By the time the sun had risen over the water, I'd been awake for hours. My head throbbed, an aftereffect of the tsunami of emotions that had occured yesterday. Drew's side of the bed was cold, but he normally got up before me anyway. I got dressed in a daze, slinging a cloak over my shoulders as I left my suite.

When I heard low voices coming from the dining room, I almost turned around. Then I heard a voice that made my heart stop dead in my chest, stole the water from my lungs. I halted just before the entrance, staying out of sight. "I just wanted to see how Faye is doing. I hope you don't mind. I know it's a bit unusual for me to be here, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about her."

Instead of the usual cruelty, his voice was dripping with false sincerity, so much so that I almost gagged. Mom's voice was quiet, yet I heard the gratitude in her tone. "No, no. We didn't get a chance to thank you before. If you hadn't found her when you did..." When she trailed off, I decided that was as good a time as any to announce myself.

Hands fisted at my sides to hide their trembling, a false smile pasted on my face, I swam into the dining room, nearly choking on the words tangling in my throat. When Wyatt saw me, his eyes lit up. "Faye! Thank the gods you're alright."

I froze, all the blood draining from my face. Dad swam up to me, placing a hand on my back. "Come sit down, honey. You're so pale."

I looked at Wyatt, biting my tongue to keep from crying out. His eyes never left mine as Dad led me to a chair and I all but collapsed in it. "What are you doing here?" The words were meant only for Wyatt, but everyone heard them.

Mom spoke then, glancing at Wyatt, then at me. "Mr. Cruise came here personally to check up on you. He said he'd been thinking about you ever since you passed out." Though a smile was on her face, concern and worry filled her eyes when she looked at me.

I could all but feel the unspoken threats radiating from him, each one worse than the latter: If you make a scene, I will be forced to take drastic measures; You know what happens if you so much as try to tell the truth; I would so hate for you to lose yet another member of your family...

Wyatt spoke into the silence, his voice making me flinch. "I should be going. I don't want to overwhelm her." He swam up to me, putting a hand on my shoulder and squeezing, the affectionate gesture not lost on me. When he spoke again, his lips were inches from my ear.

I did my best not to shudder, to stay absolutely still. "Meet me at the Whispering Reef at dusk. Come alone; tell no one." As he pulled away, he brushed a kiss to my cheek. I did shudder then, almost crying out.

It wasn't until after he'd left the palace that I realized I hadn't seen Drew yet this morning. I glanced at Mom, my voice cracking. "Where's Drew?"

She exchanged a look with Dad before turning back to me. "Jacob sent a message earlier this morning, inviting both of you to breakfast at the Bronze Mermaid. Drew was already up because he was going to meet some friends and play some cometball."

I didn't hear anything else because I was already rushing out the front doors. My heart was slamming in my chest, all but stealing the water from my lungs. One thought was rushing through my head, the words tripping over one another: pleasepleasepleasedon'tletmebetoolate

I was panting heavily as I swam, the water rushing past my face mingling with the tears flowing down my cheeks. All I could see was Wyatt's smug face; all I could hear was one threat in particular, the words clanging through me. I would so hate for you to lose another member of your family.

If he even tried to hurt them... I was shaking when I came upon the restaurant, ignoring the worried and curious eyes on me. I swallowed my sob as I saw my brother waiting beside a taller merman with blond hair. The former swam to me, worry creasing his face. "Faye? What's wrong?" His words floated in and out of my ears, and for a heartbeat, I worried I might collapse.

"Come sit down, Faye. Breathe." Jacob placed a hand on the small of my back and it took everything in me not to flinch. His eyes were locked on mine, filled with such worry and concern that my heart skipped a beat. I tried to take a deep breath, but it felt like an anchor was sitting on my chest.

I did my best to block out the noise and chatter from the resturant, but pretty soon all I could hear was that one sentence. Over and over, again and again, until I thought I was going crazy. I would so hate for you to lose another member of your family.

The anger, fear, and exhaustion of the past couple days crashed into me with the force of a dozen rogue waves. Something cracked inside me. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" I shouted, so loud that everyone flinched, a hush falling over the resturant. My chest was heaving, tears flowing down my face as I got up and rushed outside.

I faltered before I'd even crossed the threshold, tears coming faster than I could breathe. I gripped my hair in fistfuls, so hard my knuckles were white. Why was he so determined to make my life miserable? What had I ever done to him?

I froze, going rigid as I felt someone swim up behind me. I spun around, groping for my dagger, but faltered again as I met worried eyes. Drew caught me as I began to fall, taking my weight effortlessly. He didn't say anything, but I could feel the concern radiating from him.

"H-he's everywhere," I wept, the words pouring out. A dam had been unleashed, and I had no choice but to let it flow. "I don't know what I did to make him hate me so much. Even when he's not physically here, he's always there. In my head, in my nightmares." I looked up at Drew through blurry eyes. "I can't escape him. I thought he was going to kill you."

I flinched when he spoke. He'd been silent thus far, so hearing his voice was jarring. "This is who's been following you all this time? The one who sent that note the first day?" How he'd found out about the note, I had no idea.

I nodded up at him, my eyes blank. My entire body was heavy, burdened by an unseen worry. It was all I could do to keep breathing, keep from giving myself over to the heaviness that threatened to consume me.

"He was at the palace this morning." It wasn't a question. I could all but feel the anger radiating from him and it sent shivers down my spine.

How he'd guessed, I didn't know. I opened my mouth to respond, but he continued before I could. "We need to tell Mom and Dad. They can do something—find him. He can't keep tormenting you. This has to stop."

I clutched at his arm, furiously shaking my head. "No!" That had been my goal all this time—keep Wyatt away from my friends and family, to keep them safe. This morning... I couldn't stop the shudder that rolled through me as I contemplated what could have happened had I been just a few minutes later getting downstairs.

It happened so fast, I didn't even have a chance to scream. One minute I was tugging on Drew's arm, fear and anxiety smothering me. Then I was suddenly yanked backwards, a rough arm encircling my waist. The scream that came from my mouth was abruptly cut off when I felt the tip of a dagger touch my throat. Not hard enough to draw blood, but enough for me to know he would if he had to.

"Let her go." I'd never heard Drew sound so... cold. His chest was heaving, his eyes blazing with anger, but he didn't so much as move a muscle.

I whimpered as Wyatt again put his mouth inches from my ear. "I did what you asked. I n-never told anyone." I hoped he couldn't sense the lie rolling off my tongue.

His voice was like a dozen daggers slicing into my skin. "Now why don't I believe you?" I bit back a cry as the tip of the dagger pierced my skin, drawing a thin line of blood.

I suddenly went limp, feigning surrender. My body sagged in his grip, the tip of my tail brushing the ground. He relaxed his hold ever-so-slightly. Drew caught on to the plan without me even saying anything. He palmed his own dagger, slicing a line across Wyatt's neck.

The latter cried out, releasing me as he slapped a hand over the wound. I lunged for Drew's outstretched hand, biting down on a sob. The instant our fingers brushed against each other, we were moving. Every muscle in my body was protesting, twinges of pain jolting through me with every stroke.

I think the shock was finally settling in, because I felt myself slowing down almost involuntarily. Drew tugged on my hand, forcing me to keep going. Again, that heaviness consumed me, dragged me down until I couldn't see the surface.

When we finally got back home, I was flagging. My chest was heaving as I gasped for water, unable to stop the tremors that shook my body. I dimly heard Drew speaking quietly to someone (Mom? Dad? Merrick? Nerio?), but I couldn't make out the words.

I could barely muster up the energy to flinch when I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder. A voice, calm and soothing, spoke directly into my ear. "It's okay, Faye. You're safe now, honey."

I let out a sob at Dad's voice and let my head droop on his shoulder. His grip on me was the only thing keeping me upright as we swam to my suite. Exhaustion tugged at me, but at the same time, I was terrified to sleep. What if Wyatt was waiting in secret to ambush me? I swam into bed and drew the covers up to my chin, trembling.

Dad sat on the edge of my bed, smoothed a lock of hair out of my face. "It's okay to sleep, Faye. You're safe now, honey. I promise."

Despite the fear still lingering, the exhaustion quickly won out. The last thing I was aware of before sleep dragged me under was Dad gripping my hand, keeping me safe.

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