I thought that the guards would be doing a check-in on Delphine to make sure that she hadn't escaped, and then they would come back and report to the Queen, but unfortunately, that was not the case at all. We hid behind those pillars for a few minutes, praying to Pontus that they were not hurting Delphine. I didn't know how much life she had left in her, but I knew that it wasn't much.

"What do we do now?" Violet whispered. "There's only one thing we can do. We have to go down there," I answered. The others looked at me like I had just spoken another language they didn't understand, and some of their jaws dropped. "Are you insane? If we go back down there, we'll get captured, or worse," Klaus shook his head. "I have to save her. No matter what it takes," I said, looking towards the stairwell once again.

"How far are you willing to go to save Delphine?" Quigley asked. I loved her with all my heart. And I was willing to go to the ends of the earth to protect her. "I would die for her," I answered. "Okay, we'll go back down there with you and watch your back," Isadora sighed. Carefully, we crept out of our hiding spots and swam down the stairwell towards the dungeon. Please let her still be down here.

It took a lot of strength not to dash down the stairs to Delphine's cell. But eventually, I couldn't hold back the urge, and I swam down the last few steps and wrapped my fingers around the bars of the cell. But, Delphine was no longer there. "No, we're too late," Veronica gasped when she saw that the cell was empty. "It's never too late," I said, looking back at Veronica with a small ray of hope in my eyes.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a small gleam coming from inside of the cell. It was the small knife that Delphine was talking about. "We can't face the sirens without some form of protection. We need weapons," I said, continuing to stare at the blade. My hands slid down the bars of the cell and slowly opened the door. My fingers gently ran down the tip of the blade. And immediately, I felt a sharp pain. My finger starting bleeding, and I put it in my mouth, hoping that the bleeding would stop.

"I saw there were a few guards wearing chestplates when we arrived in Atlantis. Do you think there might be some here?" Veronica asked, looking at one of the nearby cells for small makeshift weapons. It may not have been one of the long staffs my father kept with him, but it was better than no weapon at all. "I found metal rods. I can try to fuse them together to make a sword," Violet said, tying her hair back with a piece of seaweed.

At the end of the hallway, I could see something was hanging from the rock wall. It looked very similar to the chestplates back home. Without hesitation, I swam to the end of the hall and grabbed the chestplate. I saw another chestplate was hanging just a few feet away, and I grabbed that as well. Eventually, I found enough chestplates for all of us, including a smaller one for Sunny.

"Put these on," I instructed as I passed them around. They complied, and we were now ready to save Delphine. But, there was still one small problem, I may have trusted Delphine's friends, but I still wasn't sure what their skill level in combat was. My father has taught me how to use a sword from an early age, and soon I became a master at the art. "Before we go, I need to know. How are your combat skills?" I asked.

Before they could answer my question, I heard the sound of screams. I knew right away that it was Delphine, and we quickly swam up the stairs towards the sound. It sounded like it was coming from the throne room. At this point, I didn't care if guards had spotted us. All that mattered was that we got to Delphine before something terrible happened to her. "Ah, Prince Arthuas, so glad that you and your friends could join us!" Queen Esme cackled.

She was sitting on a throne that appeared to be made of dark stone, and right next to her were her daughters, and then I saw Delphine struggling to breathe as Rose was holding Delphine by her neck, her nails beginning to dig into Delphine's skin. "Let her go! You're killing her!" I shouted, pointing the sharp end of the trident in Queen Esme's direction. "What if I refuse?" she asked.

"You touch another hair on her head, and I will break every single bone in your body," I growled. Delphine smiled at me slightly before wheezing once again. "Alright then, how about we make a deal?" Queen Esme offered, swimming towards me. I stood my ground even though I was terrified that she was going to do something to me.

"A deal?" I asked with a small amount of curiosity. "Yes, a deal," she confirmed, gently running her hand down my arm towards my neck. I was beginning to grow very uncomfortable, and it took a lot of strength for me not to stab her right then and there. "You give me the trident and surrender Atlantis, and I'll give you back your beloved. Or, I will take the trident and your kingdom by force," she whispered.

A/n: Sorry to leave this at a cliffhanger, but I thought that it would make the story more interesting. Will Arthuas take the deal and save Delphine? Or will he refuse and risk putting his entire kingdom in jeopardy? Find out in the next chapter when the battle begins!