Since Faye's death, I'd kept the secret shame locked deep inside my heart, refusing to let anyone see how far my self-hatred went. Especially Ani. The thought of withholding anything from her made me want to pull my hair out, but the shame and guilt kept the words locked inside me. Even now—as I lay awake, listening to her soft, even breathing and feeling the weight of her head on my chest—I had to bite my tongue to keep from waking her up.

It should have been me. No matter how often anyone tells me otherwise, I'd allowed that shame and guilt to fester in the two years since my sister's death. It's left me a shell of a merman; someone I don't even recognize when I look in a mirror.

Instead of seeing the happy, loving merman my parents and wife know and love, I see Jacob Mercer's son. The son of a murderer. That's precisely how Ross described me in the letter. The thought of Ross made my attention drift back to the discovery of the pendants in our suite yesterday.

No matter how much I dreaded the conversation, I knew I couldn't hold it off much longer. Mom and Dad needed to know—as much for them as for us. My eyes wandered over to the open sitting room door, moonlight shining from the open windows in both rooms. Even with a room separating us, I could feel the pull of both pendants. They were magnetic, almost impossible to resist. If I ever did use the Lost Soul Pendant again, it would only be to kill Ross and finish this once and for all.

I took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and scrubbed a hand down my face. A lightning bolt of pain sliced through my head—sharper than ever—and I bit my tongue again, so hard I tasted blood this time. "Are you awake?" Ani's voice cut through the silence, and the concern in her words had me biting back a sob.

"He was right," I said by way of answer. "No matter how much I try to convince myself that I'm not Jacob's son, I fear I'll always have that invisible label hanging over my head—son of a murderer. Who knows what would have happened if Sara hadn't stopped me two years ago? I don't know if I could have lived with myself if I had gone through with it."

I heard Ani take a deep breath, and then I saw her gaze land on me as she propped her chin on a fist. "But you didn't."

A visible shudder rippled through my body as the words left her mouth. There was no possible way she could have known the impact those words would have on me. Nevertheless, her gaze was like a brand, and I had to force myself to meet her eyes. Unbidden, the words rose to my tongue, begging to be unleashed—fueled by the love, worry, and compassion on her face.

"I'd never felt such rage in my life—not even when Carla and Ella died. All I could see was the smug grin on Zander's face in the heart-stopping moments after the cross—" My voice broke off, tears forming in my eyes and spilling down my cheeks. It took me a few minutes before I was able to speak again. "After the crossbow bolt hit Faye's back."

As the words left my mouth, I drifted back to those unbearable, heart-stopping moments. I saw Faye lying facedown in the silt, saw the crossbow bolt protruding vulgarly from her back; I saw my horrified expression as I stared at my sister's motionless body. I heard my voice—shrill and terrified. "'Faye? Faye, can you hear me?'"

Oh, gods—there was so much blood. I had forgotten about all the blood. Tears filled my eyes, blurring my vision until my and Faye's figures became indistinguishable. A tight squeeze on my hand drew me out of the agonizing memory. "Drew? Listen to the sound of my voice. You're not there anymore. Please, my love, come back to me. I know it still hurts. And the truth is, it may never stop hurting."

Ani's breath hitched, and I heard her voice break when she spoke again. "You will never have to go through this alone. I'm right here. Come back to me." It wasn't until I felt my hand settle on Ani's chest, right over her heart, that I gasped, choking on the sobs that wracked my body.

I collapsed against her, my sobs loud and gut-wrenching. "I—I'm s-sorry," I breathed, voice breaking. "I'm so sorry."

Ani's arms tightened around me, and I think she realized I wasn't talking to her anymore. It wasn't until a few minutes had passed that I felt my breathing slowly return to normal. My body felt weak as I lifted my head and met her gaze. She touched my cheek, and I leaned into her touch. "What do you want to do?" She asked.

I took a steadying breath, blowing it out slowly. "We have to tell Mom and Dad about the pendants. They deserve to know before anyone else. After that, we'll go to Aegrem to tell Aunt Nerissa and Uncle Jay the news." Both conversations were necessary, but I dreaded them all the same.

We both got dressed quickly, leaving our suite in record time. I realized I was trembling when we swam in front of my parents' suite. Like Ani had done yesterday, both pendants' strings dangled from my hands, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from crying out as a steady throbbing began at the base of my skull. Ani gripped my free hand and took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

Mom met our gazes when the door swung open before glimpsing the pendants' strings in my hands. She cried out, slumping against the doorframe as she faltered. Her face was deathly pale, and for a heartbeat, I thought she might pass out. My heart skipped a beat when I heard Dad's voice, muffled but getting closer with each breath. "Bella? What's going—" His words abruptly broke off as he saw the pendants, and I saw all the color drain from his face.

Ani and I quickly swam inside, shutting the door behind us. When I spoke, my voice was surprisingly steady despite feeling like I could pass out at any moment. "Ani found these in our suite yesterday. Our only suspect is Ross, but we don't know how he could have discovered their existence. We also can't figure out how they got here in the first place."

As the words came out of my mouth, I suddenly stopped and blinked. My left hand, which held the Lost Soul Pendant, vibrated with almost tangible energy. I felt it from my fingertips to the bottom of my tail. My right hand, which held the Loyalty Pendant, was... not. I didn't feel anything besides the rough texture of the rope. I must have been silent for too long because Dad put a hand on my arm, his voice low. "Drew? Are you okay?"

I took a breath, exhaling slowly. "I don't feel anything." I lifted my right fist, which clutched the Loyalty Pendant, and Mom and Dad both took a stroke backward. "But this—" I held up my left fist, which gripped the Lost Soul Pendant. "I can feel almost tangible energy emanating from it."

All of us suddenly turned as we heard the sounds of fins frantically beating the water. A heartbeat later, Aunt Nerissa and Uncle Jay appeared, red-faced and panting. Their eyes widened fractionally at the sight of the pendants, words bursting from the latter's mouth. "We found an old journal belonging to Tiger Shark at Rosewood Manor, which went into detail about the pendants. Tiger Shark created the Lost Soul Pendant to halt the death of his loved ones."

Aunt Nerissa made a barely audible noise at the last sentence, but Uncle Jay squeezed her hand as he continued. "But after skimming the rest of the journal, we found nothing about the Loyalty Pendant, save for one sentence. It claimed Tiger Shark had created the Loyalty Pendant in a last-ditch attempt to make him seem more powerful. He boasted about the pendant's power when, in reality, it had none."

It was as if someone had dropped a bomb in the suite. Everyone—including me—sucked in a breath. I gestured to the pendants, exhaling a ragged breath before I spoke. "I can feel almost tangible energy coming from the Lost Soul Pendant, whereas I don't feel anything from the Loyalty Pendant."

A bolt of pain sliced through my head, electric and sharp, and I closed my eyes, breathing deeply. When I opened them again, every pair of eyes were on me. I met Ani's gaze first, nodding weakly. The lack of sleep and the intense headaches were catching up to me. Ani's firm grip on my hand was the only thing keeping me from collapsing.

Dad spoke next, voice low and concerned. "Let's sleep on this and reconvene tomorrow." He directed his words to everyone, but his eyes were on me.

Mom swam beside me, kissing my cheek and squeezing Ani's hand. Dad put a hand on my shoulder and gave us both a warm smile. We could tell that the smile didn't reach his eyes.

It wasn't until we were back in our suite, and it was just the two of us, that Ani spoke. "The pendants' reappearance might have caused the headaches you've been experiencing. "

She voiced the exact thought I'd been trying to avoid thinking about. And, in a sudden, unexpected rush of anger (not directed at her), I heard Ross's voice in my head.

"'I know what your family was. I know who you are, Drew Ryan Mercer. The son of a murderer. I am the only one with this information, but I can do much damage with it if prompted. Imagine what would happen if Ani were to find out. She would leave you. And you would be all alone. Just as you should have been all along.'"

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?!" The words burst from me with the force and might of a tsunami. Ani, blinking rapidly, flinched as if I'd struck her. Confusion, worry, and fear surfaced in her eyes as she stared at me.

"Drew?" Her voice broke as she reached for me, her hand trembling. I wanted to tell her that I loved her and that the words weren't (and would never be) directed at her, but nothing came out when I opened my mouth. I saw the worry in her eyes and knew she wanted to help me, but she didn't know how. It was the fear that broke me, though.

I couldn't bear the thought of her being afraid of me. "You don't understand." The words were low, barely audible, but I knew she heard them.

She sniffled. "Then help me understand. You know that Ross is just angry and jealous. That's the only reason he wrote the note in the first place. Why is it affecting you so much?"

I knew she didn't mean it harshly, but my temper was already on a hair-trigger, and it snapped as the word left her mouth. "Because he was RIGHT!" My voice rose until I was shouting, and she flinched at the echo. "A part of me will always agree with what Ross called me, no matter how often others tell me the opposite. The son of a murderer. I was this close to killing Wyatt. If Sara hadn't stopped me, I would have.

"I wanted to. Deep down, a small part of me still considers myself Jacob Mercer's son. That's why I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want you to see me as someone to be afraid of—someone to hate. Like I see myself."

Her mouth tightened as she struggled to hold back tears. I knew she'd realized that I had been battling with self-loathing for a while, but I also knew she hadn't said anything because she was afraid of upsetting me. The weight of her gaze was crushing my chest, squeezing the water from my lungs.

Tears of my own pricked the corners of my eyes, threatening to fall as we stared at one another. My chest heaved as I struggled to catch my breath. Neither of us spoke, but the unsaid words were like anchors weighing us down. My eyes burned, but I swiped angrily at them, refusing to let the tears fall.

When I finally broke her gaze and turned away, she was the one who broke the tense silence that had settled between us. "Where are you going?" I'd never heard her voice like that—so small and meek. Afraid.

I tried to remain steady, but my hands shook uncontrollably as I swam through the suite. My movements were stiff and jerky—almost robotic. My voice was tight with emotion when I responded. "I don't know." I stuffed a few shirts and a spare cloak into a bag, my hands shaking so much I almost dropped it.

As I swam past Ani to the suite door, I didn't meet her wide, tear-filled eyes. I knew if I did, I wouldn't be able to leave. I got to the door, waiting a heartbeat to see if she would try to stop me. When she didn't, I swam out of the suite as quickly as possible, taking back hallways and slipping out of a half-hidden door in the shadows.

Dusk had fallen over the water, blanketing the realm in almost complete darkness. Thankfully, the moon had risen high above the sky, granting me light to see by. Tears brimmed in my eyes, making it hard to see, but I waited until I had left the palace far behind before I let them fall.

Electric pain flickered from my shoulder to my collarbone, leaving living bands of lightning in its wake. It was late; I was exhausted and upset. I wanted nothing more than to curl up on the ground and sleep. But I knew the dangers of sleeping out in the open, especially with Ross on the loose.

I would push myself to the limit to get to Aegrem before sunrise. It was the only thing that would keep me from replaying my argument with Ani. I let out a ragged breath, scrubbing a hand down my face before beginning to swim. By some miracle, I reached the palace just as the sun rose over the water. At that point, I was wavering.

I'd stopped feeling the pain in my shoulder and collarbone long ago; every ounce of my energy had gone into staying upright. I'd even stopped hearing the echoes of my and Ani's voices. But now that I'd stopped, it all slammed back into me. Pain, anger, pain, anger—the competing emotions were like rogue waves simultaneously crashing into me until I drowned under the pressure.

Snippets of our tense argument flashed through my head, threatening to consume me. "'You don't understand.'"

"'Then make me understand. You know that Ross is just angry and jealous. That's the only reason he wrote the note in the first place. Why is it affecting you so much?'"

"'Because he was RIGHT! Deep down, a part of me still considers myself Jacob Mercer's son. That's why I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want you to see me as someone to be afraid of—someone to hate. Like I see myself.'"

It wasn't until one of the guards at the front spoke, his voice low and confused, that I pulled myself out of the memory. "Your Highness?" When I didn't answer, he and the other guard had a hurried, hushed conversation before he spoke again. "The king and queen will be here soon. Please come inside to wait for them." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the second guard disappear into the palace, presumably to find Aunt Nerissa and Uncle Jay.

The large front doors slammed shut after they ushered me inside. I collapsed on a bench in the entryway, letting my head fall into my hands. It wasn't until I saw my hands tremble that I realized I'd started to shake. Silent sobs wracked my body, tears sliding down my cheeks faster than I could swipe them away.

My heart clenched painfully as Ani's words from yesterday drifted through my head. "'You are a kind, gentle merman, and those qualities are what made me fall in love with you in the first place.'"

By the time I heard my name, I was already half-asleep. "Drew?" I looked through blurry eyes to see Uncle Jay's hazy figure before me. He put a hand on my shoulder, and I felt him sit beside me on the bench. It was at that precise moment that my body chose to give out on me.

I slumped against Uncle Jay, my head lolling on his shoulder. My eyes drifted closed, the exhaustion tugging at me since I'd left Pelathas so close to overtaking me. The last thing I heard before unconsciousness swept me away was Uncle Jay's voice. "I've got you, Drew. I've got you, son."

Read and review!