I've always been a very light sleeper. Even when I was little, before the nightmares, thoughts and images would haunt me, the slightest noise would wake me up. I'd never viewed that as a positive trait of mine because I would always be exhausted the next day. Until now.

Only this morning, it was the silence that woke me, the eerie feeling that something wasn't right. I glanced over my shoulder to the merman sleeping beside me, the lines that had been on his face softened by sleep. He hadn't stirred, his breathing deep and even. I quietly got dressed, my eyes darting around the room. Everything seemed to be in place, but that pit in my stomach just wouldn't cease.

I hadn't seen Nadia yet, but figured I would see her at breakfast. I had barely left our bedroom before a mermaid appeared in front of me. Her eyes were filled with a sort of light that I hadn't seen in a long time. But there was something else, too. "Stella," I said uneasily. She smiled at me.

"Hello, Isadora." I figured it out a heartbeat too late. My attention had been on Stella, not on my surroundings, so I hadn't noticed the merman slinking out of the shadows. When he glimpsed Stella, an expression of horror appeared on his face. I barely had time to take in his appearance before I felt the shock wave roll through the water.

My heart stopped as I struggled for balance. It was just like... Horror sluiced through me as I opened my mouth to call for a guard. "Someone help!" I turned to Stella, but she was gone.

Mermen in crimson-and-gold uniforms sped towards me, concern on their faces. I was edging towards hysteria, but I managed to get out an order. "Get everyone out of the palace. As fast as you can."

I was readying myself to try to find Kai when another shock wave rolled through the water. This one caused a chunk of concrete from the walls to break free, heading straight towards me. I immediately lost my balance again, this time falling to the ground. I was frozen as I watched the concrete get closer and closer...I opened my mouth to cry out, but was suddenly shoved to the side.

I glimpsed a gold-and-crimson blur as I gasped for water. The shock hit me before the pain did as my head collided with the ground.

The next time I opened my eyes, the first thing I realized was that the pain was gone. The second thing was that I was lying down. Tears streamed from my eyes, sliding down my cheeks. As I looked around, I realized that I recognized this room. It was my room at home. I tried to sit up, but faltered as a wave of dizziness washed over me.

A shrill ringing began in my ears, causing me to wince. What had happened? The last thing I remembered was seeing a chunk of concrete break from the palace walls, heading straight for me. I'd lost my balance and fallen to the ground. It kept getting closer and closer, and then I was shoved to the side.

My head slammed into the ground and then... nothing. How did I get here? A headache formed between my eyes and I bit my tongue to keep from crying out.

The door to my rooms opened, a mermaid sticking her head in. Her normally pale skin was ashen. Her eyes were red from crying as they locked onto my own. I struggled to focus as Mom swam towards me, her face swimming in and out of my vision. She lifted her hands and began to sign. Are you okay? We came as soon as we heard. You were out cold when we found you. You hit your head.

It took every ounce of concentration I had to push the unconsciousness back as it tugged at me. "Where's Kai?" I managed to get out, breathing through the nausea that rolled over me.

She reluctantly met my gaze, tears in her eyes as she signed. Kai's in the hospital. He has a severe concussion and a broken arm, but he'll be fine. He's awake and asking for you. Should I tell him you're awake?

A lump appeared in my throat as I nodded. I opened my mouth to speak, but she shook her head, taking a breath before signing. Her hands were shaking so bad it took her several tries to form the words. Your father is going from room to room, checking for survivors. But, Izzy... When she didn't continue, my heart stopped.

"What happened, Mom?" I asked, eyes scanning her face. Despite the fatigue gnawing at me, I didn't miss how she avoided my gaze. "What happened, Mom?" I repeated, panic flowing through me.

The tears were flowing freely down her cheeks when she responded. When we checked yours and our suites, they were wrecked. A fresh wave of tears rolled down Mom's cheeks, her face crumpling. Nadia must have returned from visiting her parents earlier this morning, because when we left our suite, we found her in the hallway. She must have been helping everyone get out.

She didn't continue, but she didn't need to. I could only stare at Mom, my brain taking a minute longer to catch up. When the news finally sunk in, my own face crumpled. I mumbled incoherent things through my hands and choked on my sobs. I remembered Mom telling stories about how Nadia had become her only friend at Rosewood Manor.

She had been like a second mother to me during my time there, and the news of her death had me shaken. Through blurry vision, I managed to decipher Mom's hand movements. Do you feel up to seeing Kai? If not, I can make up an excuse.

I wanted to curl up in bed and never get out, but I had to see Kai. I nodded, wiping my eyes and swimming out of bed. When we arrived at the hospital, I was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar mermaid sitting in a chair beside Kai's bed. Queen Katrina turned when she heard us approach, relief on her face. "Oh, thank goodness you're alright. We've been so worried."

Kai scanned my face as I swam to his side, gently taking his hand. If he noticed the grief in my eyes, he didn't comment on it. I bit back a sob as I noticed his left arm in a sling. Familiar faces appeared in the edges of my vision, their voices taunting as they spoke. "'All you had to do was make a choice.'" "'Pity you made the wrong one.'" "'In choosing your loved ones, you lost your fight.'"

I wanted to scream at them. My body was tense, begging me to release all the pent-up anger, sadness, and regret. That's when I felt warm hands slip into my own, their grip firm. I looked up into worried eyes edged with pain. "How are you feeling?" I asked him, focusing on the feeling of his hands in mine.

One hand slipped from my own, moving up to caress my cheek. Aside from the sling, he seemed to be relatively unharmed, a fact I noted with a sigh of relief. Kai licked his lips, swallowing before opening his mouth. "I feel like I should be asking you that question. Your injuries were almost as bad as mine." His voice was gravelly and hoarse.

As the words left his mouth, I did my best to block out the memory of the gold-and-crimson blur that had pushed me out of the way. A few seconds difference and our roles would have been reversed. A lump appeared in my throat as tears welled in my eyes. "You could have been killed," I said, my voice breaking.

His eyes were locked on mine as he shook his head. "It was my choice. I couldn't sit by and watch you die."

I winced through my tears at his word choice. It was eerily similar to what one of the ghosts had said. As if my thoughts had summoned them, they reappeared at the edges of my vision, malicious grins on their faces. "'See, Izzy? He chose to save you, not realizing that you were already too far gone.'" "'Instead of being by your side, Nadia decided to risk her life to save others. Too bad you weren't fast enough to save her.'"

The headache flared up again, causing tears to spring to my eyes. When Queen Katrina put a hand on my arm, I almost jumped out of my chair. "You should get some rest. Kai will be able to go home tomorrow, so I'll be sure to let you know when you can see him."

Her eyes were filled with such concern, I couldn't imagine what my expression was. I'd barely made it out of his room when I saw a flash of brown hair out of the corner of my eye. A hand on the dagger at my side, I whirled around, a familiar face appearing in my vision. Uncle Noah.

I wanted to move, but I was frozen. I couldn't tear my eyes off the merman in front of me. "Are you okay, Izzy? I heard about the attack. How's Kai?" His voice was surprisingly soft, edged with concern.

I recalled the shock on his face as he'd seen Stella. Why had he been hiding in the shadows, though? Why hadn't he been with Mom and Dad, safe and sound in Aegrem?

The only thing those questions accomplished was making my headache worse. I bit my tongue so hard this time I drew blood. When I finally responded, my voice was barely a whisper. "He's gonna be okay. I have to go."

Before he could so much as open his mouth to respond, I was leaving the hospital, heart racing. My mind was going in a million directions, tangling my thoughts together until they were impossible to unravel. I kept swimming, hoping that I could somehow outswim the grief that still gripped my heart.

When I finally stopped, my breath caught at my surroundings. Familiar purple-and-grey flags flew in the breeze, the palace on which they were balanced as imposing as ever. Something inside me cracked at the sight, causing the emotions from the attack to return in full force.

At that moment, all I wanted to do was collapse on the ground and sleep. It took every ounce of my remaining energy to swim to my parents' suite. I was scared, confused, angry.

Before I'd so much as raised my hand to knock, the door swung open. Two pairs of eyes studied me, faces twisted in confusion. I knew I needed to tell them about Uncle Noah, but I couldn't muster up the energy to speak. Dad wrapped an arm around my shoulder, gently leading me inside. Mom gripped my hand, her eyes occasionally landing on my face.

I hadn't slept in my parents' bed since I was little. As we swam into their room, Dad shut the door behind us. I nestled into their bed, pulling the covers up to my chin. As soon as I was still, the tears began anew. Silent sobs shook my body, tears flowing down my face.

I fell asleep with visions of Kai in my mind, hoping against hope that he'd come back home to me soon.

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