Unsurprisingly, sleep eluded me that night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the tears in Naia's eyes and heard the pain in her voice. "'She ruined my life! Everything she has—the kingdom, love, and adoration—should have been mine!'"

My heart clenched painfully as King Marlin's face flashed through my mind. If anyone needed to know about the recent confrontation with Naia, it was him. With the stress we'd all been under the past two days, I knew no one had thought of sending a message to Nepptheas. Although I dreaded reopening that wound, I knew I'd want to discover the truth if I were in his position.

I felt Ani take a deep breath and shift underneath me a heartbeat before I heard her voice in the dark. "Are you awake?"

I took a breath, exhaling deeply before answering. "Yeah. Did I wake you?" Judging by the exhaustion weighing down her voice, I had a feeling the answer was no.

When she answered, I heard her voice crack. "No." I looked down at her and saw tears glimmering in her eyes, falling down her cheeks as she blinked. I knew she was furious with Naia and terrified for Della; adding those emotions to the tsunami inside her was a recipe for disaster. "I'm so tired."

I knew she meant more than just in the physical sense—though that was undoubtedly part of it. The exhaustion she felt was also mental and emotional. "I know, my love. I am, too." I hadn't stopped replaying my confrontation with Naia in my head since it happened. I took another breath and exhaled slowly before speaking.

"I was thinking of going to Nepptheas to check on and update King Marlin on..." I trailed off, my throat tightening as I saw Della's limp body in my mind. "What happened." I didn't dare say the words aloud, but I could tell by the agony in Ani's eyes that she knew what I meant.

Ani lightly trailed the fingertips of her good hand down my arm, the contact sending pleasant shivers through me. "I think that's a good idea. At the very least, you'll have warned him if Naia decides to show up unexpectedly. When were you planning on going?"

I kissed her forehead before sitting up and glancing out the window. The sun barely rose over the water, casting weak sunbeams into it. "After breakfast. I wanted to stop by the infirmary and check with Dr. Murphy to see if she's cleared you for the trip. We don't want to take any chances. Do you want to see if Della's awake before we go down?"

Mom had said she'd regularly brought food up but had no idea if Della had eaten. I desperately hoped she had. Both sisters needed time to heal, but I also had a feeling we hadn't heard or seen the last of Naia. I saw Ani's throat bob as she swallowed. "Sure."

I could hear and feel the hesitation in her voice and body, but I knew, despite everything, she was worried about her sister. We got dressed quickly and left the suite minutes later. Ani kept her arm wrapped around my shoulder as we swam, but I saw and felt her wince whenever someone rushed past us, jostling her arm.

When we swam in front of my parents' suite, I felt Ani shudder as she took a deep breath. "Della?" Her voice was small. "It's Ani and Drew."

I didn't see any trays of food outside, which I hopefully took to mean Della had eaten something. We waited anxiously as the seconds ticked by, both exhaling a ragged breath as a weak voice sounded from inside. "Ani?" Della's voice broke on a sob, and it was all Ani needed to open the door and swim inside.

Her arm didn't move from where she'd placed it around my shoulder as we swam inside. My eyes and ears perked up for any sign of danger. Just because Della was safe didn't mean Naia couldn't have secretly placed spies throughout the palace. If anything, our past interactions had taught me always to be wary. When I closed the door behind us, I finally exhaled, the tension disappearing from my body in that sound.

I led Ani to Della's side, gently easing her onto the bed. I spotted the cups of bubble tea, shrimp, lobster, and crab plates on her bedside table. "How are you feeling?" I met her gaze as the words left my mouth, silently asking if it was okay if I checked both wounds on her head. Her eyes softened when she read the unspoken words and quickly nodded.

My fingers gently brushed the hair off her forehead as she responded. "Better." As she winced slightly, I froze and pulled back to meet her gaze. She read the concern in my eyes and shook her head, leaning forward so I could inspect the back of her head. "I'm so stupid. I should have swum away when Naia showed up, but I didn't. I was lucky she didn't knock our mom out as well."

I let out a silent sigh of relief as I gently probed the back of her head. "Any nausea, dizziness, or headaches?" I made a mental note to get with Mom about scheduling a visit from Dr. Murphy. Della wasn't strong enough to swim to the infirmary, but we all would have felt better in the long run if Dr. Murphy had come and checked her out.

Della shook her head as Ani gently took her hand. "Occasional headaches, but other than that, just tired. How are you doing?"

I tried to keep my expression neutral, but I knew both Della and Ani could see the pain on my face. "I'm fine. Aside from a slap in the face, Naia didn't touch me." I exhaled heavily, rubbing a hand down my face.

"Let my parents know if you need anything during the day. Ani and I are going to Nepptheas after breakfast but should return by nightfall." I tried to sound confident, but my words came out flat.

Della glanced from Ani to me before nodding. "Ok. Be careful." I could tell she knew there was more I wasn't saying, but I couldn't get into it now. It was hard enough psyching myself up to swim to Nepptheas; forcing myself to confront the painful memories of Naia's and my conversation would be an entirely different matter.

Ani waited until we'd left the suite and were out in the hallway before speaking, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Are you sure you're up for this? After what happened..." She trailed off, but her unspoken words were painfully evident.

I squeezed her hand, taking another deep breath. "I'm fine. Let's grab a quick bite to eat and then get going." Even as I said the words, I recalled my thoughts yesterday about being unable to swim to the Whispering Reef or anywhere outside the palace. If I'd thought that yesterday, how could I possibly handle the swim to Nepptheas, which was more than two hours away?

Mom and Dad were already deep in conversation when we swam into the dining room, but both looked up as we approached. Ani and I popped a piece of shrimp into our mouths, the only thing our nerve-twisted stomachs could handle. "Ani and I are heading to Nepptheas to check on King Marlin. We should be back by nightfall."

At the speed we'd be going, we'd be lucky to reach it by nightfall. I'd already seen Ani favoring her injured wrist more than once. And the mere thought of swimming that far made my still-sore muscles protest. But I knew if I protested her going, she'd fight me. She wanted justice done for Queen Irvetta as much as I did, probably more so now, given Della's precarious injuries.

Mom glanced at Dad, who cast a worried glance my way before speaking. "Are you sure, Drew? Considering recent events, I don't think it's a good idea." He didn't outright say it, but I knew he was worried about another ambush from Naia.

I brushed off his concern, but deep down, a part of me agreed with him. "We'll stop by the infirmary to have Dr. Murphy examine Ani to ensure she's clear before we go." Despite my anger at Naia, I would never endanger Ani's or my safety—so I knew frequent stops would be necessary.

Mom finally nodded, looking from me to Ani before speaking. "Ok, sweetie. Be careful, and we'll see you both when you return." She rose to hug me, and Dad did the same to Ani.

We had just turned away when I suddenly whirled back around, remembering Della. "I'm also going to talk to Dr. Murphy about coming to check on Della. I know she's not strong enough to swim to the infirmary yet, but I think we'd all sleep better if Dr. Murphy came and checked her out."

Mom and Dad readily agreed and promised to check on her while we were out. It wasn't until we'd left the dining room that I loosed a heavy breath.

We swam silently to the infirmary, where a concerned Dr. Murphy greeted us. Her worry only deepened when I told her what was happening and where Ani and I were going. She'd scarcely opened her mouth before I spoke, my words tumbling out in a rush. "I already talked with my parents, and we agreed we'd get the all-clear from you before going."

I could all but sense the urgency bearing down on me, and I could tell by the tension radiating from Ani that she felt the same. Dr. Murphy gently took Ani's arm out of the sling, turning it this way and that to determine its range of motion. Aside from the occasional wince, Ani didn't make a sound.

When Dr. Murphy finally released Ani's arm, she took a breath before nodding. "As long as you take breaks when needed and aren't experiencing any major pain, you should be cleared. But be careful. Both of you," she added, looking from me to Ani.

She didn't know all of our family history, but she'd heard enough to get an inkling of what was going on. We both assured her we would, and it wasn't until we were about to leave that I remembered Della. "There's one more thing we wanted to talk to you about." My voice lowered instinctively as I felt Ani take my hand.

"Ani's sister Della is recovering from an... incident a few weeks ago. Aside from occasional headaches, she seems to be recovering well. As a family, we decided you should examine her since she isn't strong enough to swim to the infirmary."

I didn't mention Naia or Brandon lest she start to get worried. After a tense minute of silence, she finally nodded. "Okay. I'll come to see her tomorrow. Thank you for letting me know."

We both exhaled in relief and left the infirmary after thanking her. The sun was high in the sky, beams shining into the water and giving off a warm glow. It wasn't until we'd entered Nepptheas' palace that I spotted something flickering out of the corner of my eye.

I spun around, my hand going to the dagger hidden at my hip as I pushed Ani behind me. I blinked in surprise as I saw the sea glass ball resting on the driftwood stick built into the wall, protecting the molten, fiery substance inside.

Intrigued, I swam closer with Ani on my tail. A deep, smooth voice reached my ears a heartbeat before I looked up and saw the merman swimming toward us. "Drew, Ani. This is a surprise. Your parents didn't tell me you were coming." King Marlin smiled at us, but it didn't reach his eyes.

When he saw what we were examining, he raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Ah, I see you've noticed our newest creation. Realizing we couldn't always rely on the sun for light, I began to look for something else to provide it—preferably a portable source.

"I had several work crews go out and search the seafloor around the palace for lava. After they'd procured the former, they used broken pieces of driftwood and sea glass to create a torch. This is the first one we've used, but I plan to have many more built and sent out to the surrounding realms soon."

Ani and I just stared in awe. This invention would be a game-changer for merkind. When I found my voice, it was hushed. "It's incredible. It will benefit all the realms immensely."

King Marlin's excitement faded as he noticed the exhaustion on our faces. "Is everything okay?" Before either of us could open our mouths to respond, his eyes zeroed in on Ani's wrist, which she held tightly to her chest. "What happened?" He swam closer to us, and—despite myself—I pulled Ani closer to me.

The instinct to protect Ani from real or perceived threats was still too strong. "Naia Munroe attacked Ani's sister Della a few days ago." I took a deep breath before I laid out the details surrounding the attack, the confrontation, and the information I'd learned. Anger clouded King Marlin's eyes; his hands clenched into fists at his sides as his body tensed.

I knew the loss of Queen Irvetta was still fresh; it was a wound that would never heal. I knew because I felt the same way about Faye. "Naia is clearly unstable, and I shudder to think of what she and Brandon might be capable of. Warn everyone to use extreme caution when leaving their homes. We cannot know how or when she'll strike next."

King Marlin nodded. "Of course. Thank you for letting me know. You must be exhausted. Please rest and eat something before you return home."

I wanted to return to Pelathas to share King Marlin's invention with Mom and Dad, but Ani's weary expression made it clear we needed rest and food first. Ani gripped my hand as we followed King Marlin into the palace, the tension slowly draining from my body as we swam.

For the first time in a long time, I allowed myself to relax as we ate. Della was on the mend, and King Marlin had just invented something that would play a vital role in the survival of merkind. Maybe everything was going to be okay. After everything we'd been through, you'd think I'd know better than to hope for that.

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