By the time the sun had risen over the water, I'd been up for hours. I'd left Kai sleeping soundly in our bed, his chest rising and falling steadily as he breathed. A headache had begun to pound at my temples, a sharp, familiar pain behind my eyes. Stifling a groan, I'd risen silently from the bed and swum into the bathing room.

I'd washed my face and put some concealer on, trying not to focus on the hollowness of my cheeks, the rings under my eyes. If a good night's sleep had been difficult to summon before, it was a distant memory now. On the rare nights I actually did sleep, it was fitful, interrupted by nightmares.

A shadow out of the corner of my eye had made me flinch. Whirling around, I scanned the bathing room, heart pounding. There was no one there, but I'd been unable to shake the feeling of someone watching me.

Rubbing my eyes, I'd quietly gotten dressed, struggling to keep my hands from shaking. The sharp pain had turned into a steady throbbing and I'd winced. I'd thought the headaches had stopped, but apparently it'd been wishful thinking. I'd glanced over my shoulder to where my husband slept, my heart clenching.

His face had been softened by sleep, no trace of the sadness and grief that had been present yesterday. He didn't know Jacob as well as I did, but he'd become closer with Aunt Bella, Uncle David, and the children over the years. He knew what it was like to suddenly lose someone you loved.

Now, as I emerged from the palace into the open water, I took a deep breath and exhaled deeply. No matter how hard I tried to block them out, Carla's words were permanently etched in my mind. "'I don't know Jacob is now, but I hope that he lives every day with regret and shame in his heart for his actions. He deserves to rot for what he did—to me and our children.'" The coldness of her voice had me biting back a shudder.

As much as I believed her words, there was a tiny part of me that didn't. I knew that once in her life, a very long time ago, she had truly loved Jacob. Seen him as a kind, loving merman and not as the murderer she knew him to be now. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, another surfaced.

Everyone has fond memories of their loved ones. No matter their faults, no matter their past, everyone has memories that they cling to. The numerous birthdays, the family dinners that were full of light and laughter, happiness and health. Even my family—for all their faults—has memories that they hold dear. That they dredge up during hard times, times when it feels like nothing's going right.

I cast my mind back to a difficult but fond memory—the day I married my best friend. My other half. The details of that day were etched permanently in my mind. The color and softness of my wedding dress; the feeling of nervousness in my body, manifesting as knots in my stomach and trembling hands; the gorgeous ballroom decorations.

I should have been focusing on the merman waiting for me at the end of the altar, the joy at having both my parents with me, but I couldn't. I'd been on high alert, convinced that Aunt Naia had been lying in wait to ambush us. My instincts had been right. Not five minutes after we'd exchanged rings, the joy and excitement still lingering in the water, the front doors of the ballroom had been flung open.

Aunt Naia had swum in, along with her guards, one of which was gripping the collar of a small, very scared mermaid. Faye. I don't remember much after that point, but I recalled Kai's gaze, his gentle hands on mine as he'd helped me out of my ruined wedding dress. I was in shock, my gaze blank as I'd stared at nothing.

Since that day, I have treasured the time I've had with my family. Through the good times and bad, through the heartache and grief, we'd stuck by one another. I was suddenly jolted out of my thoughts, as if surfacing from a dream. I blinked, trying to reorient myself. A blurry figure floated in front of me, but I couldn't make out anything besides broad shoulders and a shock of black hair.

King Drake? I tried to ask, but found I couldn't so much as lift my eyes, much less open my mouth. A empty void entered my vision, growing in size until I could only see endless black. For a moment, I floated there, motionless, until images started coalescing in front of me. Pushing through the black, they flashed by my eyes, gone before I could blink.

Faces. Places. Smiles. Tears. Shouts. Cries. It was a montage of my life—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Meeting Kai and his parents, learning of our engagement. Learning about Ella and the details of her death. Uncle Noah's treachery—and who was with him.

Hearing the news about Mom—and the ramifications of it. Her slow recovery—and the emotions that came along with it. Learning about King Drake's death—and, later, who dealt the blow.

More images, some I recognized, some I didn't. Slowly, blink by blink, the void disappeared, leaving me with a feeling of emptiness. A ghostly hand brushed my own, barely a whisper of a touch. When he spoke, my heart stopped. "Treasure the time you have with your family, Isadora. Don't take one moment for granted. Live each day like it's your last."

Tears gathered in my eyes as I clutched my chest, gasping for water. It was as if King Drake had reached inside and gently taken hold of my heart, able to see inside of me, even the parts I myself had not wanted to see. "I'm trying," I choked out. "But wherever I turn, it seems that grief and sorrow seem to always be there, waiting for me. I try to hold on to the happy moments, however fleeting they may be."

He swam closer to me, brushing a ghostly hand against my cheek, a paternal gesture that had me sobbing. "That's all we can do, Izzy. I treasure the moments I had with my family—the good, the bad, and the ugly. My new family, as well." I clapped my hand over my mouth in an attempt to stifle the heart-wrenching sob that broke from me.

I closed my eyes as tears continued to stream down my face, buried under decades of memories. When he continued, my eyes flew open, my breath hitching in my chest. "I see how happy you and Kai are and it brings me such joy. I cannot express how sorry I am for how I treated you when we first met. When Kai first told me about your family's past, I immediately wrote you off as not being good enough for him." He broke off, gaze darting to the ground.

"But you already knew that." The weighted grief and shame in his voice was almost too much for me to bear. "The truth is, I'd been reading up on your family long before you and Kai met. When I first heard about Tiger Shark and his..." he trailed off, considering his next words, "affairs, the first thing I did was make sure that my family stayed out of his crosshairs. I figured that the daughter of a murderer would be just as bad as the murderer himself. I had no idea that Nerissa was going to get pregnant."

As the words left his mouth, guilt appeared on his face and filled his eyes. Then, as if he'd read the thoughts currently surging through my mind, his hand came to rest over my heart. "This is where you keep your fondest memories, Izzy. The mind may forget, the body may waste away, but the heart always remembers. I feel so incredibly lucky to have you as my daughter-in-law. And I'm always with you."

The headache returned with a vengance, like daggers slicing through the water. When I blinked, he was gone, his words lingering in his wake. I crumpled, the strength leaving my body in a rush. I was motionless on the ground, unspoken words waiting on my tongue. We can try to bring you back. But as soon as the thought crossed my mind, I dismissed it.

Some souls don't choose to come back—either from shame or by choice. I thought about that every day. I slowly got up off the ground, wiping tears off my cheeks. My heart ached; my eyes felt tight and puffy. I'm not sure how I managed to swim back inside the palace, but when I finally got inside, I felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

"There you are." A familiar voice spoke up from behind me. When a pair of arms wrapped around my waist, I smiled despite myself. "Mom just invited us and your parents to lunch. We're meeting at the Bronze Mermaid." As I turned around and gazed into the soothing blackness of my husband's eyes, my own eyes again filled with tears.

He used his thumb to wipe a few from my cheeks. "Are you okay?"

I wished I could tell him everything—I knew he of all people would understand. But I couldn't. Not yet.

I nodded, smiling as I kissed him. "Yeah. Let's go. I'm starving." As if to prove my point, at that very moment, my stomach growled. Loudly. I grinned sheepishly as Kai threw back his head and laughed.

As we swam, hand-in-hand, to the Bronze Mermaid, stopping every so often to speak to a passing mermaid or merman, I sent up a silent thank-you to King Drake. For being the best father-in-law a mermaid could ask for. When we approached the entrance, Kai suddenly froze, his grip tightening on my hand.

I followed his gaze, a hand going to my mouth as I saw the sunbeam painting the entrance a bright yellow.

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