Unsurprisingly, ghosts haunted my nightmares that night. But they weren't familiar faces, as they had been the last time. These were little mermaids and mermen. Instead of laughter and smiles on their faces, fear and horror were etched onto their features.

These were some of Tiger Shark's... kills, I realized with no shortage of horror. I never thought he would stoop this low. But then again, I supposed I shouldn't be surprised. My vision suddenly blurred, a sign that I had come to recognize as my body waking up.

I jerked awake, breathing heavily as I quietly got dressed, grabbed my bag, and left our bedroom. I'd barely swum out in the open water before I felt someone behind me. A hand on my shoulder had me reaching for a dagger hidden in my belt as I whirled around.

Emerald-green eyes met mine, filled with horror. Naia. I released my dagger, gripping her arm instead. Did you know about this? My hands trembled as I signed.

She shook her head, face deathly pale and eyes wide as she stared at the bodies. No. But... She looked at the ground, taking a steadying breath before looking back at me. Nerissa, I have to tell you something.

Her own hands were shaking as she signed. I could feel the tension in her body as if it was my own. When you were about 14 and I was 12, we had gone to a ball in one of the neighboring villages. I normally stuck with you when we'd go to one of those, but I decided that I would try to talk to people. A merman had caught my attention—I noticed he'd been sneaking glances at me throughout the night. I finally gathered my courage and introduced myself. His name was Brandon, and he was one of the funniest guys I'd ever met. We kept in touch after the ball and had snuck out to meet a few times.

She paused, exhaling shakily. He was my best friend, Rissa. I felt safe with him—like I could tell him anything. In no time, we were swapping personal experiences with one another. One night, we had met up in an abandoned kelp forest and were just watching the fish swim above us. Without any warning, he suddenly gripped my hand, his free one clutching an amulet around his neck. With every second that passed, I felt weaker and weaker, like he was sucking the life force out of me.

Tears filled her eyes, quickly spilling down her cheeks. I must've blacked out, because the next thing I knew, I was in Rosewood Manor, a familiar figure in the room with me. She didn't elaborate, but I knew who she was referring to. He explained how he'd saved my life using magic and introduced himself. When he mentioned you and Meri, I knew I had to get out. But before I could so much as rise from the bed, he was clutching his pendant and my wrist. I must've passed out because I don't remember anything after that.

I was shaking my head as I backed away, feeling as if my heart had been ripped out of my chest. Her eyes were pleading as she gazed at me. Please, Rissa. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have kept this from you. Please don't be angry with me. 

I hurriedly swam back inside, struggling to breathe. Jay took my arm and lead me into our bedroom. You wanna talk about it? Or sleep? Underneath that concern, however, I sensed a deeper emotion: anger. Not at me, but at himself. For not being there for me.

I raised my hands, but a sob escaped me before I could so much as form a letter. Jay wrapped his arms around me, letting me release the disbelief, anger, and sadness that had been trapped inside since Naia had found me.

After my tears had subsided, I took a shaky breath. I killed Tiger Shark. For real this time. He's dead.

Jay's expression was shocked, to say the least. He gently kissed me, looking into my eyes. I love you. Nothing or no one could ever change that. Don't worry about Naia. If she shows back up, we'll deal with her.

I fell asleep with his words in my head, hoping that I hadn't just made the biggest mistake of my life.

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