Soon after our talk with Mom and Dad, Ani and I went to Beltmare. I brought an extra cloak for Ani, but other than that, we traveled light. My stomach somersaulted with nerves, but I didn't say anything. I didn't want Ani to think I was second-guessing my decision. When we finally reached the entrance, I took a sharp breath.

Ani didn't say anything, but I caught her glance out of the corner of my eye. Dusk had just begun to blanket the water when we approached the palace. I nodded to the guards at the front but didn't speak. No sooner had we swum inside did I hear a tiny squeal, followed by a musical voice. "Drew!"

A genuine but strained smile spread across my face as a blur of curly black hair hurtled toward me. I bent down and opened my arms as Elle flew into them, hugging me tightly. Her thin arms barely fit around my waist; she was so delicate. Elle had grown in the time we'd been apart. She finally looked like a five-year-old mermaid instead of a newborn. Her face glowed with happiness as she grinned up at me.

"What are you doing here? Mom and Dad didn't tell me you were coming." Her bubbly voice was music to my ears. I lifted Elle into my arms and straightened up, brushing a stray curl from her face. Before I could answer, she turned, noticing Ani for the first time. "Hello. My name is Arielle, but no one except my parents calls me that. You can call me Elle."

I couldn't help grinning as Elle reached a tiny hand toward Ani. The latter threw a grin my way as she extended her hand to Elle. "It's great to meet you, Elle. My name is Adriana, but everyone calls me Ani." Her voice was gentle but not in a childish way.

"C'mon, Lil Bit. Let's find your parents. They're probably wondering where you are." No sooner had the words left my mouth than a mermaid and merman emerged from the palace. Both had grins on their faces, but a dagger of worry pierced my heart when I saw Aunt Izzy's hands trembling as she reached for her daughter.

The young mermaid clung to her mother as she picked her up, burying her face in her hair. It wasn't until Elle faced me again that I noticed the pallor in her expression, identical to her mother's. Uncle Kai spoke before I could, smiling at Ani. "You must be Ani. I'm Kai, and this is my wife, Isadora."

Despite not being dressed in palace attire, both exuded a regal presence. Ani began to bow, her hand still clutching mine tightly. Uncle Kai touched her shoulder before she could complete the movement. "Please. We've heard so much about you. We're glad you and Drew could visit."

Though there was a smile on his face, and his voice was light, I sensed the tension surrounding them. Something had happened. He clapped me on the shoulder as the five of us entered the palace. "We were just about to have dinner. Would you two like to join us?"

I nodded, but my eyes flicked between his face and Aunt Izzy's. Before we reached the dining room, his grip tightened slightly on my shoulder, inclining his head for Aunt Izzy, Ani, and Elle to proceed. Ani's eyes flicked to mine, but I dragged a false smile to my face, nodding. Only when all three mermaids had disappeared into the dining room, Ani's bubbly laughter filling the space, did I speak, my voice low and tense.

"Did something happen? Is Elle okay?" I recalled the nightmares Aunt Izzy and Uncle Kai had shared that Elle had been having, but I'd assumed they'd improved or ceased since no one had mentioned them for a while. I scanned Uncle Kai's face as I waited for his response, worry surfacing in my gaze.

Weary eyes, encircled by fatigue, met my gaze; the stress etched on his face became evident as he let out a tense exhale. "Elle hasn't slept through the night since Faye's death. Either she doesn't sleep until someone is there with her, or she cries until she can no longer stay awake."

I could feel the worry and fatigue emanating from him; he looked as though he was seconds away from faltering. I frowned. "Has Elle specifically mentioned it? Maybe it's the trauma associated with someone she's close to being in danger."

When he shook his head, I saw his thoughts reflected in his eyes. "The trauma of her near kidnapping in the past has left her with a persistent fear of it ever happening again. I see it in her eyes when she clings to Izzy and me and cries herself to sleep. I hate it, Drew. I hate that our daughter has to live with that fear hanging over her every single day." I heard the agony of a heartbroken father in his voice as it broke on the last word.

I put a hand on his shoulder, my heart breaking as tears filled his eyes a heartbeat later. He faltered as he covered his eyes with a hand, and I lunged for him seconds before he would have hit the seafloor. Pent-up grief, agony, exhaustion, and worry came out in the form of uncontrollable tears. When his sobs finally lessened to choked whimpers, I heard him take a ragged breath and pull back to face me.

My voice was surprisingly steady as I spoke the words Aunt Izzy had told me only days ago. "We have to live. If only because Faye can't anymore." I saw him open his mouth, but I rushed on before he could speak. "Ani and I will do whatever we can to help her and both of you heal. But we can't grieve her forever." I think he knew I wasn't talking about Elle anymore.

We both turned when we heard Aunt Izzy's voice from the dining room. "Drew! Kai! The food's getting cold!" A burst of laughter immediately followed her words. My heart clenched as I recognized it as Ani's.

Forcing a lighter tone to my voice was an act of sheer will. I raised my voice slightly as I called back to Aunt Izzy. "We'll be right there!" When I spoke again, my voice was soft. "If Ani and I can help in any way, please don't hesitate to reach out to either of us."

Uncle Kai's only response was a barely perceptible nod. As we swam into the dining room, I felt more than saw the three pairs of eyes in the room land on us. We both forced shaky smiles onto our faces, but the tension between us was painfully obvious like a string stretched taut. Ani, holding Elle in her arms, scanned my face, then Uncle Kai's. "Is everything okay?" Her words were like a thunderclap, piercing the bubbly mood that had overtaken the room.

If anyone else noticed Uncle Kai's red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks, they didn't let on. I didn't say a word as I saw him swim toward Ani, take Elle from her, and then swim over to Aunt Izzy. He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing as he wrapped an arm around his wife and clutched their daughter close to his chest. I couldn't stop myself from swimming towards Ani and doing the same. She looked up at me, confusion and worry in her gaze.

I knew she had questions, but I wasn't sure I was ready to answer them. I spoke before she could, a tentative smile blooming across my face. "I'm starving. Has Elle ever had lobster before?"

Ani grinned, catching on. "Oh, it's so good. My parents and I used to eat it almost every day. Once she tries it, she'll beg for it at every meal." She reached down and grabbed my hand, squeezing hard. Thank you.

Aunt Izzy shook her head, smiling as she glanced at her daughter. "No. I suppose now's as good a time as any. What do you think, Elle? Want to try some lobster?" I heard the slightest hint of tentative joy in her voice and blinked furiously to stop the tears from escaping.

Elle's face lit up, her eyes widening as she nodded. As I scanned the long dining room table, I realized someone had prepared a feast. The lobster wasn't the only dish sitting in the middle of the table; surrounding it were plates of scallops, crab, mussels, and oysters. My mouth watered, and it was all I could do not to grab an oyster and cram it into my mouth.

Ever since Faye's death, keeping my family out of harm's way had been my sole objective—making sure I didn't lose anyone else. I squeezed Ani's hand back. You're welcome.

If banding together against the trauma and tragedy surrounding our family meant this—distracting an innocent young mermaid from experiencing what we had—I would do it for the rest of my life. We soon fell into lively, spirited chatter, bursts of laughter filling the water.

My heart swelled to the point of bursting as I glimpsed Elle gamely place a scallop in her mouth, grinning as her eyes lit up again. Uncle Kai roared with laughter, Aunt Izzy grinning as they gazed at their daughter. I recalled the latter's words for the umpteenth time, blinking against the tears in my eyes. "'We have to live. If only because Faye can't anymore.'"

As I looked down the table at our family, I realized that, unbeknownst to all of us (me included), this was the push we'd needed to get past the final stage of grief and move on. Mom and Dad had their own way of coping; I realized Ani and I had found ours. I looked out the nearest window at the surface, watching the moonlight shine into the water.

Ani suddenly laid her head on my shoulder, her body shaking with laughter. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face. I wished more than anything that Faye and Ani could have met. I knew without a doubt that they would have immediately hit it off. Faye's untimely death had ultimately been the catalyst that set off the chain of events leading up to Ani and I meeting.

I would be forever grateful to Faye for that. Whether she realized it or not, Ani had been the missing piece I'd searched for since Faye's death. She completed me. As I looked at her, glowing with happiness and laughter, I knew she felt the same.

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