Darkness. The scent of fear heavy in the air. Walls under my hand. I moved forward solely on touch, focusing on the feel of the smoothness of the wall. A flare of light had me whirling around, hands raised in front of me. It took my exhausted brain a minute to figure out where I was. It wasn't a room I was familiar with.

Another flare of light appeared out of the corner of my eye; I watched warily as torches lit up one by one until the room was bathed in a soft glow. Once my eyes adjusted to the light, the surroundings of the room became clear to me. A dresser was pushed in the corner, across from a small, rickety bed with a nightstand beside it. A reading nook was nestled in the very back, a window above the seat granting clear access to the moon, high above the surface—the only natural light in the room.

I started to swim toward the nook, but before I even took a stroke forward, a shadow out of the corner of my eye had me reaching for my dagger. Teary grey eyes shone in the dim moonlight, the mermaid backed up against the wall, her tail tucked underneath her. Her dark skin was bone-white, her eyes so wide I thought they would pop out of her head. My heart stopped, a shout lodging itself in my throat as the mermaid's face became clear.

Bella. A merman was suddenly in front of her, a beer bottle clutched in his hand. His blond hair and green eyes sent bolts of fear through my heart. Far back in the recesses of my mind, the name of the plant from which the beer was made surfaced. I remembered David telling me the story about their father. I saw bottles of beer made from the Mamber plant, which produces a sweet-and-sour taste.

The merman advanced on Bella, eyes glassy and bloodshot. Before she could even open her mouth to scream, the merman vanished, leaving in his place a young mermaid, not much older than Bella. Her bronze eyes were frozen open, mouth still stretched out in a scream.

My mouth opened in a silent scream as something glimmered on the mermaid's neck. A pendant on a string, the blue stone glinting in the dim light. Tyler must've been working with Alyssa. But how would he even know about the murders? As far as I knew, he hadn't had contact with David or Bella in years, which meant he'd been away from Pelathas and Aegrem.

I couldn't say the same about Nepptheas, but it wasn't like I could just swim over and ask Alyssa. A black void yawned open below my tail, encasing me in darkness. My pulse was hammering inside me as I opened my eyes, breathing shakily. Jay slept soundly beside me, his chest rising and falling as he breathed.

The mermaid's face remained in my mind as I quietly dressed and left the house. I sped through Aegrem, my chest heaving as I swam, paying no attention to my surroundings. All I could see was the merman's face in my mind. By the time I arrived in Pelathas, the city was just starting to wake up. Shops opened their doors; wares were put out on display.

Everyone I passed bowed, but I barely noticed them. I was too busy searching for David and Bella. Before I knew it, I was at the entrance of the castle, armed guards floating by the doors. Upon seeing my face, they bowed and opened the doors to the interior of the palace. I swam inside, struggling to keep a calm expression on my face.

As I swam through the many hallways leading toward their suites, I kept glancing over my shoulder, expecting Tyler to be behind me with a smug grin on his face. I had reached their floor and was swimming toward the door when a sudden chill ran down my spine. I spun around, palming the dagger that rested at my waist. Green eyes met mine, wide with shock and disbelief. Alyssa obviously must've made up a story about my death.

Tyler opened his mouth, chest rising as he took a breath; before he could so much as utter a sound, the suite door opened, revealing familiar grey eyes filled with concern. My skin tingled as my hand unconsciously drifted to the ring on my right hand. I opened my mouth, then closed it as I furtively looked over my shoulder, but the space where Tyler had floated only heartbeats before was empty.

David stared at me, concern on his face as he took my hand and led me inside the suite. Only when he'd shut the door did I realise I was trembling. Golden-brown hair appeared in my vision, the grey eyes (identical to those of her brother's) widening as they saw me. Bella swam to me, wrapping me in a hug. I could feel the questions bubbling up inside her, threatening to come to the surface.

After a few deep breaths, my hands steadied enough for me to sign. Your... your father. He's here.

Bella's dark skin drained of colour as she faltered against the side of a chair. David anxiously scanned my face; his lips were set in a thin line, though his eyes darkened as he quickly swam to the suite door and locked it. He then swam to every room, making sure all the windows and blinds were shuttered and closed.

Bella's hand found mine, squeezing tightly. I barely breathed, remaining perfectly still as David swam over to Bella, looking into her eyes and speaking quickly. She nodded, tugging on my hand as we swam into her closet, jamming a book between the door and the wall, (hopefully) preventing anyone from getting through. Our backs pressed against the wall, we waited.

I focused on my breathing (in through the nose, out through the mouth) as the darkness threatened to smother me. Bella's eyes found mine as she squeezed my hand, the meaning of the gesture clear as day: I'm right here.

We waited for what felt like hours. With no way to tell how much time was passing, it might have well been an eternity. Every so often, Bella would flinch, muffling her cry with a hand over her mouth. I could only imagine what she was hearing. She locked eyes with me, frantically shaking her head.

I had all of a heartbeat to draw in a shaky breath before the door was flung open. A strong hand grabbed my shoulder, wrenching me out of the closet. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the light. Once they did, however, a new horror unfolded before me.

I didn't know where to look first: at the blond-haired, green-eyed merman clutching the shoulder of a blonde-haired, grey-eyed mermaid, or at the blond-haired, aquamarine-eyed merman clutching Bella's shoulder. The two mermen grinned maliciously.

My mind was spinning almost too fast for me to even comprehend what was happening. I could only focus on their faces as I struggled to remain calm. Bella. Faye. Tyler. Jacob.

David was floating beside me, his hands clenched into fists, eyes wild. A split second later, he was moving toward Tyler, a dagger glinting in his hand. I started crying as another merman appeared in front of David, his green eyes wide with confusion.

Without missing a beat, Jay looked into David's eyes, speaking softly. Whatever he said worked, because after a few heartbeats, David's breathing returned to normal as his hand slackened on the dagger. The look he threw Tyler was nothing short of murderous, but he moved toward Bella, wrapping her in his arms as she sobbed.

I realised too late that, sometime during the confusion, Jacob had fled. Poor Faye was trembling, her grey eyes glassy with tears. I knew that seeing her father would be very traumatic for her, because she had been very young when he'd left.

Jay swam in front of Tyler, his back straight and green eyes hard. His face held no emotion as he spoke. Nobody moved a muscle until Tyler had left the suite and guards had informed David that he'd left the castle.

I immediately swam to Faye, wrapping my arms around her and stroking her hair as she cried. I let out a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding as I took her hand and led her to her room. She collapsed on the bed, her pale face streaked with tears as she closed her eyes. I had to hold in my own tears as I gently closed her door.

Jay was waiting for me outside the palace, his eyes worried as they scanned my face. I was so exhausted as we swam home, I could hardly manage to sign. How did you know we were in trouble?

His face was lined with worry when he signed. Drew. He raced over to the palace, worried sick because he woke up and Faye was gone. He wondered if she'd come here, but after I told him we hadn't seen her in a few days, we went out to look for her. We heard whimpering and shouts as we swam into Pelathas. That's when we swam here.

He wrapped me in a hug, stroking my hair as I cried. After my tears had subsided, we swam into our bedroom. I collapsed in bed, a cold numbness descending on me like fog. Shivering, I turned to Jay, exhaustion written on my face. I'm freezing. Why am I so cold?

Sadness was written on his face as he gazed at me. You're in shock. Get some sleep and we'll worry about it tomorrow.

After what I'd witnessed, I worried I'd never sleep again. Nestled in Jay's arms, though, warm and safe in our own bedroom, I drifted off to sleep soundly for the first time since I'd become queen.

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