Faye's warm, bright smile fills my vision, her eyes sparkling as I grin and tug on her hand. "C'mon, Faye! We're going to miss it!" My excitement is contagious, and her grin grows even wider. Before she can ask me what I mean, we're speeding through the water, our breaths turning sharp and fast.

When we finally come to a stop, we're in Beltmare at the entrance to the palace. She never lets go of my hand as we swim up to our aunt and uncle's suite, the excitement palpable in the water. Aunt Izzy answers the door before I can even raise my hand to knock. Her eyes shine with tears, but her smile is broader than I've ever seen. "Come in," she says, sniffling. "You're just in time."

Together, we swim inside the suite to find Uncle Kai sitting on the couch in the sitting room, Elle perched on his lap. Both father and daughter are beaming, the former's eyes shining with tears as he looks up at us. "Go on, Elle," he encourages her.

Elle takes a deep breath, her tiny fists clenched and face scrunched in concentration. Her musical voice fills the water, followed by a giggle that tears my eyes. "Mama."

I turn to Faye, my smile as broad as our aunt's. "I'm so glad we get to experience this together." Instead of the smile I expect to see spreading across her face, I see tears in her eyes, and her mouth quivers as she tries to hold back sobs. I shake my head, putting a gentle hand on her arm. "Hey, what is it?"

She sniffles as she swipes at the tears that have escaped from her eyes, putting a trembling hand on her heart. "I'm not here," she whispers, the words settling in me like a stone sinking through the water. "This isn't real." Looking at her, I notice the same horrified expression she had in the seconds after the accident: her eyes are wide as saucers, her jaw is hanging open as she gasps for water, and the crossbow bolt sticking out of her back has drenched her dress in blood.

Instead of jerking away from her, I clutch her hands, my grip firm and unwavering. "Faye, please. I can't go on without you. We can't go on without you. Jonah's barely holding it together; Mom and Dad are a mess. I haven't had a whole night's sleep since you died. Every time I close my eyes, I see your lifeless body in that hospital bed. You're my only biological link to Carla and Ella; how am I supposed to live without you?"

My breathing turns ragged as I finish speaking; my chest heaves as I struggle to breathe through the pain and agony crushing my ribs. Through the tears blurring my vision, I see Faye smile despite her agony. "Oh, Drew, it's just like Carla said. I'm always with you in here." When she reaches out and places a hand on my heart, I let out a shuddering breath as tears spill down my cheeks.

As if this dream or nightmare or whatever it is couldn't get stranger, Faye's smile softens as something like gratitude appears in her eyes. "Besides, you don't need me. You've got Mom and Dad and Ani."

My heart stumbles at the latter's name as my eyes widen. Mouth agape, I watch Faye shake her head, her smile evolving into a playful grin. "I've been watching over our family. Do you think I wouldn't be able to tell when someone is flirting with my brother?"

I'm speechless. And when my sister starts to fade away before my eyes, panic steals the water from my lungs. Tears spring to my eyes as I grip her hands even tighter, taking in every detail of her face and body and implanting them in my mind. From how she looks at me, I know she's doing the same. Despite the ugly wound on her back and the blood soaking her clothes, her eyes are clear, and her gaze is steady as we stare at each other.

"N-No," I whisper, clutching her hands so tight my knuckles are white. "Please..." My voice breaks, and I have to heave a breath to steady it.

With a shaky smile, she leans forward and brushes a kiss against my cheek—barely a whisper of her lips on my skin—and I have to hold back a shudder. The last thing I see before something jerks me from sleep is her gentle smile. My eyes flew open, a strangled cry escaping my lips when my back accidentally brushed against the pillows. The tears came faster and harder than I expected until I was gasping for water.

I couldn't see through the tears streaming down my face, but when I felt arms come around me, I crumpled. When I heard Mom's voice in my ear, gentle and warm, it only made me cry harder. "Oh, honey."

I hadn't cried this hard since Faye's death. I'd always been the protector, the strong one—I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt this vulnerable. It felt like someone had reached inside my chest and torn my heart in half. I hated letting them see me cry, but I couldn't hold the emotions in anymore.

When the knock sounded on the door, Mom hesitated, glancing at the door and then back to me. Swallowing hard, I swiped at my face, then nodded. She swam to the door and opened it, and then I heard a muffled conversation with whoever was on the other side.

My heart jumped into my throat as I heard a familiar voice, concern evident in her tone. The wall dampened the sound, but her words retained their warmth from our first conversation—when her voice had broken through the darkness that had enveloped my spirit. "Drew? It's Ani. Can I come in?"

My cheeks burned as I discreetly pulled the blanket up to cover my bare chest, wincing as the movement pulled at the wound on my back. Dad glanced at me but didn't say anything. When Ani swam inside, she nervously glanced from me to Dad to Mom before finally looking back at me.

When I finally spoke, my voice was rough. "W-what are you doing here?"

Her eyes were fixated intently on my face, her cheeks flushed crimson. "I—I was worried. I saw you collapse outside the Bronze Mermaid, but a merman rushed to help before I could."

I saw her eyes flick to Jonah, recognition flashing across her face as she put the pieces together. He gave her a gentle smile. "My name is Jonah. I... was Faye's husband."

If anyone besides me noticed the pause, they didn't let on. Jonah remained composed as the word left his mouth, but a shadow crossed his face, gone in a heartbeat. Ani's eyes were full of sympathy as she nodded, then looked at Mom and Dad, hurriedly bowing to them. When she straightened, her cheeks reddened even more if such a thing was possible.

"Your Majesties. My name is Adriana, but you can call me Ani. I..." She faltered, her eyes darting to mine for the briefest second before focusing on Mom and Dad again. "I just started at the Bronze Mermaid as a waitress."

I kept my eyes on Ani the whole time so I didn't have to see the flashes of pain that crossed my parents' faces. Mom smiled at Ani—the first genuine smile I'd seen on her since Faye's death. "It's very nice to meet you, Ani. Can we get you anything?"

To anyone else, her voice and demeanor were calm and relaxed, the perfect hostess. But to me—someone who'd become remarkably adept at analyzing speech patterns and body language over the last few months—I knew she was floundering. 

I knew because I'd felt it when I first met Ani. We—as a family—had closed ourselves off so firmly after Faye's death that when approached in a friendly way, we had no idea how to respond. Even now, when Ani looked at me, it was hard not to retreat inside myself again. To instinctively hear Ella and Faye's voices. "'We were waiting for our big brother to save us. Why didn't you save us, Drew?'"

I swallowed hard, digging my fingernails into my palms. When Ani responded, it took all my willpower to anchor myself in the present. "No, thank you. I just came by to check on Drew."

Her eyes met mine, and I swore I felt a flare of... something pass between us. Attraction? Sympathy? Mom glanced between us but didn't say anything.

When I finally spoke, my voice cracked as I heaved a breath to steady it. "Thank you for coming over."

Ani held my gaze for what seemed like an eternity. She smiled sadly, and I felt it like a punch in the gut. I heard more than saw Mom, Dad, and Jonah quietly excuse themselves, the door closing silently as the three exited the suite. Neither of us spoke for several minutes. Her voice was brittle when she did, her smile nowhere to be seen now. "Jacob Mercer murdered my aunt the night before my eleventh birthday."

The water vanished from my lungs as if someone had punched me in the gut. Memories of our birth father fought for control in my mind, one lodging in the front and playing on a loop—his final moments filled with pain, suffering, and regret. "'Faye, Drew, I love you more than I can say. I couldn't save your mother, but at least now I can atone for my sins.'"

I think this was when I truly realized why Faye had become withdrawn following Jacob's passing. She blamed herself for it solely because of her involvement with the Sirens—she believed that by associating with them from that day on, she would forever link her 'sisterhood' with that tragic event. In the days, weeks, and months following his death, her personality changed.

She'd hardly left her room, eaten, or spoken to anyone. That's what I'd done after her death. It had taken Jonah to pull her out of that dark place—to show her that it wasn't her fault. I realized now that maybe Ani was what I needed to pull me out of the pit I had fallen into.

"I'm so sorry," I breathed, my voice hardly more than a push of breath. "Our birth father was..." I trailed off, swallowing hard. "Tormented by his past sins. He'd made a conscious effort to be present in our lives as we'd gotten older, but it wasn't perfect. And when he..." I trailed off again, clenching my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms.

Ani didn't press me. Blinking, I blew out a heavy breath. "Died, I didn't know what to think. After what happened to Carla and Ella, I began to wonder if, deep down, he had honestly regretted his actions. I still hear his final words on a loop in my head. '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 can see Carla again.'"

Truthfully, I hadn't thought of his final moments in a long time, but after Faye's death, I realized that I'd gone back to those moments more than I thought. "Even after Mom and Dad adopted us, he wasn't really there. I mean, sure, we saw him occasionally, but I think he'd realized that he'd never be our father again. From the day they handed us the adoption papers, David and Bella Solomon were our parents."

I blew out another heavy breath, surprised to find my hands trembling. "I know none of that could ever make up for the loss of your aunt, but I thought you deserved to know."

The silence between us was heavy. Weighted. I held Ani's stare, hating the grief, anger, and pain I saw in her eyes. When tears spilled down her cheeks, I again felt like someone had punched me in the gut. I hated that I was the cause of those tears—the grief, anger, and pain in her eyes.

I forced myself to hold her gaze, even though the weighted silence between us was the worst form of torture. After what felt like an eternity, she spoke, her words surprisingly calm. "I never knew that—about your birth parents. But if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that we're not responsible for the actions of our parents. We decide who we are and what we're going to be. No one else."

With that final parting statement, she rose and swam to the bedroom door. Just before she closed it behind her, she turned back to me and met my eyes, her gaze piercing. "Who are you going to be, Drew?"

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