Neither of us slept much (if at all) that night. Ani finally did fall back asleep, but it was fitful and restless. On the other hand, I stayed awake all night, listening to her breathing. My mind swirled with all I'd overheard from Ani and Della.

"'You always have a choice, Adella. You had a choice when you decided to swim off with a total stranger and abandon your only surviving family. You had a choice when he first introduced you to coraling. YOU MADE YOUR CHOICE WHEN YOU LEFT ME!'"

I couldn't imagine what Caspian had said to make Della turn her back on Ani. When I heard her deep intake of breath, I spoke softly into the silence, my voice barely above a whisper. "Are you awake?"

Tears clogged her voice when she responded. "Every time I close my eyes, I see Della and Caspian. Smiling at each other. Laughing. I see him encouraging Della to start coraling, telling her it'll take the pain away. I see him holding her face in his hands, gazing into her eyes."

She let out a shuddering breath. "Caspian encouraged her to take her first dose of Serenity, watching with a cruel glint in his eyes as the drug started to take effect. He convinced her to swim off with him, telling her they could be happy together." Her voice broke on the last word, and she swiped at her eyes as tears spilled down her cheeks.

"But the worst part is knowing that Della willingly stayed with him, regardless of whether she had the drug in her system or not. She turned her back on me—her sister—for someone she barely knows." She sniffled, shaking her head.

As much as I hated to disagree with her, I did. Neither of us knew the facts about the relationship between Della and Caspian, so Ani had automatically gone on the defensive, painting Caspian as the wrongdoer. I cleared my throat, bracing myself for the backlash following my next statement.

"Maybe she knew him better than you think." No sooner had the words left my mouth than she turned and met my eyes, her own blazing with anger. Inwardly, I winced, but my outward expression stayed neutral.

As much as I dreaded this conversation, especially given our last argument, it was bound to happen sooner or later. "How can you say that?" Her voice and mouth trembled, but she managed to tamp down her anger. "She was the only surviving family I had left! After Mom and Dad divorced, all we had was each other. What, you think some random merman knew her better than her own sister?"

Ani was shouting now, her words like mini daggers piercing my heart. "I was there for her when she came home late at night and got yelled at by Dad! I was there when she broke down in our bedroom, ashamed and scared! I was there for all of it!" Tears were streaming down her red face, and she had balled her hands into fists. "How could she choose a merman she barely knew over her own family?"

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "We don't know the specifics about Della and Caspian's relationship. He could have been genuinely interested in her—they could have had something in common."

That was the wrong thing to say; faster than I could blink, she was out of bed and swimming back and forth in front of the window, casting her silhouette in and out of shadow. "So, you're saying that I should just ignore the fact that Caspian introduced my younger sister to a dangerously destructive habit that could have killed her?

"That I should ignore him giving her a potentially lethal drug, knowing the consequences of getting addicted? That she willingly kept a massive secret from me in the wake of a shocking revelation?" As her voice broke off, she inhaled a ragged breath, swiping at her eyes.

When she did, I saw a jagged flash of red on the underside of her left wrist. My heart lurched as I raised my eyes to Ani's face. She was trembling; tears gleamed in her eyes, dangerously close to spilling over. "Ani," I said softly, my eyes widening. "What did you do?"

Her eyes hadn't lost that panic. I could hear the harshness of her breathing—she knew I had backed her into a corner. "I didn't know what else to do. I-I can't cope with this guilt and shame inside me. It's tearing me apart."

Before I could open my mouth to respond, she was swimming into the closet, reappearing moments later with a messenger bag. She began robotically stuffing clothes in it, not meeting my gaze.

This defensiveness, this anger... It wasn't like Ani. Only when I swam to her and grabbed her wrists did she meet my eyes. It was dark outside, but the moon streaming in from the open window gave me enough light to see by. With heartbreaking gentleness, I turned her left wrist around so her palm faced up.

Jagged, red slashes lined the underside of her wrist, the worst of them causing me to suck in a breath so hard I nearly choked. Tears spilled down her cheeks, the sobs as jagged as the slashes on her wrist. "Ani?" My voice, barely a whisper, was rough.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't have a choice. P-please, Drew. You have to b-believe me!" The fear hadn't left her eyes, nor had it left her voice. She genuinely thought I would be angry with her for what she had done. She thought I would scold her for doing something so reckless.

I didn't speak for a few long moments. When I did, my voice had lost its roughness. In its place was a calm gentleness. "How long?"

I wasn't asking how long she'd felt this way; I wasn't asking why she'd done what she did. I was wondering how long she'd been coraling. She let out a sob, swiping at her eyes as more tears slipped down her cheeks. "Since Mom and Dad got divorced. I quit for years, but hearing about Della and Caspian drove me over the edge again."

I gently wiped tears off her face, letting my palm linger on her cheek. When I glanced out the window again, I was surprised to find the sun shining down into the water. "I love you," I whispered, gently kissing her forehead.

I felt her melt against me, her sobs loud and heartbreaking. When I drew her into my arms, she began to shake with the force of her tears. I knew she'd battled with herself over whether to tell me and while I was glad she had, I wondered why she'd held it in for so long. From what she'd just told me, it was clear that she still blamed herself for Della and Caspian's meeting in the first place.

I wasn't sure how long we stayed like that, but we suddenly flinched when we heard a clear, booming voice come from outside the suite. "Adriana! I had long anticipated finally meeting you under more favorable circumstances. However, fate seems to have brought us together under unexpected conditions. I'm willing to talk to both of you, but we must do it in the open."

Ani gripped my hand, her entire body trembling. Her eyes were impossibly wide when she looked at me, and her face was white. "I'm right here," I said softly. "You're not alone." I squeezed her hand and was relieved when she seemed to draw some strength from the motion.

We left the suite in silence, reaching the entrance in seconds. Floating before us with a cocky smirk on his face was a merman with storm-grey eyes and chocolate-brown hair cut close to his head. Della was nowhere in sight, but I had a sinking feeling she would appear soon. Ani was white as a sand dollar, and I knew my grip on her hand was the only thing keeping her upright.

The merman's voice was calm and collected when he spoke—no hint of malice or pride. "Adriana. Your sister has told me a lot about you." As his gaze met mine, it traveled from the top of my head to the end of my tail, carefully assessing me. I held his stare, refusing to look away.

"My name is Caspian Moore. You must be Drew. I assume Della told you about our relationship?" His smirk made it clear that he already knew Della had told us about him.

I clenched my free hand into a fist and opened my mouth to respond, but Ani beat me to it. "Why? Why would you expose an innocent mermaid to such harmful behavior, knowing there was a high chance of her becoming addicted?" Sadness laced her voice, but curiosity followed closely on its heels.

As mixed up as she was about the whole situation, the curiosity was genuine. She needed to know—if only to stop agonizing about it. Caspian's response, however, caught us both off-guard. "She came to me after her parents' divorce, struggling with intense feelings of guilt and shame. Seeing how distraught she was, I offered the only solution I knew of that would ease the burden of the weight she'd been carrying for so long. She was so weak and vulnerable—it wasn't my fault she got addicted."

I couldn't help it; my mouth fell open at his words. I felt Ani tense beside me a heartbeat before she lunged for him. At the very last second, I caught her wrist, but not quick enough for her to avoid slicing a gash into his cheek with her nails.

He didn't even flinch—he merely blinked as if he'd been expecting that exact response from her. Ani didn't struggle against my hold on her wrist, but the anger that blazed in her eyes and emanated from her body sent a chill down my spine. Her voice rose until she shouted, years' worth of pain, anger, and regret coming to the surface. "You stingray! You could have killed—"

Another voice suddenly floated up to us, abruptly cutting off Ani's words. "Caspian?" I turned at Della's voice, my entire body going on alert. The flatness of her voice raised the scales on the back of my tail and made my heart stumble. I met her gaze, and the emptiness in it made me shudder.

Ani spun around at the sound of her sister's voice, a ragged sob slipping from her lips. "Della! Della, we have to—"

The entire world—my entire world—stopped as Ani suddenly stopped speaking. Everything slammed to a halt as Della calmly swam up to her sister, grasped the neck of Ani's cloak, and pulled a dagger on her. Ani screamed but didn't move. As she met my eyes, her own glistening with tears, a wordless conversation passed between us.

A heartbeat later, we heard voices behind us, faint but getting louder with every heartbeat. "Hey—" Mom's voice abruptly broke off, a gasp of horror escaping her as she took in the scene before her. Dad swam in front of her, subtly pushing her behind him. His eyes found mine, and I slowly shook my head, the slight motion conveying my helplessness.

We were trapped. I was aware that even the slightest movement could tempt Della to draw the dagger across Ani's neck. None of us moved; the only sound was Ani's choked breathing. I took a breath and let it out slowly before I spoke, my voice calm. "Della." Ani let out a small, pained whimper at the sound of her sister's name, while Della remained entirely indifferent, not bothering to glance in my direction.

I kept my eyes locked on her, forcing myself to breathe and not rush to save Ani. Caspian smirked, his eyes daring me to try and stop Della. I ignored him entirely, focusing my attention on Della and the dagger she currently had pressed against my wife's neck.

My voice was devoid of emotion. "I know you can hear me. You don't want to do this. You started coraling hoping to ease the guilt and pain brought on by your parents' divorce. When that didn't help, you turned to other methods, trying to find anything that would work.

"Soon after that, you met Caspian, who introduced you to an unusual method of coping. Coraling became your lifesaver, the only way to completely erase the guilt and shame brought on by your parents' divorce. Caspian manipulated you into thinking that he was your savior, the one who had saved you from those feelings that were slowly consuming you."

I swallowed hard, struggling not to glance over at Ani. "He convinced you to turn your back on your sister, telling you he would never leave you and that you were safe with him. Does this look safe to you?" I motioned to Ani, whose eyes darted between me and Caspian, her breathing quick and panicked.

Nothing. Not a twitch of her mouth, not a flicker of recognition. Della's eyes remained blank and glassy. "Serenity may feel like it's helping now, but I promise you'll end up paying for it in the long run. You can fight this. Snap out of it!" I was shouting now, hoping she heard me.

A few tense, charged seconds passed before Della suddenly let out a painful gasp, her eyes clearing. I lunged for her a heartbeat before she faltered, her body convulsing as she heaved. When she finally stopped, she let out a sob as she lost her grip on the dagger. "Ani." Her voice was a rough, jagged rasp.

I finally dared a glance over at Ani, who was deadweight in Mom's arms. She was unnervingly still; if it weren't for the slight rise and fall of her chest, I wouldn't have been able to tell if she was breathing. Mom had a gentle but firm grip on her, but I caught the worried glance she threw my way.

My eyes widened at the blood that trickled from the jagged cuts on her arm. The blood loss and shock must have caused her to pass out. It wasn't until we had returned to the palace and were back in our suite that Ani finally opened her eyes.

I'd carefully bandaged her arms and her neck when we'd gotten back; she hadn't so much as moved a muscle. I let out a silent breath of relief as I leaned toward her from where I sat in a chair beside the bed. Her eyes darted around the room before finally settling on me. "Hey," I said softly, gently taking her hand. "How are you feeling?"

She said nothing for several moments; her hands trembled as she lifted one to my cheek. When she finally spoke, her voice trembled as much as her hands. "Della?" Her sister's name held such pain, anger, grief, and regret that my heart physically ached.

I swallowed hard. "Mom took her to the hospital to ensure the Serenity had completely worn off. Last I heard, she still hadn't woken up."

She nodded, but her eyes hadn't lost their haunted look. "I hate him," she whispered, the words filled with such intensity that they stole the water from my lungs.

I knew it would be a long time before she recovered from this. I saw how she flinched at every noise and lightly touched her neck every so often, shuddering when she did. The attack had left a permanent mark on her body and soul. The only question was, would she be able to push past the trauma to help her sister, who'd betrayed her?

Read and review!