A scream—shrill and loud—shatters the silence that has fallen over me. My daggers are in my hands before I so much as take a stroke forward. Drew. I zoom through the water, trying to follow the sound. When I reach a fork in the current, a new voice speaks up from my right, faint and fearful. "Isadora? Is that you?" Dad.

I sense movement behind me a heartbeat before I spin around. Barely dodging a dagger heading straight for me, I glimpse dark blue eyes and blurry red hair. As quick as the attack starts, it's over. I don't realize I'm shaking until I actually feel a tremor roll through my body. Drew rushes into my arms, his body shaking with the force of his tears.

Dad puts a hand on my shoulder, concern in his gaze. As far as I can tell, they both appear unharmed. "What happened?" I ask.

He runs a hand through his hair, letting out a breath. "I don't know. One minute, I was with Nerissa, and the next I'm here." I incline my head toward Drew, arms still wrapped around my waist. He nods, a gentle smile on his face as he looks at the young merman, taking his hand and leading him away.

Those dark blue eyes—so similar to Mom's—cut straight through me, piercing my heart. Even though I hadn't seen her in years—none of us had—I would never forget who she was. Mom's aunt, Alyssa. My great-aunt. I wondered if Dad recognized her.

I woke up moments later, head aching. When I felt a hand wrap around me and pull me close, I had to force myself not to flinch. Kai didn't open an eye, still sleeping soundly. I laid there for several minutes, listening to his breathing and trying (read: failing) to go back to sleep.

Finally, I quietly swam out of bed, unable to sit still. The sun had just barely risen over the water, but I was wide awake. Luckily, there didn't seem to be many mermaids or mermen around, which meant I was relatively alone.

As hard as I tried to force my thoughts elsewhere, they kept drifting back to my nightmare. Why show me a relative I hadn't had contact with in over half a decade? Did it have something to do with the previous night's scenario? Was it a premonition?

I swam without any destination in mind, trying to quiet the whirling thoughts in my mind. When I finally came to a stop, I realized I was in front of the school. For a long moment, I just floated in front of the entrance, staring up at the familiar banner. Free sign language classes offered from 12:00 to 3:00 Isadora Singh, teacher

Seeing my name up on the banner triggered a rush of memories, most of them unwelcome. I saw the agony on Dad's face as he sat beside Mom's hospital bed, waiting for her to wake up. I saw the shame both Dad and I had experienced at not being able to help her. I saw Aunt Bella and Uncle David, the latter holding Dad upright as he sobbed.

I sank to the ground, the grief, regret, and sadness returning with a vengeance. The tears came hard and fast, sliding down my cheeks in rivulets. The image that stayed in my mind, however, was one that I hadn't let myself think of in a long time: King Drake appearing in a dream and speaking to me. "'None of us could have seen this coming. Least of all you.'" His words weren't malicious, yet they made me sob harder.

I should have seen it coming, though. I should have been better prepared. Maybe then he would still be alive. Maybe then Ronan wouldn't be so intent on making me suffer. When the hand gently landed on my shoulder, I didn't move.

I blinked furiously, trying to clear my blurry vision. A voice broke through the haze that had settled over me, soft and concerned. "Izzy? Are you alright?"

Aunt Bella. Her eyes were filled with worry as she gazed at me. I let her pull me up off the ground, my muscles weak and shaky. "Did something happen?"

Something broke inside me as the words left her mouth. I realized just how tired I was. Tired of carrying this burden—the shame, guilt, and regret—alone. "It's all my fault," I sobbed, voice muffled by my tears. "I could have stopped Ronan, but I wasn't even thinking about him. I was too focused on Mom. King Drake is dead because of me."

Voicing that thought—the very same thing the latter had tried to deny—was like shoving a dagger into my own heart. Hands on my shoulders made me look up into blurry eyes. When my vision cleared, I noticed they were lined with silver. Aunt Bella took a shaky breath before opening her mouth.

"A few years before you were born, your mother found out that Tiger Shark had been planning to..." She trailed off, swallowing hard. Remembering how hard it had been for me talking to Kai about the nightmares, I waited patiently for her to continue. "She found out Tiger Shark had been planning to kill our mother and pillage what was left of the palace. When she finally got to the palace, it had already been ransacked."

Her voice broke, and she had to take a few deep breaths before continuing. "She entered the palace, determined to find our mother's body. After finding the royal suite, she came across a butler. Apparently, he'd come to see if anything had been salvaged from the rubble, and that's when he'd found Mom."

I squeezed her hand, struggling to hold back my own tears. She gestured to the ring on her left hand, smiling sadly. Several small diamonds filled the center, forming a circle when they connected. "This was Mom's wedding ring. I had the biggest diamond removed, but kept the smaller ones. I knew she'd want me to have it, even though I'm not married."

I stared at the ring, words tangling in my throat, making it impossible to speak. "What I'm trying to say is that you can't keep blaming yourself. Your uncle dealt with shame and regret for many years before he finally realized that it wasn't doing him any good. It wouldn't bring her back, so why did he keep beating himself up over it?"

She wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tightly. I held her just as tight, neither of us letting go for a long time. After we said goodbye, I headed back towards the palace, but didn't go inside.

Instead, I travelled to a very familiar gravestone. "I wish you were here, Aunt Meri. Mom and Dad are doing okay. They've had their hands full with running Aegrem, so they've been pretty busy. I got married two years ago." My voice broke as I said the last word.

I think she would have really liked Kai, and vice versa. "You'd really like him. He's so sweet and kind. I miss you so much." That was when I noticed the sky beginning to darken. The days seemed to either drag on forever or pass in the blink of an eye.

As I left the gravestone, a few tears slipped down my cheeks. Kai had saved me a plate of food from dinner, but my stomach was too twisted to eat. When we finally got into bed, I expected the ghosts to keep me awake, but I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

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