My eyes suddenly flew open, a scream escaping from my throat as a hand wrapped around my wrist, grip painfully tight. I knew who it was without even looking at him. His voice, like darkness given sound, made my heart skip a beat. "You took my family away from me. Now you're going to see what that feels like."

When I finally met his gaze, I had to bite back a scream. Wyatt's eyes were cold, emotionless—no light to be found in them.

Without another word, he yanked me out of bed, shoving me into the bathing room. I hurriedly got dressed, my hands trembling so badly, I could hardly fasten my dress. I lunged for the dagger on my dresser, but my fingers barely grazed the hilt before he took hold of my wrist again, the grip tight enough for tears to spring to my eyes.

We swam out of the palace, my heart beating so loud I was amazed he couldn't hear it. Terror flowing through me, I did the only thing I could think of—I started to sing. My voice shook so badly that I had to break off and start over several times. But just as the first note again left my lips, movement out of the corner of my eye made me flinch.

Mica floated beside me, face emotionless as she gripped the shoulder of a mermaid whose own face was as familiar to me as my own. Mom's eyes were wide with fear, darting back and forth. She let out a cry when she met my gaze, lurching toward me.

I faltered as visions of my nightmare came back to me. Seeing the mermaids surrounding us, the tears flowing down their cheeks; swimming up to one and placing my hand on her shoulder; preparing to open my mouth and speak the words that were waiting on my tongue; faltering as she turned her head and met my gaze.

"Please!" I sobbed, the terror snatching the water from my lungs. "I—I will give you anything—" My words were identical to those I'd spoken in the nightmare. And just like in the nightmare, my voice was cut off.

Mica clicked her tongue, the sound filled with bitter hatred. "You are a Siren—blessed with a voice unlike any other. And yet, you do not appreciate your gift, nor do you use it for good. I wonder, what would it take to break you, force you to use your voice?"

A chill ran down my spine at the exact moment my heart stopped dead in my chest. What she was suggesting... I lurched towards Mom, a strangled cry escaping my lips. Mica was one stroke ahead of me, however. She was at Mom's side in a heartbeat, leaning down and placing a hand on her shoulder.

The former's lips were inches from Mom's ear, yet she didn't move a muscle. Her gaze was not panicked, eyes not filled with horror as they had been in the dream. Instead, they were steely, resolve filling them.

I gripped her hand, tears springing to my eyes. Shaking, I forced myself to meet her gaze. Before I even had a chance to open my mouth, I heard another voice from behind me, this one filling me with equal amounts of horror and fear. "Isabella?" Dad.

I whipped my head around, mouth already opening. He shouldn't be here for this. What I saw next, however, made me falter. Drew caught me just before I would have hit the seafloor, face pale and eyes wide. Aunt Izzy, Uncle Kai, Aunt Nerissa, and Uncle Jay were beside him, faces pale with horror and shock.

Uncle Kai's eyes were filled with anger, face practically purple. Uncle Jay wasn't that far behind, his hands shaking as he tried to contain his own. But it was Aunt Nerissa whose face broke my heart clean in half. She wasn't staring at Mica with rage, shock, horror, or fear.

No; her gaze was pitying as she studied the mermaid currently gripping Mom's sleeve. Uncle Jay lunged for her, but she shook him off. She put her hands up in a placating gesture.

When she spoke, it broke my heart clean in half. Mom and Aunt Izzy cried out, Uncle Jay and Uncle Kai placing gentle hands on both mermaid's wrists to keep them from moving forward. "I know what it feels like to have something taken from you. Something precious, something you never thought you'd lose. I was exactly like you—letting my anger and pain shut me out from those who cared about me the most."

Her voice shook, nearly breaking. But she heaved a breath to steady it before continuing. "For weeks, months afterwards, I couldn't even get out of bed. But instead of letting my new reality continue to keep me shut out from the world, from those who cared and loved me more than anything, I leaned on them. I let them in, after feeling alone for so long."

My eyes were locked on Mica. Her eyes, in turn, were locked on Aunt Nerissa's, the pain and vulnerability shining in them. I sucked in a breath so hard that I coughed, waiting breathlessly for her to speak. When she finally did, her voice was soft, contemplative. "It's too late." The stark, raw pain in her voice made my heart break all over again.

She looked directly at me, her eyes seeming to stare into my soul. In that moment, I saw inside her own—every emotion, good or bad, she'd pushed down over the years. I saw myself, I realized with no shortage of shock.

Tears began streaming down my cheeks, mouth opening as I desperately tried to come up with something—anything—that would dissuade her. Shaking my head, I backed away—only to slam into Wyatt. When I turned around to face him, his eyes were on mine. Not filled with glee, as I would have thought, but with regret.

Isla appeared moments later, her own eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry, Faye," she whispered, face pale. Her chest hitched as she tried to contain the tears that were close to escaping.

Confusion filled my eyes. I looked at Mom and Dad, but their expressions were identical to mine. Isla looked off to the side, nodding to someone I couldn't see. "It's time," she whispered, the tears finally spilling onto her cheeks.

I began moving before I'd even finished forming the thought in my mind. Before I even took a stroke forward, however, a firm hand wrapped around my wrist, halting me. I knew who it was before I even looked up. Drew's face was pale; he was trembling. But his grip was unshakable.

Mica swept her gaze over all of us, lingering on me the longest. "I'm truly sorry," she said softly, meeting Drew's gaze then mine.

Nothing in the entire world could have prepared me for what happened next. Wyatt appeared, shoving a merman forward. I lurched forward, a scream tangling in my throat. Flashes of a previous nightmare came back to me, a sob escaping my lips as I faltered.

Dad rushed to catch me, but I pushed him away, chest heaving as I struggled to breathe past the panic building inside me. This couldn't be happening. Not again.

Exactly as they'd been in the dream, Jacob's eyes were wild as he whipped his head back and forth, getting his bearings. When his eyes landed on me, they softened. Flicking to Drew, they filled with such love and pride that I lost it.

The stark regret and determination on his face hit me like a dagger in the gut. His eyes immediately found mine, filled with such love that tears of my own blurred my vision. "Faye, Drew, I love you more than I can say. I couldn't save your mother," he quickly interjected as I began to open my mouth, "but at least now I can atone for my sins."

I swam up to Mira, looking her dead in the eyes. "Please!" I begged, voice breaking as my own eyes filled with tears. I began sobbing, but I forced myself to continue. "I—I will do anything—"

My words were yet again cut off as Jacob suddenly spoke. His face was calm, eyes focused on me. "It's okay, Faye. I know I haven't always been the best father, but I truly believe that this is the only way I can atone for my sins. And the only way I'll get to see Carla again." Hearing our birth mother's name on his lips was like a knife to the gut.

I turned to Mom and Dad, my eyes pleading with them. Mom shook her head, face pale and splotchy with tears. "I'm so sorry, honey. But it's the only way." Dad nodded, but his eyes were filled with grief. Pain.

Drew swam beside me, gently taking my hand. His expression was a mirror image of Dad's, but he didn't say anything. Mira exchanged a glance with Isla, who in turn glanced at Wyatt.

Jacob again glanced at me, then Drew. "I love you both so much."

Wyatt trained his gaze on me, face solemn. "I am truly sorry, Faye." His eyes shined with what I could have sworn was true sympathy. When Mira looked at me, the message in her eyes was like a dagger in my chest.

Instead of letting the horror, the shock of what she was asking overwhelm me, I took a deep, steadying breath. When I exhaled, I pushed all of my emotions into the very back of my heart where they couldn't touch me. My eyes were blank, hands steady at my sides as I swam up to Jacob. Bending down, I let my lips linger inches from his ear.

Opening my mouth, I began to sing. I knew my voice was mesmerising, enchanting. From the first note, he was entranced. Everyone was.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I never let my voice falter, even as I felt hands gently grip mine. All I heard, all I felt was the music. A tune only I could hear.

Sister Siren, we gather together
From lakes and ponds and seas and oceans
Ready to put our plan into motion
Come one, come all, to the place where it all began
Listen to my voice, heed my call
Come one, come all
Sing our song, sing along

In the weeks that followed, I learned a very important lesson: nothing—neither notoriety, nor fame or power was worth a loved one's life. Even if said notoriety, fame, or power felt good at the time it was offered.

I still sang from time to time, but I had nothing but gratitude in my heart now—for the mother I'd never known, who sacrified everything to give me and my brother a safe, loving family.

Looking up at the surface now, I whispered, my voice thick with tears, "I love you, Mom."

As if in response, a gentle breeze blew my hair off my face. I gasped as I heard a ghostly voice, the words feeling as if they were coming from my soul. "I love you, my darling."

If I'd bothered to look behind me, I would have seen a merman with mocha-colored eyes and ginger hair staring at me. "Soon, Faye Mercer," he whispered, voice a sensual promise. "Soon."

Final chapter! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed and favourited!