his hardest to protect you, Izzy. He looked almost as bad as you did."

Dad glanced at the three of us before turning back to me. "It's been a long day. Why don't we all get some sleep and reconvene tomorrow morning?"

I hadn't realized it until now, but the water was indeed dark outside. I felt empty, yet heavy. Kai had his arm protectively around my shoulder as we swam to my suite. I hadn't stayed there in so long, I'd almost forgotten where it was. I swam into bed without even changing my clothes, wanting nothing more than to be swept into oblivion. My eyes closed before my head hit the pillow.

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