Jonah never let go of my hand as we swam into our suite. I shut the door behind us with a trembling hand, then turned back to him. Neither of us spoke for a moment, the charged silence full of unsaid words between us.

I wanted to tell him what had happened with Waverly, but every time I tried, a choked sob came out instead. His eyes—those dark, expressive eyes that shone with love whenever we were together—searched my face and flicked down my body, noting my weary appearance and haggard expression.

When he spoke, fear choked his voice. "I couldn't find you. I thought—I feared—that you'd been taken from me. I wanted to go with your mother to look for you, but she told me to stay at the palace with your dad and brother in case you showed back up." His voice broke on the last word, my heart cracking at the sound. "I can't lose you."

I knew he had no idea of the impact his words would have on me, but before I could even open my mouth to respond, tears were streaming down my face. I crumpled, Jonah's solid and warm arms gripping my own and keeping me upright. It was as if a dam had broken inside my mind.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My chest was heaving, tears blurring my vision as I tried to voice the tangled emotions inside me. The one question I hadn't dared to consider formed in my head, filling me with dread and shame. Was Waverly right? Had I closed myself off solely because of the incident with Zander?

Or was there more to it? Some other reason—one I hadn't even let myself begin to contemplate? I shuddered, closing my eyes as tears streamed down my cheeks. "It was my fault," I mumbled, tears muffling my words. "I told her about—" I suddenly broke off, guilt, shame, and fear forming a ball in my gut.

He didn't know about the image that haunted my sleeping and waking thoughts. No one besides Waverly knew about it—the sole reason for our fight, the words I'd spat at her. Yet, every time I thought about it, guilt and shame smothered me until I gasped for water.

His warm, gentle hands reached to cup my face, and I leaned into his touch. "You can tell me anything," he said softly. "Whatever you say stays between us. I promise."

I knew his words were genuine—but that only made me cry harder. Jonah never pressed me, waiting until my tears finally slowed and I inhaled a shaky breath. "After everything that's happened, I've harbored so much guilt and grief over something so stupid—something that may not even happen. Yet, after Zander, I finally realized I can't live in fear anymore."

My voice wobbled but didn't break. "I love you so much I have to fight off panic attacks whenever we're apart. The fact that I let something as trivial as a nightmare dictate my life is one of my greatest indignities. He has taken something wonderful and twisted it into something horrible. I know we faced many obstacles to find each other—some that still haunt us today—yet I also know we would do anything for each other."

I was shaking now, enough so Jonah put his hands back on my arms to steady me, his thumbs rubbing soothing circles. "Waverly and I had a stupid argument a few weeks ago. She had confessed that every time she closed her eyes—and when awake as well—she saw the fear and panic in the mermaid's eyes and heard Zander's voice, forcing her to sing. He hadn't stuck around; according to her, he just gave the order and left."

My chest hitched as tears built behind my eyes. "We'd both started crying by then, and I'd whispered a broken apology, grief and shame coating every word. When Waverly had responded, her voice was small. She'd said that I needed to stop blaming myself, that she'd never blamed me. If anything, Waverly blamed herself. She said that she should have done something—anything—to escape once she had realized what was happening.

"But she didn't. She was frozen. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't think. All she remembered was Zander's smile. A shuddering sigh had escaped her lips as her body trembled. Cruel and filled with glee but tinged with insanity as well. She'd thought he was going to kill her."

I had to bite back a shudder as I recalled for the umpteenth time what Zander had done to me. "She didn't remember anything until after I'd found her. She'd asked if that was what happened to me. I nodded and told her it was the only way for him to leave us alone. I'd realized then that it had been foolish but that I honestly hadn't been able to think of any other way at the time.

"I told her how I saw the faces of the mermaids every night in my nightmares, how it had affected me mentally, psychologically, and emotionally—how the mere sight of a merman triggered a panic attack. Even if I reminded myself that none of the mermen in our family would ever think of harming me, I still couldn't get rid of that uneasiness, that wariness."

My voice broke on the last word; I looked away as tears filled my eyes and spilled down my cheeks. "I told her how going without your touch had been its own kind of torture. But every time..." My voice trailed off, shame and guilt surging inside me.

It was as if a rock had lodged in my throat, preventing any words from escaping. Jonah hadn't moved from where he was in front of me, rubbing my arms. "Take your time." His voice was gentle and filled with worry; his eyes had never left mine.

I shook my head as more tears spilled down my cheeks. "I told her that every time I saw you, I saw the image that appeared in the light that had blinded me after I'd died. You were floating a few feet away from me with a regretful look on your face as you left." I had to pause and take a shuddering breath. My heart broke at the same time as my voice. "Taking my shattered heart with you."

His face became more serious than I'd ever seen it. "Look at me." His voice was firm yet gentle. "When I married you, I swore I would love and protect you until the day I died. I meant it. I can't lose you, Faye. You are my heart." He gently took my hand and placed it on his chest. A steady beat thumped beneath my hand, calm and reassuring.

"Feel it? That's you. You are my heart. No one—not Zander, Waverly, or even Kailani—can destroy it. I'm never leaving you."

The earnestness in his eyes—mixed with the love already there—had me fighting back tears. I threw my arms around his neck, clinging to him as the full impact of his words hit me like an anchor. He took my face in his hands, kissing me deeply. When we broke apart, he inhaled as if he were going to speak again—only to be interrupted by a knock on our door. Before either of us could take a stroke forward, it opened.

Mom swam inside, her tear-streaked face pale and eyes haunted. It was the blood on her that I noticed first. It coated her hands and sprinkled her dress. When she met my gaze, my heart stopped dead in my chest, fear stealing the water from my lungs. Jonah took my hand a heartbeat before I faltered, tightening his grip as I sagged against him. "What happened." It wasn't a question. His voice was eerily calm, the words blunt yet emotionless.

Mom swallowed hard, steeling herself. She took a shaky breath, blowing it out slowly before speaking. "It all happened so fast. He showed no remorse, just a sick pleasure as we watched." She swam to me, gently taking my hands. It took everything in me not to jerk away at the stickiness of the blood. "Faye, honey, I'm so sorry. Please understand. We tried to intervene, but he threatened to kill you and Waverly if we did."

Her voice broke on the last word as tears spilled down her cheeks. "What happened, Mom?" My voice was hoarse, fear coating every syllable. If he'd so much as touched Waverly... I didn't even let myself finish the thought. It was enough to send bolts of fury through my body.

Jonah said nothing from where he floated beside me, a gentle hand on the small of my back. When he moved to grip my hand, I didn't blink. Mom's voice was hoarse and broken as she spoke. "It's Raina. Sweetie, she's..." The rest of her words dissolved into tears as she crumpled.

Jonah started to speak, but I didn't hear him. My whole body went numb. I wanted to crawl in bed and never come out. I wanted to scream until my lungs bled. I wanted to cry until I had no tears left.

When I finally spoke, my voice was hollow and far away, like an out-of-body experience. "Where is she." Again, it wasn't a question. It took everything in me not to shut down and retreat into myself. I knew that if I did, I wouldn't come out.

She exchanged a tearful glance with Jonah. "We found her outside the palace. David relayed the news to Nerissa, Izzy, and Irvetta, who've locked down their respective realms. I'm going to do the same. We didn't touch her, but Faye... There's something else. He used the Lost Soul Pendant to kill her, then plunged a dagger into her chest."

Her words hadn't even finished echoing before I moved, my hands clenched tightly into fists at my sides and my body taut. Zander had crossed a line, and he knew it. Wherever he was now, he knew what he'd done.

I was out of the palace in seconds, the scent of blood immediately hitting me with such force that I froze. Raina's sightless eyes were staring blankly up at the surface. It was just as Mom said. The hilt of the dagger stuck vulgarly out of her chest. Blood coated her neck, bodice, and chest.

The pendant was resting on her neck—the only part of her upper body that blood didn't stain. I felt no emotion as I swam up to her, my eyes flicking from her face to her tail. Nor did I cringe when I gently took her limp hand, the blood tacky now. "May you feel no pain as your soul rests for eternity." My voice was barely audible, the words barely more than a push of breath. It was the only thing I could think of to say.

Wordlessly, Mom swam up beside me and gripped my hand. Dad did the same, his grip firm and reassuring. Jonah put a soft hand on the small of my back, his touch soothing. None of us said a word as we grieved. Zander hadn't stopped with Waverly—he'd wanted to break me beyond repair, shatter me irrevocably.

He'd succeeded. I'd finally begun to let my guard down with Raina—remember what a real friendship was like. What real trust looked like. I felt myself sinking back into that pit of nothingness, but this time, I did nothing to save myself.

Read and review!