My tail is brushing the ground, body trembling as I cower under the relentlessly cruel gazes of the multiple mermaids and mermen surrounding me. To my horror, each face is someone I love. Dad. Mom. Aunt Bella. Uncle David. Drew. Their gazes are filled with scorn. "Such a disappointment," Aunt Bella hisses, her voice dripping with hatred. "You don't deserve to be a princess."

Her words are like rocks, pelting me head-on. Kai joins in, his eyes hard as he stares at me. "You are a disgrace to your parents and to Aegrem." His voice is cold as he speaks, the love that had shone in his eyes whenever he was around me replaced with shame. I bite back a cry, tears filling my eyes.

"Kai," I sob, tears making his figure blurry. "It's me! Izzy!" No matter how much I plead, his gaze remains hard. My heart stops as I glimpse the dark-blue pendant hanging around his neck.

When the hand lands on my shoulder, I almost don't turn around. It's only when the fingers dig into my skin that I spin around, eyes widening at the mermaid in front of me. Her dark blue eyes are filled with malice, body shaking with barely controlled anger. Alyssa.

"Hello, Isadora," she says. "Long time no see."

All the strength drains from my body as we stare at one another. "What do you want from me? I'll do anything," I cry, my voice breaking. "Just please, let Kai go. Please."

She makes a show of considering, but I can tell from the gleam in her eyes that she already has something in mind. "Okay," she says. Swimming over to Kai, she puts a hand on his shoulder and whispers in his ear.

No recognition crosses his face as he swims toward me, obsidian gaze blank. I don't flinch as I feel him grasp my shirt in one hand, angling the dagger with his other. A heartbreaking realization settles over me in the agonizingly slow moments that follow. My deepest fear isn't dying; it's disappointing or losing the ones I love the most.

I tense as I wait for the dagger. A heartbeat before the tip pierces my skin, I wake up.

My heart was pounding so hard I could hardly breathe. I was trembling, my chest heaving. I clenched my hands into fists, closing my eyes and taking deep, slow breaths. Kai's expressionless face remained in my mind as I got dressed and ready for the day.

I couldn't seem to stop shaking. When I heard the raised voices from downstairs, it took everything in me not to flinch. A cool, collected voice spoke above the rest, her tone glacial. "Hello, Jay. Nerissa. It's been a long time."

Dad spoke then, but I couldn't hear him. Mom let out a sob, the sound forcing me to move. I swam downstairs, resisting the urge to reach for my daggers. A jolt ran through me as I swam into the living room, all eyes falling on me. Aunt Naia turned to me, eyes glittering with delight. "Hello, Isadora. I hope you've been doing well."

"What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice emotionless.

She gestured to Mom, who remained frozen, tears glittering in her eyes. "Aren't I allowed to visit my sister?"

I shook my head. "No. What are you really doing here?"

Pouting, she dropped the pretense. "Okay, fine. Your uncle has some more tasks for you. He told me to reach out to you and extend an invite to Nepptheas." Her smile never faded as the words left her mouth, even as she raised her eyebrows at me suggestively. I understood the unspoken words, however. Complete the tasks and your family lives.

My stomach dropped. I don't know how she knew (or how she even found out in the first place), but she was talking about my dream. I froze, my entire body tensing.

All the color drained from my face, Kai's blank expression frozen in my mind. I locked eyes with him, terror in my gaze. I can't do this again, I tried to convey. His expression didn't change, but I could tell he knew what I meant.

Sensing my hesitation, she spoke again. "I'll make you a bargain. You can come home each night after completing the tasks. You return in the morning. Sound fair?"

My expression was fearful as I nodded. I would do anything to keep the scenario in my dream from becoming a reality. At least this time, I wouldn't have to stay every day. Dad put a hand on my arm, ire in his gaze as he stared her down. "You better keep up your end of the bargain, Naia. If you harm her..." he trailed off, but the threat was clear.

She rolled her eyes. "Relax, Jay. I won't lay a finger on her. I wouldn't dare harm the queen's daughter." Her last comment was obviously directed at Mom. Judging from the barely-restrained anger rippling off the latter, I'd say she had been following the conversation. Her eyes were ablaze with anger as she glared at her sister.

I, meanwhile, was frozen. Being trapped in there again... My heart sped up until I felt like it was going to burst from my chest. Breathing became impossibly difficult. "When do we leave?" I asked, my voice tight and strained.  

"I'll give you until dawn to say your goodbyes. Don't disappoint, Isadora." With a final glance at Mom, she turned and left, the door slamming behind her.

I was gasping for water as I covered my face and sunk to the floor. Kai swam to me, lifting my limp body and gathering me in his arms. Mom and Dad were on either side of him, helpless expressions on their faces. "I wish there was another way, Izzy." Dad's voice was hushed, his expression defeated.

Mom's hands were raised before she even opened her mouth. Look on the bright side, Izzy. It's like she said. You don't have to stay 24/7. I could tell she was trying to be positive for my sake, but the fear in her gaze was stark. She knew as well as I did the ghosts that haunted that place, both mentally and physically.

All I could think about was my nightmare, the fear and helplessness coming back with a vengeance. I turned to Mom, hands shaking as I raised them. A mermaid named Alyssa was in my dream last night. That one sentence caused Mom to falter. Dad gripped her arm, eyes darting from my face to hers.

Did she say anything to you? Her hands, like mine, were shaking, but I deciphered most of her question.

I wasn't in our living room anymore. I was in the open water, again cowering under the relentless, burning gazes of the multiple mermaids and mermen surrounding me. Alyssa held Kai by the neck of his shirt, a dagger in her free hand pressed against his throat. A gentle hand on my arm drew me out of the daydream and back to the present.

I blinked before responding. It wasn't just Alyssa who was there, though. Everyone was. You, Dad, Uncle David, Aunt Bella, and... I trailed off, giving my heartbeat a second to calm. Kai. Aunt Alyssa had a dagger pressed against his throat. But when I looked into his eyes... I shuddered. I'd anticipated that reliving the nightmare would be difficult, but I hadn't expected it to be this hard.

I saw nothing of the merman I married. The love that had been in his eyes whenever he'd been around me had been replaced with cold emptiness. He didn't so much as blink when I cried out to him. Alyssa had told him to kill me. The dagger in his hand was aimed at my chest when I finally woke up. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding, only now feeling the tremors running through my body.

"I'll tell the guards to be extra vigilant from now on," Dad said. He'd been following our conversation, his jaw tightening when I'd mentioned Alyssa.

Kai put a hand on my arm, causing me to flinch. Tears formed in my eyes as I saw the shame in his own. Even though it had only been a dream, he'd taken what he'd done personally. I also saw apology wedged beside shame. I squeezed his hand, hoping he understood the unspoken words. I'm not mad at you. It wasn't your fault.

He nodded, never taking his eyes off me. My chest hitched as I took a shaky breath. "Feel like going for a swim?" My voice rose slightly at the end, teetering on the edge of breaking.

He nodded again, squeezing my hand. I wrapped my cloak around myself, flipping the hood over my head as we swam outside. Every bone in my body had adrenaline rushing through it. I was on the verge of hysterics.

After we'd swum for a few minutes, Kai tugged on my hand, forcing me to slow. "Be honest," he said. "Did seeing Naia again rattle you? I saw the way you reacted when she spoke to you."

I blew out a breath as I considered my answer. "Yes," I finally said, deciding to be honest. "She was the youngest of the three sisters, but all of them were incredibly close. It went downhill after Aunt Meri died. Even though she never voiced the thought, I think Aunt Naia blamed Mom for her death. Her relationship with me would probably be non-existent if I hadn't been to Rosewood so often. And you saw how Dad reacted to her appearance."

He nodded, kissing my cheek as we continued swimming. I hadn't realized it until I'd finished speaking, but revealing that stuff about my parents' relationship with her felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I could breathe easier.

We had dinner in our rooms that night, both of us wanting a break from the noisy dining room. I picked at my food, half-heartedly placing a few pieces of shrimp into my mouth.

When we finally fell into bed that night, Kai turned on his side, face inches from mine. "I hate that you have to deal with this alone," he said, brushing a stray curl off my forehead. "But, I do know that you're strong enough to handle anything. Don't let Alyssa or anyone else intimidate you."

I nodded, kissing him before turning over and closing my eyes. Exhaustion settled into my bones seconds later, enveloping me like a wave.

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