We kept swimming for what seemed like hours, and I was starting to worry that Arthuas was going to wake up at any moment and wonder where I was. But, the look of sympathy on Veronica's face from when I told her the truth made me feel slightly better. But when the thought of telling the Baudelaires and Quagmires crossed my mind, the small knot in my stomach became tighter and tighter, like someone was ripping out my organs one by one.

"Guys, I think this is it!" Duncan called out to us. When I looked forward, I could see a wall of rocks come into view. "Quigley, is this the border you were talking to us about?" I asked, looking over at him as he fumbled around with the map. "If my calculations are correct, this should be it," he answered. I was very hopeful that the trident would be around here somewhere. I didn't want to risk us getting caught by any sirens that may be lurking nearby.

When we approached the wall, the eight of us immediately swam to the ocean floor and began digging through the sand, hoping that Poseidon had hidden the trident there. "Guys, I don't think Poseidon would hide the trident in the sand. That's the first place you would look," Violet said after we spent a few minutes digging around in the sand. She was right. It was an obvious hiding spot. He would make it a challenge if Queen Esme was looking for it.

"She's right. If you were hiding the trident from your rival, where would you hide it?" Klaus asked. That was a hard question, but we needed to come up with answers. "Would you hide it in a pile of rocks?" Duncan asked. "Not any pile of rocks. That's another obvious hiding spot," Klaus shook his head. I looked around the area. There weren't a lot of hiding places you could hide the trident. It wouldn't make sense to hide it amongst seaweed and kelp; it wouldn't blend in well. The sand wasn't an option either.

Then, it hit me. There was only one place the trident could be hidden if the rumor was true, and the answer was right in front of us. "Delphine, what is it?" Veronica asked. "There's only one answer. If you were hiding the trident, you would hide it underneath the rock wall," I answered. "I think you may be right, Delphine. The trident could be hidden underneath the wall. But, there's only one problem, how are we going to get underneath it?" Violet asked, looking back at the wall, trying to think of a solution.

"I only know one way. We have to dig," Veronica answered. We nodded in agreement and began to dig into the moist sand. It was weird digging through sand to find the trident, but it was the only way we could get to it. To make it more troubling, we had to dig slowly. Because if we went too fast, it would cause a giant cloud of sand and get into our gills. But, after some time had passed, we had finally reached underneath the rock wall, and to my surprise, I saw the trident was lying down in the sand a few feet underneath it.

"I found it!" I called out to the others. Carefully, I pulled it out, making sure not to scratch it against the rocks and potentially damage it. "I can't believe it! We finally found it!" Klaus gasped. "We can go home!" Sunny smiled. Everyone started swimming around in circles, smiling and giggling while I just stared at the trident in disbelief. I couldn't believe that I was holding it in my hands. "Wait until Prince Arthuas and King Nereus see this trident!" Isadora smiled for the first time since she met me.

"Delphine, I think you need to tell them the truth now," Veronica whispered. She was right. If I didn't tell them now, it would cause a lot of confusion. "Guys, there's something I need to talk to you about," I sighed. Everyone stopped dancing around and stared at me. "I lied to you guys. I didn't tell Arthuas and King Nereus about us being humans," I admitted, feeling the knot in my stomach untether itself.

It was silent for a moment, and then someone burst into laughter. "You're joking, right?" Duncan chuckled. I shook my head, and the laughter stopped and was replaced with looks of disbelief. "So, we just risked our lives to find this trident, and you lied to us saying the prince knows the truth about us? Are you embarrassed that we're humans?" Isadora asked, swimming towards me with the look of disbelief still on her face.

"No, of course not! I was scared to tell you guys. I knew something like this would happen," I sighed. The look on Isadora's face turned into a bright red with rage, and without warning, she slapped me across the face. My left cheek stung, and I looked back at her with extreme guilt. "I knew it was a mistake to trust you," Isadora hissed before returning to her brothers.

"How could you lie to us, Delphine? We're your friends," Klaus asked, his voice shaking slightly. "It's not her fault, Klaus. She couldn't work up the courage to do it," Veronica said, gently placing a hand on my shoulder. Klaus looked over at her with disbelief. "You knew about this?" he asked. I looked over at her and Klaus, knowing about the fallout I had caused. If only I hadn't lied to them, this chaos would've never happened.

"We're supposed to not keep secrets from each other, Veronica. If you keep secrets from me, how can I trust you?" I heard Klaus whisper to her. "Maybe you can't," she answered. Klaus let out a sigh and looked over at me. Without another word, he snatched the trident away from me and swam back to the others.

"Guys, please, I'm sorry," I pleaded as I felt tears begin to pinprick at my eyes. "You know what, Delphine. I thought you were brave, but your nothing but a coward and a liar. Come on, Veronica, we're leaving," Violet sighed. I looked back at Veronica, who had a look of sadness on her face. "Veronica, please don't leave me here," I begged. She said nothing but swam towards the group.

"You guys are just going to leave me here? Guys, we're near the Siren kingdom! Sirens could come from everywhere. I don't want to be siren food!" I begged. The others turned around once again. But this time, instead of the looks of disbelief, their eyes were as wide as saucers. "D-Delphine, don't move," Veronica called out. I didn't know why they were telling me to stay still, but I complied.

But, at the same time, I couldn't help but wonder what was going on. When I turned around, I was face-to-face with one of the sirens that I had seen before. Before I had the chance to scream, the siren started singing, and I became hypnotized by her voice. I could hear faint muffled sounds, but the main thing I could hear was the siren. I felt myself floating slightly, and I felt my tail move up and down as I followed her, away from my friends and into the Siren kingdom.

To be continued...