The Broken Queen

Chapter 10

As soon as I arrived at Rosewood, the exterior looking as bad as it had the last time I'd been here—broken and in desperate need of repairs—I felt a chill run through me, as cold as the ocean floor. A servant swam forward, his blue eyes so dark, they were almost black, and gripped my arm. He dragged me through the house and out the back door, where a familiar stench filled my nostrils.

I turned back to the servant, but before I could so much as raise my hands, he was gone, leaving a chill in his wake. Bodies filled my vision, faces grey and sightless eyes staring up at the surface. Mermaids and merboys, they ranged from Drew's age to Bella's. A shudder rolled through my body as I swam to the first body, dragging it over to a familiar ravine. I repeated the process until no more bodies littered the seafloor.

I started to swim back, but as I did so, I was overcome by a wave of dizziness. My vision blurred as nausea rolled through me. I took gasping breaths, my heart pounding. Before I could so much as open my mouth to scream for help, my vision went fuzzy, then faded to black.

The familiar surroundings of my room at home stared back at me. A figure floated in the corner of the room, shadows veiling them from sight. I frantically fumbled for my dagger as the figure swam forward, his brown hair disheveled and green eyes hollow. Jay gently took my hand as he sat beside my bed. A shiver rolled through me when I felt his hand in mine. W-what happened?

He glanced at the door, as if making sure we were alone, then back at me. When he did, I noticed the exhaustion on his face. Dark circles were under his eyes, his normally tan skin was unusually pale, and his cheeks were hollow. My heart skipped a beat.

His hands were shaking as he signed, which only made my heart beat faster. We were out searching in Aegrem for hours. All of us. But we were too late. He took a breath, trying to collect himself. She killed them, Nerissa. Dozens of children, all in the dead of night.

I tried to swallow, but my mouth was bone-dry. My heart stopped as realisation dawned on me. Alyssa. David? It was all I could manage.

He ran a shaking hand through his hair. He's going from door to door, asking if anyone witnessed the attack.

My hands were raised, but before I could attempt to sign, the door opened. A mermaid slipped in, her onyx eyes wide and body tense. She quickly bowed to Jay, then swam to me. My lady. Are you alright? I heard what happened.

I was so relieved to see Claudia safe that I threw my arms around her. She hugged me back, her body relaxing as she did. With assistance from Claudia, I rose from the bed, ignoring the spinning in my head. Jay was immediately at my side, a hand on my arm. Where are you going? It's not safe.

My face was pale, but my eyes blazed with anger as I faced him. I won't sit back and hide while children are dying, Jay.

He stared at me for a minute, then nodded, kissing me deeply. Good luck.

I kissed him back, then swam out of the room. A hand braced on the wall beside me, I made my way out of the palace, stopping every so often to catch my breath. My dagger was still at my waist, thankfully, but that was it. All the other weapons were back in our room.

The swim to Aegrem's town square was slightly longer than normal, thanks to my having to rest and eat. When I finally arrived, what I saw broke my heart. Every house and building was severely damaged, if not destroyed. Mermaids and mermen picked through the rubble, hoping to find their precious belongings had somehow survived.

A hand landed on my shoulder, causing me to grab my dagger as I whirled around. Twin sets of grey eyes stared at me, filled with concern and worry. I loosened my hold on the dagger to grip Bella's hand, lest I collapse right there and then. Are you okay? What happened? Her hands were trembling as she signed.

I shook my head, suddenly overcome with exhaustion. David swam to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and leading me into an abandoned house. When we got inside, I collapsed into a chair, gratefully accepting the blanket that Bella handed to me. I wrapped it around my shoulders, struggling to dredge up the energy to sign.

Alyssa found me and took me back to Rosewood. As soon as I arrived, I knew something was off. A chill ran through my body, as cold as the ocean floor, as a servant swam up to me. He was holding a glass of bubble tea. I quickly gulped down the contents, realising belatedly that it was poisoned. The next thing I knew, I was in my bedroom at home, Jay at my side. That's when he told me about the attack. That both of you had been searching for hours.

I was panting as I signed the last words, exhaustion still weighing heavily on me. David brushed a stray curl off my forehead, his face grim. My energy was completely drained, but I managed to sign two words before my arms gave out. Any survivors?

Bella's face paled, her eyes filling with tears. Distraught parents, mostly. The youngest victim—a seven-year-old mermaid—was supposed to start at the school next week. All her parents could talk about was how excited she was to start school.

My heart broke. I met David's eyes and I could tell he was thinking the same thing: Alyssa.

All I wanted to do was curl up in bed and not move, but I couldn't. I had to see what was going on. See if what had occurred outside of Rosewood had anything to do with the attack. My muscles ached, my very bones throbbing as I slowly rose from the chair. Bella put a hand on my arm. You need to rest.

I shook my head. I'll be fine. Stay here in case Jay comes looking for me.

My teeth chattering, I pulled my cloak tighter around myself as I swam out of the house. The current was calm, the water still as I looked around, expecting Alyssa to be waiting to ambush me. When I'd assured myself that I was alone, I gathered my strength and swam to Aegrem.

As soon as I swam into town, familiar buildings and landmarks surrounding me, the ghosts appeared, one familiar face appearing in the mix. I stopped dead, my hand moving to the pendant at my throat. The dark-blue eyes—near-twin to my own—sparkled with malice as the merman grinned.

Tiger Shark. I froze, breathing shakily. Neither of us moved, just staring at each other. He inclined his head, as if acknowledging me, then hooked his thumb to the right. Toward the town square. I followed him, my heart thundering in my chest. As soon as we arrived, destruction greeted us. I swam through the rubble, my heart breaking anew as we came upon the school.

He swam ahead of me, stopping in the middle of the destruction. Bending down, he moved several large pieces of concrete, the muscles in his arms shifting with the movement. When he straightened, he was clutching something in his hand, but I couldn't tell what it was from that far away.

As he swam closer, the breath whooshed from my body all at once. The object he was holding glimmered in the light. A minuscule piece of sea glass, obviously part of a much larger design. The perle that I had made for Carla and the kids. Drew must've hung it up on the wall in his classroom. Cold dread washed over me as realisation stole my breath.

There was only one person who would've known about the piece I'd made. Known how important it was to Drew, Carla, and Faye. Their father. I shivered, clutching my cloak so tightly my knuckles were white. One question ran through my head as I swam home, filling me with equal parts of dread and fear: Was this his plan all along?

Read and review!