"Faye? Honey, can you hear me? Open your eyes, sweetie." The voice, so pure and familiar, pulls me from sleep. Blinking, rubbing my eyes, I open them to reveal blurry red hair. When my vision clears, brown eyes stare into my own, filled with such love that it steals the water from my lungs.

I shake my head, a voice in the very back of my head cautioning me. The mermaid in front of me is my birth mother, of that I have no doubt. But something feels off. I reach for her with a shaking hand, biting back a sob as my hand meets solid skin. She clutches my hand, eyes shining with tears. "Oh, Faye. Honey, I've missed you so much."

Her voice... It's identical to the conch. I'm still wary, though. "H-how are you here right now?"

The tears in her eyes finally spill over as she breaks my gaze, looking at the ground. She opens her mouth, then freezes, her gaze directed at something over my shoulder. Confused, I'm in the process of turning my head to look when a hand grips my shoulder, painfully tight. Cold breath caresses my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

The voice is just as cold, malice coating every word. "Right on time." Wyatt.

The blood drains from my face a heartbeat before the realization strikes me, horror lurching through me. I whirl around, desperation in my eyes, my voice as I face Wyatt. "No. Please! Not now!"

He doesn't respond. Instead, he merely gestures between us again. "Your choice, Faye. Your life or hers."

I open my mouth to protest again, but she suddenly grips my hands, squeezing. "It's okay, honey. Remember what I said? I'm always with you." She lets go of my hand, guiding it to rest on her heart. The strong, sure rhythm pulses under my palm, giving me strength.

I desperately shake my head, taking her hand in between my own. "Mom, please. We need you. I need you." The last word is a choked sob.

"I love you, Faye. I meant what I said sweetheart—lean on your brother and sister. You three will need each other more than you realize." She inhales to continue, but Wyatt roughly grabs her arm.

"Enough talk. You know what to do." He throws me a wicked grin as the words leave his mouth.

Eyes wide, she squeezes my hands once again, then turns back to Wyatt. As soon as she opens her mouth, the echo of the first note barely hanging in the water, he's mesmerized. Minutes, hours, seconds tick by, each simultaneously lasting a heartbeat and an eternity.

When her song finally comes to an end, she's gasping for water, a hand pressed to her chest. Her face has paled considerably, her breathing labored, but she holds her head high.

Anger, desperation, grief—they all swirl together to form a tsunami of emotions, leaving me numb and empty when they subside. I rush forward when I see her begin to falter. "Mom!"

I give her body a once-over as I take her weight, but I can't find an obvious wound anywhere. Her chest is rising and falling dangerously slow, eyes glazed but alert. She lets out a gasp when she suddenly clutches her chest.

Carefully, I lower her onto the ground, using the crook of my arm to cushion her head. The alertness recedes, her eyes going blank. I start shaking my head furiously, trying to reassure her. "No, Mom. Y—you're going to be fine. Drew has a really big cometball tournament next week—it's all he's been talking about. You have to come."

I realize distantly that I'm rambling, but I can't seem to stop. It's only when her chest rises and falls, one last time, that I realize what is happening. "Help!" I scream so loudly my throat is raw when I close my mouth.

A featherlight touch on my shoulder has me whirling, wishing I had a dagger or something—anything. Mica is floating in front of me, face solem, eyes filled with grief. "I wanted to offer my condolences on the death of your mother. She was a strong, smart, beautiful mermaid—had the kindest heart of anyone I've ever met."

The words come bubbling up from inside me, unexpected but not. "Everyone keeps saying that—how smart, kind, strong, and beautiful she was. But they never really knew her. None of you did. Did you know that when she was little, she used to weave seashells in her hair to braid it? Did you know that when we were younger, she would take off once every month and take us to the Bronze Mermaid, let us order anything we wanted?"

I'm nearly shouting now, but I can't stop. "Did you know that she was the one who encouraged Drew to take up cometball in the first place? When she was my age, she and her friends had formed their own cometball team." My voice breaks on the last word, tears pooling in my eyes. "They called themselves 'The Big Bad Sirens.' Kind of a joke and a nod to her power all at once. Did you know that? Did anyone know that?"

Mica is motionless in the water, her eyes lined with silver. "I may not have been close with your mother, but I was forever indebted to her. When my son was barely six, he'd accidentally wandered away from me... straight into a sea lion's den. I screamed at him to come back, swim away, but he'd been too far away to hear me. By sheer chance, she'd been swimming with friends and had approached me, quickly launching into action."

Her chest hitches as she breaks off, breath shuddering. I'm frozen, shame filling my eyes. When she finally continues, her voice is broken. "She got the sea lion's attention and it rushed at her. I noticed my chance and I took it. I sped towards my son, grabbing him and quickly swimming away. Had she been a second slower, she would have escaped with worse injuries than just a bite on her tail from its teeth. I wanted to thank her, let her know how grateful I was, but I could never find her.

"A few years later, I was coming home from work—I had just started a new job at The Ocean Café in Nepptheas—when I saw a flash of red hair. When the mermaid turned her head, we both gasped at the same time. I swam towards her, stopping inches from her. 'Thank you,' I whispered, voice thick. She nodded, gesturing to her tail. I sucked in a sharp breath, wincing at the torn flesh on the edge of her tail. The injury had healed completely, but the echo of the wound still remained."

"I'm so sorry," I rasp, silver lining my eyes. "I—I had no idea."

I was jolted from sleep before she could respond, a hand gently clasping my shoulder. I gasped as I opened my eyes, head spinning. Drew was looking down at me, worry etched on his face. "You dreamed about her, didn't you?" He asked, voice quiet.

I nodded, swallowing hard as tears filled my eyes. I wanted to explain, but I couldn't. "I miss her so much." My voice broke as the last word left my mouth.

He just pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly. "I miss her too."

I'm not sure how long we stayed like that, but with my head buried in his shoulder and my quiet sobs, I didn't see or hear Mom and Dad in the doorway, tears in their own eyes as they looked at us. Nor did I hear the slight whine of the door as the latter closed it behind them, leaving me and my brother alone in our grief.

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