Mom's brow furrowed as she glanced between me and Waverly. "Drew, you're scaring me. What happened?" Her voice was frantic, and she wrung her hands anxiously.

I rubbed a shaking hand down my face as I took a ragged breath. "Ani's downstairs with Aunt Izzy. Why don't you two come down, and we'll explain?"

The stress and fatigue of the past few days were taking a toll on me. Only when Waverly took my hand did I realize I was trembling. The four of us slowly made our way down to the entryway, where an anxious Ani and exhausted Aunt Izzy waited. The former's head snapped up when she heard us approach; the latter didn't even flinch.

As I met Ani's gaze, I realized what had happened. Aunt Izzy stared straight ahead, silent and motionless, the tear streaks stark on her pale face. She'd gone into shock. Dad looked between Waverly and me before bending down beside Aunt Izzy. "Isadora? Can you hear me?"

No response. When Dad touched her arm, the contact seemed to snap her out of the daze she'd fallen into. She locked eyes with him and began babbling once more. "Oh, gods, David... I got here as fast as I could... She'd faked it before, but we had never thought she would... We were too late."

It was almost word-for-word what she'd said to me. And I could tell by the far-away look in her eyes that she was reliving it all over again. Dad frowned, but his voice remained calm. "Take a breath and tell me what happened."

I felt Mom swim beside me, but I subtly shook my head when she met my gaze. Dad had managed to get her talking; all we had to do now was listen.

Her voice broke when she spoke again. "The Celebration of Light is in a few weeks, so Mom and Dad started the preparations a week ago. They've opened it to all the realms, but when they sent word to Nepptheas, they didn't hear back immediately. When Dad went to Nepptheas this morning to see what had happened, the guards told him they hadn't seen or heard from Queen Irvetta in weeks."

She took a shaky breath, swiping at her eyes. I looked at Mom and Dad; their faces were ashen. "Dad went up to their suite, but when he got to their door..."

Dad squeezed her hand as she trailed off, looking down as she attempted to compose herself. "It had been forced open and nearly ripped off its hinges. He burst inside, calling King Marlin and Queen Irvetta's names. King Marlin appeared after a minute, his shirt and hands stained with blood. His eyes were glassy with tears, and Dad barely managed to catch him when he faltered. It took several tries, but he finally calmed down enough to tell Dad what happened.

"Queen Irvetta had been unwell for the past few weeks, so she'd been sequestered in their suite. No one thought it odd until she started complaining of severe stomach pains that left her bedridden. They managed to get a doctor to their suite who finally discovered the truth: she'd been pregnant."

Dad sucked in a breath a heartbeat before Mom made a strangled noise in the back of her throat. Looking at their stricken expressions, I wished more than anything I could save them the grief and heartbreak they were seconds away from experiencing. But I knew Aunt Izzy had to finish to get it off her chest once and for all. She was crying openly now, and with every ragged sob, my heart broke a little more.

"They knew about the dangers of a mermaid getting pregnant, so they'd kept the news under wraps, not wanting to alert anyone lest something go wrong. But Mom received a note a few days ago saying that Aunt Naia had somehow found out about the pregnancy. When she'd kidnapped them decades ago, she injured Queen Irvetta severely enough that if she and King Marlin ever tried to have children, either the babe or the mother would die in childbirth."

Aunt Izzy let out a heartbreaking wail as she faltered. Dad caught her seconds before she hit the ground, stroking her hair and murmuring soothing words. When Dad spoke, his voice was dangerously low. "Has Naia tried contacting you or Nerissa since then?"

Again, it was almost word-for-word what I'd asked her. Aunt Izzy shook her head, sniffling as she tried half-heartedly to compose herself. "N-no. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." Dad and I exchanged a glance, my heart breaking as we did.

We all looked up as we heard the sounds of fins beating the water. A heartbeat later, King Marlin appeared, his body tense and gaze haunted. Dad swam forward, stopping inches from him. "Marlin? Are you okay?"

He didn't respond for several moments, and when he did, his voice was so quiet Dad had to lean in to hear him. "I couldn't save her. I... I did everything I could, but I couldn't save her." A heartbeat before he faltered, Dad lunged for him. Ragged, heartbreaking sobs (those of a grieving husband) ripped from his lungs, the sound cleaving through the water like a dagger.

Keeping any emotion from my face was difficult, especially considering how those words triggered me. Ani slipped her hand into mine, squeezing gently. We swam to Aunt Izzy, and I put my arm around her, trying to block those horrid images from my mind. "When was the last time you got some sleep?" As the words left my mouth, I realized I could all but feel the fatigue emanating from her.

She shrugged, her gaze again becoming vacant. "I don't know. A few days ago, maybe? But I—I should really be getting back to Kai and Elle." Even as she spoke, I could see her eyelids droop. She was in no condition to make the swim back to Beltmare, especially after such a distressing event.

"Why don't you stay here for the night so we can go to Beltmare together tomorrow?" Before the words had even finished echoing, I glanced at Ani, not surprised to find her nodding, albeit stiffly.

Even though she hid it well, I could see the tension in her body from being around this many mermaids and mermen—never mind them all being family and friends. As much as she wanted to be there for Aunt Izzy and King Marlin, I could tell she was uneasy. A part of her, I knew, had been irreparably damaged by Ross, and we would be dealing with the aftermath for the rest of our lives.

She hated being alone because I wasn't there with her, but being surrounded by mermaids and mermen (even those with whom she was familiar) made her anxious. I squeezed her hand, and she looked up and gave me a strained smile. "You can sleep in our room if you'd like," Ani said softly. "Drew and I can take the sitting room." I nodded when she looked at me. As I did, however, I thought I heard her voice break on the last word.

Aunt Izzy glanced at Dad and found him nodding in agreement. "I'll send a message to Kai, let him know that you won't be coming home tonight. And, Marlin," he added, glancing behind us to the merman who regarded us with haunted eyes, "why don't you do the same? You can take our room; Bella and I can sleep in the sitting room."

King Marlin nodded, barely a dip of his chin. Weariness shrouded his body like a cloak, and he looked like he could fall asleep right then and there. "Thank you, David." His voice was barely audible, but we all heard him.

It was pushing midnight, and honestly, I was surprised we could all stay awake. But weariness hovered over us all, and I knew none of us would be able to function tomorrow if we didn't get some sleep soon. As Ani and I approached our suite, a flash of movement in the closest window made us tense.

A merman appeared outside the window, trademark smirk in place. Neither of us had time to react before he suddenly crashed through the window, glass shattering everywhere. We both instinctively ducked and covered our heads, but a few tiny shards of glass managed to pierce both our faces and arms. I grunted while Ani let out a muffled scream.

I barely had time to brace myself before Ross was on top of me, his hands around my neck and fingers digging into my flesh. I could feel my breathing becoming shallower and shallower until the best I could do was a pathetic wheeze. Black spots swam in my vision as I halfheartedly (and unsuccessfully) tried to fight him off. Just as I felt myself begin to lose consciousness, Ross suddenly grunted as he was ripped off me.

I let out a choking gasp as water suddenly flooded back into my lungs. A shaking hand rose to my throat as I gasped for water. Ani's pale face floated into my view as she hovered above me. Her lips moved, but I couldn't understand her. In my dazed state, I dimly registered that she was sweating. I managed to get off the ground slowly and swim to our suite. 

It wasn't until the door closed behind her that she spoke again, but I could understand what she was saying this time. "Are you okay? Should I get your parents?" Her face was deathly pale, making the dots of blood from the glass shards stark, and she wore the same haunted expression we'd seen in King Marlin's eyes earlier. She was leaning against the door, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

I spotted a few cuts on both her arms, but aside from those minor injuries, she seemed unharmed—physically, that is. I rubbed my throat as I opened my mouth, trying to muster the energy to respond. "No. I'll be fine. Are you okay?" My voice sounded as though I'd swallowed rocks.

She nodded, but I could tell she was still shaken. As she attempted to take a stroke forward, she suddenly faltered. I lunged for her and caught her a heartbeat before she would have hit the ground. I wrapped my arms around her trembling body, trying to ignore the tremors wracking my own.

She was shivering, but her body was almost hot to the touch. I managed to put my hand on her forehead and was alarmed at the heat radiating from it. "Y-you're burning up." Her eyes were glassy and unfocused when she pulled back to look at me.

Exhaustion was a physical weight, pulling us both down until we couldn't see the surface. But I pushed back against it, trying to focus on Ani. "I'll send a message to Mom and Dad; in the meantime, why don't you try to get some sleep?" I shouldn't have been surprised that she wasn't feeling well—with all the stress and fatigue we'd suffered the past few days, it was only a matter of time before one of us got sick.

"Come on." I took her arm and slowly helped her into bed. It was slow going; I felt like I had an anchor on my tail. From how slowly Ani was moving, I knew she felt the same.

Her eyes closed when her head hit the pillow; a heartbeat later, her breathing deepened as she fell asleep. I remembered her leaning against the door, breathless, after we returned to our suite.

Was that when she'd started feeling unwell? Or had it been after Ross had ambushed us—when the glass shards had pierced our faces and hands? I recalled her muffled scream with a grimace. I badly wanted to swim into bed beside her and give in to the exhaustion that was creeping up on me, but I had to let Mom and Dad know what was going on.

I heard a soft knock on the suite door as I picked up a paper and a pen. I glanced at Ani, but she didn't even flinch. The distance between me and the door felt like a chasm. Rallying my nearly depleted strength, I gradually swam to the suite door, placing a trembling hand on the knob. Mercifully, it opened soundlessly, revealing Mom and Dad on the other side.

From their alarmed expressions, I must have looked as exhausted as I felt. "R-Ross." It was all I could manage; my tongue felt heavy in my mouth. Dad tried to speak, but I cut him off as I slowly raised my arm and pointed into the suite.

Ani, I mouthed, the ability to speak having left me the moment I closed my mouth. It was only when Mom and Dad's eyes simultaneously widened in alarm and fear that I realized I was falling. I wasn't surprised; I'd been falling since we learned about King Marlin's death. The only question was, when would I hit rock bottom?

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