When I open my eyes again, one thing becomes painfully clear: I'm dreaming. I know this isn't real because the merman looking over his shoulder at me with regret in his eyes is holding the hand of a mermaid with pale green eyes and chin-length blonde hair. The mermaid looks back at me with a smirk, her eyes filled with triumph. Realization hits me with the force of a slap, stealing the water from my lungs. Kailani. But how? She died years ago.

Another equally shocking realization washes over me, leaving me breathless. It's my worst fear finally coming true. The scenario that haunts me in my waking and sleeping thoughts—that has jerked me from sleep many a night with nausea churning my insides.

When Kailani speaks, her voice is as cold as the darkest reaches of the ocean. "You knew this would happen, Faye. Everything and everyone you loved, whether by choice or force, would leave eventually. It was only a matter of time." The smirk on her face seems to echo her words, taunting me.

I clutch my chest as I cry out, feeling as though my heart is physically breaking in half. With a shudder, I realize that it is. The other half of my heart—of my soul—is looking at me with such regret and pain in his eyes that it's causing me physical pain.

My breaths come in short, panicked gasps as I try to speak through the panic and fear that's overwhelming me. "P-please. J-jonah, don't d-do this. P-please, don't l-leave me!" The last word comes out as a broken sob as the tears that I've been trying to hold back finally surge down my cheeks.

"You'll be alone, just as you should have been all along." Like a harbinger of doom, Raina's words from an earlier nightmare resurface. Never in a million years would I have guessed they would come true.

Something inside me cracks so violently that I can't contain the scream that slips from my lips. Hopelessness and despair engulf me, clouding my mind and tightening my lungs. This time, when I opened my eyes, no faces were looking down at me, fear and worry etched on their features. There was only a merman sleeping soundly next to me, an arm wrapped around my abdomen.

It took me a moment before I was able to recognize my surroundings. I wasn't in the hospital any longer. I was back in our suite. Despite myself, I sucked in a breath, panic and terror overwhelming me all over again. Even though a voice in the back of my head told me that it had only been a nightmare and that he would never dream of leaving me, I found myself on the verge of a panic attack the longer I stayed beside him.

I could only hear Kailani's words, filled with bitter hatred and malice. "'You knew this would happen, Faye. Everything and everyone you loved, whether by choice or force, would leave eventually. It was only a matter of time.'"

I tried to take a breath but could only manage a weak inhale. Jonah stirred, clutching me tighter, but didn't open his eyes. Tears filled my eyes and spilled down my cheeks, silent sobs wracking my body. Finally, I managed to extract myself from his arms and rise from the bed. I clumsily grabbed a dress I'd thrown haphazardly over a chair and slipped it over my head, keeping my eyes on the suite door. I knew that if I looked back at my husband, I would never leave.

I sent up a prayer of thanks as the door opened and closed silently. Jonah didn't so much as stir. I rushed through the maze-like hallways of the palace, dodging various mermaids and mermen, barely giving them a second glance. Barely able to see through the tears coursing down my cheeks. It was only when I'd reached the open water that I felt like I could take a deep breath.

I could safely say without a doubt that I had never felt as hopeless as I had in that moment during the nightmare. I began swimming away from the palace, knowing that I needed to be somewhere other than Pelathas right now. I didn't know where yet, but once I figured it out, I'd get word to Mom and Dad.

Panic shot through me as I belatedly realized that, in my haste, I'd forgotten my messenger bag—and my cloak. The sun was high in the sky, offering some warmth, but it would be dark and cold later. I could try to make it to Beltmare, but I honestly didn't know if I could swim the whole way. Rallying my strength, I decided to swim as far as I could, and if I hadn't reached Beltmare by sundown, I would find a cave to take refuge in.

That was the best compromise I could come up with in my current state. Even the thought of swimming that distance had my muscles crying out in protest. I recalled Dr. Murphy's words in my head, wincing. When she'd said take it easy, I knew this wasn't what she'd had in mind. Regardless, I knew I had to keep going. If only in an attempt to outswim the panic, fear, hopelessness, and despair gnawing at my heart.

I also knew that swimming away from the nightmare would not help me face it, but I couldn't confront Jonah. Not now. I knew my parents and Drew would be frantic when they woke up and found me gone, but if I focused on that, I would crumple. My breaths came in sharp gasps, a reminder that my body was still not fully healed.

Even now, weeks after the initial incident, bolts of pain still shot up my tail at random. I swallowed a cry, breathing sharply. If I could just make it to Beltmare... The phrase became a mantra in my mind. I pushed my body to its limit, sweat pouring off my face as I swam. My heart pounded as those eight words ran through my head on repeat.

I knew I would never forget the image of Jonah staring at me with immense remorse and anguish in his eyes. Alongside that, the overwhelming emotions of hopelessness and misery that had consumed me during that moment were also deeply ingrained in my mind. When I finally reached Beltmare's entrance, a mermaid swimming towards me gasped as she took in my ragged appearance.

"Faye! Sweetie, what happened? Where are your parents? Or Drew?" Queen Katrina's voice, laced with motherly concern, brought tears to my eyes, but I hurriedly blinked them away.

I didn't know Uncle Kai's mother that well, but at the moment, all that mattered was I wasn't in Pelathas. "I'm sorry," I gasped as I tried to catch my breath. "I didn't know where else to go." Suddenly, all the emotions I'd been holding at bay—hopelessness, misery, weariness, fear—exploded. I didn't care that I would likely run into Aunt Izzy; I didn't even care that she would probably relay our conversation back to my parents.

All that mattered was none of them had any knowledge of the agony tearing up my insides. Hot torrents of emotion coursed down my face as she gently put her arm around me, taking my weight without a sound. She didn't speak until we were alone in her suite. "Should I get Izzy or—" The sound of the suite door opening cut off her words.

"Mom! You'll never guess what happened! Elle just said her first—" Uncle Kai's words broke off as he glimpsed his mother's drawn and worried face, then my pale and tear-stained one. Concern replaced the happiness in his eyes and voice as he swam closer.

I sniffled, hurriedly wiping my cheeks, but it was too late. Uncle Kai had already seen the tears on my face, and even if he hadn't, there was no mistaking the agony radiating from me. "Faye? What happened?" His voice, soft and concerned, nearly triggered another wave of sobs, but I shoved them back before they could form.

My sobs had lessened to soft whimpers by the time he finished speaking, but the words got stuck in my throat when I tried to voice them. He sat on my other side and gently took my hand. "No matter what happened, you can tell us anything. Everything you say will stay between us." I knew without looking that Queen Katrina was nodding in agreement.

"Maybe she was right." When the words finally came, they were hollow. Emotionless. "Maybe I do deserve to be alone." As the words left my mouth, I felt all emotion drain from my body, replaced by emptiness almost immediately followed by heaviness.

I was staring at nothing, so I didn't see Uncle Kai's concerned glance with his mother. I did, however, feel Uncle Kai squeeze my hand, the motion prompting me to look at him. As our eyes met, I saw his flick up and down my body. "You're shivering! You must be exhausted. Why don't you..." The rest of his words trailed off as I felt my eyes slowly close, fatigue blanketing my senses like a cloak.

I knew I should have been worried about my family eventually finding me, but right then, I didn't care about any of that. All I wanted in that moment was that sweet oblivion that had been tugging at me all day. The last thing I saw was Uncle Kai's worried face as he looked down at me before my eyes closed and the fatigue pulled me under.

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