Beyond The Depths

Chapter 24

Despite the nightmares that had plagued me as I slept, I woke up the following morning with a sense of renewed purpose. After the events of yesterday, I had no doubt Mom and Dad were still asleep. Kai was fast asleep, his steady and even breathing giving me strength. My head was clear; my eyes bright as I hurriedly got dressed and swam downstairs.

I had barely gotten to the entryway before I was stopped. An exhausted smile found its way onto my face as I stared at the mermaid in front of me. Rochelle had an earnest expression on her face, her eyes hopeful as she dipped her head. "Your Highness. I heard about yesterday and wanted to check on you and your parents. How are you?" Rochelle's voice was soft, almost a whisper.

My heart swelled, my throat tightening. I suddenly threw my arms around her, hugging her tightly. She stiffened, but relaxed a heartbeat later. "I'm so glad to see you. I need your help," I told her as we broke apart.

Her face creased in confusion. "Help with what?" Rochelle asked.

I quickly relayed my plan to her, stumbling slightly over the part about Tiger Shark. When I finished, her face was white. "What can I do to help?"

As the words left her mouth, all of the tension in my body vanished. "We need to clean the place up. It hasn't been updated in quite a while." My heart skipped a beat. We were really doing this. After all these years, we were finally cleansing Rosewood Manor of the pain, fear, and anger hidden within the walls.

Indeed, when we arrived at Rosewood hours later, I had to bite back a shudder. I could practically feel the aforementioned emotions leaking from behind the doors. I closed my eyes, breathing deeply, calming my heart and clearing my mind. I had no idea what we were swimming into, and I needed all of my strength for what we might find in there.

Rochelle slipped her hand into my own, the motion drawing my gaze to hers. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to." Her voice was gentle, calming.

I took another steadying breath. "No. I'm ready." My hand trembled violently when I placed it on the doorknob. Before I had so much as turned the knob, it opened. I blinked rapidly as my eyes adjusted to the dim light streaming in through the various windows in the entryway. "Hello?" I called out.

Silence greeted us, and I had to force myself to keep going. I had the two daggers at my sides, but Rochelle was defenseless. I couldn't say I really expected there to be a response, but I was prepared for one nonetheless.

To my left, a staircase led to the first set of bedrooms and servants' quarters. Directly across from it was another staircase that led to the second set of bedrooms, library, and sitting room. The kitchen and living room were the only rooms on the first floor.

We'd barely reached the landing of the first staircase when I felt it—a physical tug in my chest as if a string was being pulled taut. Wordlessly, I swam to the first open door I saw and suddenly stopped short, as if I'd run into a wall. It was a study of some sort.

A single image—a memory, I guessed—came alive before my eyes. Tiger Shark was floating before a work table, a book open in front of him. In the memory, his back was to me, but I didn't move nonetheless.

His head was thrown back, his arms outstretched as ghosts surrounded him, too many to count. A shocked gasp slipped from my mouth and I clapped a hand over my mouth to cover it, realizing belatedly that he couldn't hear or see me.

Before I could even begin to process what I'd seen, I felt a sense of claustrophobia overtake me. I swam like mad to the entrance, throwing the doors open and swimming out into the open water. When the hand landed on my shoulder, it was all I could do to not reach for the daggers at my waist.

Rochelle's eyes were wide with worry as she scanned me. "Are you okay? What happened in there?"

I couldn't answer her; my breathing was too fast, too rapid. I closed my eyes, forcing my breathing to steady, my mind to calm. Conjuring images of Kai and my parents in my mind, I clung to them with everything I had. After a few minutes, I felt calm enough to speak.

"I—I'm okay." My head throbbed and I bit my tongue to keep from crying out. I took a deep breath, exhaling forcefully. Rochelle waited patiently beside me, never saying anything.

My hands shook slightly as I glanced at her. "I'm okay. Let's go back in." I could see the doubt, the worry in her eyes, but I swam away before she could comment.

Just as it had earlier, the aforementioned string began to pull taut inside me. I followed it to a room that I assumed was supposed to be a bedroom. It was small—barely big enough for the bed and bathing room. A closet had to be attached to the bathing room, but I didn't investigate it.

I floated in place for several moments, waiting for... something. When nothing happened, I busied myself with cleaning up the room. When it was finally done, I swam back and looked at it appreciatively. It looked cozy and inviting.

I did the same with the others, not stopping until every room was made up. My muscles felt tight, my body weary. All I wanted to do was lie down and sleep. I met Rochelle near the entryway, noticing her exhaustion was almost as heavy as mine.

"Ready to go back?" I asked, suddenly barely able to keep my eyes open. She nodded, clasping my hand. I didn't let go until we'd reached the palace.

I hugged Rochelle, thanking her for today before finally making my way to our suite. With a jolt, I realized that I hadn't told Mom, Dad, or Kai what I'd done—why I'd been gone the whole day. Indeed, the latter was in front of me before I'd even shut the door.

"Where'd you go today? When I woke up, you were gone. I checked with your parents, but they said they hadn't seen you." His expression was steady, but I could detect a hint of panic in his voice.

Remembering a time when we'd been in a similar situation had me fighting back pangs of guilt. I hated making any of them worry, but I reassured myself that, in time, I'd tell them everything. Just not yet.

"Sorry," I mumbled, my voice barely audible. "I had to take care of something." A stark realization settled over me as I closed my eyes, something I hadn't let myself consider: reliving the trauma of my time at Rosewood had reopened some wounds that I wasn't ready to face.

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