One
 
My hands plunge deep in the loamy soil and the hum of thousand happy lettuces soothes the jagged ache in my chest. The only peace to be found at the Institute is here in the hydroponic farm, until, that is, a familiar voice disrupts my reverie.
“I knew I’d find you here.”
My mother’s red skirt-suit is lurid against the beds of greenery as she strides toward me. I want to keep listening the rhythmic song of the contented root system pulsing through my fingers —not her—and definitely not the memories that will surge back the minute I pull my hands from the soil.
“I do work here, as you recall. It was your idea. Just like everything else.”
Drawing closer, she studies me, her brown eyes soft. “Working here has been good for you, Rosalie, hasn’t it?”
I keep my fingers buried and stare down at the ruffled folds of the butterhead lettuce. It’s so much easier to worry about their needs and block out everything else. “Lettuce makes good company,” I say.
“Rosalie,” she says, laying a cool manicured hand on my filthy forearm. “Get washed up and come see me.”
My eyes mist over at the thought of what Tyler would say if he were alive, but I know better than to argue with my mother. I don’t even want to think about what Liam would say.
***
Crimson and pale blue light streams through the mullioned stained-glass windows of my mother’s office. The mahogany desk she sits behind may dwarf her, but the effect is the same as at our steel and glass California home. Here, where the voices of the plants in the Institute’s city of greenhouses can’t speak to me, she is in control.
Once I’m showered and dressed in the simple muslin tunic and pants all the novices wear, my wet auburn waves gathered into a messy knot, I’m admitted past the sentinels who guard the Council’s inner sanctum.
The foreboding silence of these wood-paneled halls, warded to block out all probing eyes and minds, never fails to give me the willies. Even so, it beats the horrors that assault me when I’m alone in the dorm room I share with Aurora.
Technically, I’m not really a novice. I’m just Rosalie Gates, the novelty—the Councilor’s precocious daughter who didn’t know what she was doing when she almost destroyed an island while believing she was going to save it.
I fidget in the leather upholstered seat, the fabric itchy against my still-healing scars. The explosion I triggered reduced the Garden on Salttain Island to a third of its original size and killed Randy Lambert, the island’s head tyrant and menace.
It nearly blew off both of my legs, but now jagged welts that interrupt the flesh of my thighs and calf are the all that’s left of my injuries. Only the skilled healers of the People of the Hand would have been able to restore me to my current state of good health.
I pull in a breath, pushing back thoughts of Liam. Of how those same healers could save me, but still can’t figure out how to save him—the boy I love—from a curse that has banished him from a life on land. Liam is a sore topic between my mother and me, a circular argument that gets us both exactly nowhere.
I clear my throat while she arranges papers on her already-neat desk. She knows I’m edgy in the churchlike silence of her sanctuary —not a friendly plant in sight. I’m pretty sure this is by design.
Finally, she looks up from her desk. The kind, motherly expression is replaced by the cunning gaze of a woman who wears her power as easily as a silk scarf. “There’s going to be a Tribunal.”
Shock rips through me. “A Tribunal? Are they putting me on trial?”
She breaks into a sunny smile. “Of course not, darling! You are a hero, a person of great valor and merit.” But her eyes are frosty now, not warm and motherly.
“Right. You worked your magic again. How do I know what I remember is real?”
“I promised I would never tamper with your memories again without your consent. Everything you recall is the truth.”
My heart hammers. Though the healers taught me breathing exercises to calm my racing mind when there are no plants to comfort me, it’s not working now. “So, what is it and why should I care?”
“It’s about consent.”
“Stop talking in riddles, Mom. What is a Tribunal for? Do they want to coronate me the Queen of Plants? Or interrogate me?”
My mother smiles and shakes her head. “You’re to be given a choice, Rosalie. Did you think you were going to spend your days moping around and watching salad grow?”
“It’s a worthy occupation. The Institute needs to eat.”
She rises and walks to one of the heavy wood cabinets that line her office, opens a drawer, removes a small scroll, and reads. The room spins as the words hit me. Forget, forget, forget…My mother is trying to soften the terrible message that I am not safe. That I can never be safe as a full member of the People of the Hand, and even here, within this warded fortress on a bleak island off the coast of Nova Scotia, I am not safe. That I pose a threat to everyone around me.
“Rosalie, I’m sorry but there’s no other way, though ultimately it’s only you who can decide.”
“So, my choice is to either forget everything I know about the People of the Hand or live a life where any second might be my last?”
“Essentially, yes,” she says. “I can help you make a new start.”
I stand abruptly, almost knocking the chair backward. “And that means exactly what?”
“As I was saying,” my mother continues, “the Tribunal will offer you a choice. Pledge a life of servitude to the People of the Hand and your training will begin at once. It will be grueling, relentless, and brutal to make up for lost time, or…you can simply walk away and continue our old life. You’ll find yourself on a plane to Maine to study environmental science.”
I gasp. Electric rage crackles through my arms. The marks on my palms burn as if I’ve been branded. “Forget everything? Tyler? Dad?… Liam?” I choke on his name, the salty tears gagging me. “How can you even…”
She cuts me off with a raised hand, her own marks glowing an unearthly red. I calm down, sitting back in my chair, outraged. This is the first time I’ve experience her power in action—and remember it.
 “Darling, I said this is your decision to make.”
“Of course, it is. As long as it’s one you approve of.”
“It’s not like that, Rosalie. The Council thought it should offer one last chance to bow out. You’re not like the other novices. You’re…”
“I’m a special snowflake. But apparently, too stupid to defend myself.” I get up to leave. “Thanks for the update.”
“Stop!” My mother’s raised voice stuns me. I freeze, my hand on the golden doorknob.
As she approaches me, her tone is conciliatory and though her eyes are red and moist,  not a single hair on her shiny bob is out of place. “I’m so sorry it’s come to this, my lovely girl,” she says. “You have to believe that everything I’ve done is to protect you. But perhaps if you come with me now, there’s something that will better inform your decision.”
I’m still standing at the door like a deer in the headlights, as I watch her touch a crystal paperweight on her desk, causing a large rectangle of the parquet floor to slide open, revealing an actual trap door.
“Come, dear, won’t you?” She gestures toward the opening, where a torch-lit staircase descends to unknowable depths.
I look at her questioningly. “Your escape hatch?”
She lifts a brow, her dark eyes twinkling. “Every girl needs one, don’t you think?”
I shrug and follow.
***
The stairs lead us down to a network of torchlit hallways carved out of the island’s rocky bowels that wind and twist until we reach a rusted iron door. My mother pulls out a familiar key, a replica of one of the many I’d found and lost on Salttain Island. She turns to look at me, eyes narrowed. “Are you sure you’re okay, Rosalie?”
I smile reassuringly, but my heart races, my normal state when I’m not elbow deep in planting soil. The vestiges of my mother’s calming influence still have a hold on me, but I’m surprised at how easily I’ve been able to shrug it off.
She returns the smile, unbolts the heavy door, and beckons me to follow her inside yet another torchlit hallway. I tread after her, anxious thoughts eroding my equilibrium. It’s been like this ever since they released me from the infirmary. Unless I’m talking to lettuce.
All I want to do right now, before the sharp pang of grief slams me, is to get back to my crops. To forget the Tribunal and my mother’s dramatics.
I blink. Didn’t she say that’s exactly what the Tribunal is going to offer? A chance to escape the torment of my mind, which, according to my mother is about to get worse?
Our footsteps echo through the damp corridors until we come to a low-ceilinged grotto. The still pool at its center glows pale blue from an unseen light source. Machinery that beeps and blinks with various buttons and screens lines the rock walls. Thin tubes snake from the equipment to the pool.
“What is this place?” I mutter, “Frankenstein’s laboratory?”
My mother offers her best enigmatic smile and shrugs. “Something like that.”
I shake my head, feel the beginnings of a headache pulsing behind my eyes. I wondered if I’m developing an addiction to salad greens. My thoughts are interrupted by a sudden ripple of the water as a figure rises from the pool’s depths.
Long black hair plastered to his head, swathed in a slick black wetsuit poked through with a myriad of tubes, a dripping wet Liam regards me with his one silver eye.
I’m too speechless to respond as he smiles and says, “Join me, won’t you, Rosalie? I’d come to you, but as you can see, I’m a little, er…tied up at the moment.”
Without considering the how or why of his appearance in his human skin, I plunge into the pool and let him sweep me into his wet arms.

Two
I try to avoid looking at Liam’s scarred face or his missing eye. I don’t care about the details that brought him to me, or my mother’s reasons for doing so. Instead, I close my eyes and lift my head to meet his lips as he leans in to kiss me. My mother clears her throat, breaking our moment of intimacy. “I’ll be just outside,” she says with forced cheeriness.
I don’t acknowledge her departure, but as soon as the door slams, Liam pulls away from me. “We only have a few minutes,” he says, his voice wary. “This meeting is completely unauthorized.”
I try to pull him closer, but he resists and places his hands on my shoulders to keep my from coming any closer.
“You know I don’t care how you look,” I say. “I just want to be with you.”
“Rosalie, it’s not about how I look. Your mother is taking a tremendous risk allowing me to be here in my human skin.”
I take a quick look around and realize where we are. “So, this is the therapeutic laboratory for magical creatures. But why ---”
Liam cuts me off. “I know what you're going to say. Why are they salvaging my skin if I can never wear it?”
My chest tightens at the thought of the curse that still binds him and keeps him a captive of the sea. “Then what, Liam? Why are we meeting if you don’t want us to be together?”
Liam closes his eye and takes a deep breath before meeting my gaze again. “The Tribunal's offer. I want to convince you to leave the Hand. Forever.”
My ears ring. For a moment, I’m frozen, my limbs rigid with shock. “You know that means that I’ll… I forget I ever knew you. How can you even think of asking me to do that?”
He drops his hands from my shoulders and takes a step back. I’m shaking from head to toe in the chilled water at the loss of his touch.
“To free you.”
Hot tears leak from my eyes. “I don’t want to be free of you, Liam. Ever.”
“You know the situation is hopeless,” he says. “The Coucil never release me from the curse, no matter how much influence your mother thinks she has. Do you want to live with the constant reminder that the boy you love is an underwater creature you can never truly be with? When I’m in seal form—the memory of you becomes easier for me to bear. It’s…Rosalie,” his voice falters. “It’s not what I want…but it’s for the best.”
My face is hot, my chest a cauldron of rage. Fresh anger courses through me. How can he say this? “You’re telling me to walk away and forget you? If there’s no hope for you, why are they repairing your skin?”
Liam fixes me with a forlorn look that pierces me to my core. “It’s the law, Rosalie. They’re duty bound to heal and preserve my human skin, whether I can use it or not.”
“But there’s always hope, isn’t there? If I don’t remember you, how can I break the curse?”
His jaw clenches, the silver eye glaring at me. “Haven’t I made that clear? There is no hope. Only you living with the memory of me, you refusing to move on. And me, stuck, knowing I’m the reason you’ve ruined your life. How can I live with that?”
“But,” I start, “you said when you’re a seal, it’s not that hard to forget me.”
“Rosalie,” Liam says, his voice taking on urgency. “This is the best way forward. You live your life, make a difference in the world. Let Alicia worry about breaking my curse. She’s..she’s promised if I can convince you to leave the Hand, she will do that for me. And she’ll..she’ll arrange for us to meet at least once a year. Until…” He looks away, trails off, then continues. “You no longer wish to.”
The terrible words float between us like a thousand tiny knives until they hit their mark and slice through me. “How can you think I would…oh fuck.” I squat down in the cold water and bury my face in my hands. “Oh fuck, fuck fuck” I repeat, the marks on my palms illuminating the dark space behind my hands.
I close my eyes against the bright marks, against my tears, and the thudding of my heart. Against my mother’s cruelty for forcing Liam to deliver these words to me. Because as I stand here in this freezing pool, I’m certain. These are not his wishes.
These are hers.
Liam pulls me to my feet and nestles me against him, the slick wetsuit a poor substitute for the warmth of his flesh. “You should do what’s best for you, Rosalie. And that’s living your life as you had intended to before coming to Salttain. Membership in the Hand is not a life. It’s a mantle to bear, an unending service to duty. To war.”
He pulls away to look me over, his face immeasurably sad. “If you join the Hand, I could lose you forever. You’re a target, Rosalie. You can never truly be safe, no matter how well you hone your skills.”
My mouth falls open. “So, you’re advising me to run and hide so I don’t have to take any risk? Do you really think if I forget the Hand and its enemies, they’ll forget me?”
“Your mother successfully concealed you for eighteen years,” he says, his voice grave.
“Until she couldn’t. What makes you think it will work this time? And when they do find me, I’ll be a defenseless dupe, with no skills and no understanding of what I’m up against. Is that what you wish for me?”
He shakes his head. “Of course, it isn’t. But your mother managed your concealment alone. This time she will have the full backing of the Council to protect you.”
“Right,” I say, my frustration growing. “And you’re good with that?”
He looks down at the rippling waters, then back at me. “I’m fresh out of choices, Rosalie. But you’re not. And your mother has promised to let us be together once a year for an entire week. In the Garden. Your memories will return. I’ll be fully healed. Won’t that be worth it?”
I gnash my teeth. “It’s a bribe, Liam. And I can’t believe you’re falling for it.”
He heaves a deep sigh. “Stubborn as always. But I can’t support your entry into the Hand. I’ll live in fear, stuck as a seal, unable to help you.”
I meet his gaze, the cold water making my teeth chatter. “But also knowing that I’ll be doing everything I can to help release you from this unfair curse.”
“Please,” he says, then shudders as if the chill water has suddenly affected him, too. “You can’t save me. You can only get yourself killed. There are forces out there I don’t fully understand. Dangerous entities that will want to destroy you… or”
“Then it’s worth the risk.”
The iron door swings open, and I hear my mother’s heels clop across the wet cement.
Liam pulls me to him in one last hungry kiss and I cling to him before he wrenches away.
“It’s time for me to go, Rosalie,” he says, sinking into the water. “But remember…whatever choice you ultimately make, I will never forget you.” 
I watch, heartbroken, as the water bubbles and froths as an object, resembling a wet garment rather than a human boy, floats to the water’s surface.
 

Three
I flee from my mother’s office. The guards escort me to the grand public rotunda where every novice in the Institute has apparently gathered.
I slink around the perimeter of the space, trying to avoid the groups of laughing children, teens, and young adults. As I watch them, a pang of longing for what I’d missed growing up as an exile in California, not as a member of the People of the Hand.
All of it because of my mother’s paranoia. Despite everything I’ve done, she wants me to forget our history, our legacy. Forget Liam. I swipe away angry tears as I try to gather my thoughts.
Just my luck. Aurora, Liam’s twin is there, flanked by our fellow novice, Jessica Trang. Though Aurora has more time on land than her brother, she is still, nevertheless, under the same unjust curse. It was forced on them as children at the behest of Randy Lambert, the man who tried to destroy the island of Salttain.
The man I defeated.
Aurora and I have shared memories and pain that have brought us closer, despite our initial intense dislike for each other. Forgetting my new life would also mean abandoning her.
I try to slip past them, but it’s too late. Aurora hooks me by the arm. “Going somewhere, Gates? You don’t want to miss the People’s Circus, do you?” 
“Foiled.” I say, sighing, and glance up at the trapeze artists cavorting above us under the rotunda’s soaring dome.
Aurora snickers. “Isis and Vlad will be highly insulted. No pun intended,” she adds.
Our brother and sister suitemates, trapeze artists and gymnasts who hail from Little Diomede Island in the Bering Sea, have the interesting habit of walking on the outsides of buildings and popping in windows.
The Institute is a crossroads, the North American seat of governance, medical research facility, and Academy for the People of the Hand, the secret civilization I find myself to be a member of.
Descendants of Atlantis diaspora, The People guard their existence—and their magic— from ordinary humans with a zeal bordering on mania. We possess all manner of powers, minor and major, useful and ridiculous.
I’m still not completely sure what mine are, other than to blow things up and talk to plants. But it was Tyler’s extraordinary ability to null and unravel the power of others caused Randy to view him as a threat—and kill him.
Magic or no magic, throw a few hundred teens together in a military school and the result is the same. It’s not really that different than my old school in California, Bayport Academy. Except the clothes lack designer labels.
Except the girl standing beside Aurora somehow makes our plain muslin tunics look like a fashion spread from Vogue. Jessica Trang, the epitome of supernatural mean girl, tosses her silky black hair behind a slim shoulder. She glances at me, then looks away with exaggerated indifference as if I’m one of the wait staff currently offering us fizzy pink drinks on a tray.
I still haven’t determined what her ability is besides being heir to a Korean software dynasty and spending her prodigious allowance on designer handbags, since she’s duty bound to wear the same sack cloths we have to wear.
But Issy’s and Vlad’s talents are on full display. Issy, clinging to the column above us, shakes the bouncy blond curlicues from her eyes and waves down at us.
If I don’t get out of here fast, I’m going to start crying and tell Aurora everything. I’m no good at hiding things from her. How can I tell her that her brother told me he wants me to walk away from everything. To return to my life where science was everything and magic did not exist. Where Liam doesn’t exist.
“I-I—my lettuce needs me,” I stammer. “I was interrupted before I finished my rounds.”
Aurora levels me a doubtful stare. “Issy’s seen you. You can’t just leave. That’s rude, Rosalie.”
My gaze lands on the exit at the opposite end of the rotunda. “They stroll across our suite ceiling on a regular basis.”
“It’s not the same,” Aurora says. Jessica tosses her hair again and harrumphs.
“What’s with her, anyway?” I hiss, still trying to wrench my arm free from Aurora’s hold, my throat tight with the tears I’m desperate to hold back.
“Who knows? Irregularity caused by the board up her ass?” Aurora laughs. “Seriously, she’s not that bad once you get to know her.”
“She won’t let me near her. But I know a few beds of lettuce that will, so if you will please let go of me?”
Aurora meets my gaze, her eyes shrewd. “Listen, Our Lady of Salad Greens,” she whispers, pulling me out Jessica’s earshot. “I’m a goddamn Siren and you’re not fooling me. You’re a terrible actress. What the fuck is wrong? Or should I say what’s wronger than usual?”
I feel my lower lip tremble, the tears threatening. I shake my head and, finally pulling free, hurry between the novices to the rotunda exit. I get as far as the opposite ring of columns when Aurora intercepts me.
“Is it Liam?” she asks.
I nod and the tears release. “I just saw him,” I say sobbing. Lying to Aurora is futile. I’m not sure why I even tried.
I recount everything. The Tribunal. My mother’s offer. Liam’s insistence I do what she asks.
Aurora listens without interrupting. When I’m finished, she takes a deep breath and shakes her head. “I knew it. There’s been whispers of a Tribunal. They have them every so often for appeals, proclamations, announcements. But what will you do?”
As I explain my thoughts, she looks at me as if I have a unicorn horn sticking out of my forehead. “And you would pass that up? Do you know what I would give to get out of this life? To live like a normal person twelve months a year and not be bound by these autocratic maniacs? To ride my motorbike around the world? Love who I want. Be who I want?”
I’m taken aback, the air rushing out of my lungs. “You would walk away from your family?”
She stares at me, incredulous. “Key word is walk, not swim. Liam would do the same, if given the chance. This life, half human, half sea creature sucks, Rosalie.”
I shoot her one last mortified stare and hurry for the exit before the tears consume me completely.
***
The greenhouse farms that supply the Institute with food span the entire hillside in a network of structures. Instead of returning to the lettuce beds, I make my way to the gable-peaked structure at the other end of the compound. It’s the island’s Garden and my mother has given me the codes to enter, in hopes I’d find solace when I’m feeling low.
I’ve already had to endure the regrowth of my shattered legs, learn to walk all over again, mourn Tyler, mourn losing my father all over again—and the worst of all—the eternal separation from Liam. But this recent development is an even sharper knife in my gut.
This Garden is much smaller than the one on Salttain Island, and not nearly as magical. But the moment I enter, and slip off my shoes, I feel the steady buzz of its soil welcoming me. The flowers are exquisite—mostly rare orchids and strange plants like rattlesnake ginger and Indian mulberry. They’re weird and aromatic, but not otherworldly like the plants in Aunt Millie’s book.
I gaze at the empty dirt patch where my mother wants to transplant Aunt Millie, my long-lost relative who has been transformed into a tree. Thinking about Evan, another lost friend, whose body is at rest where I left him, grief splits my chest wide open. I collapse onto the soft green grass, curl up on my side and bawl like a baby until I have no more tears to shed.
Liam wants me to forget him. Does this mean he doesn't love me in the same way I love him? Even Aurora thinks nothing of it—if given the same choice, to simply walk away from the only life she’s known, she’d take it in a heartbeat. Maybe they’re right, I think. That I’m not cut out for life as a member of the The Hand, and my destiny is to continue the climate work my father started.
To attend Orono State in Maine and earn my degree in Environmental Science, the thing I’d been yearning for in my previous life as a diligent high school scholar.
I lay on the grass and stroke the soft blades, letting their sweet murmurs lull me. I’ll always have the plants, I tell myself as I fall asleep. As I always had, even before learning that the magical blood of Atlantis runs through my veins.
I’m awakened by a soft whisper next to my ear. I sit up straight and scan the silent greenhouse, but no one is here. Moonlight illuminates the plants in a shimmering light, while the shadows are dark abysses. It’s warm and misty in here, but I still shiver.
My watch tells me I’ve missed dinner, thanks to my mother’s interference. She always knows when I need to be alone with the plants and must understand the shock I’m experiencing. I wonder if I’ll forget this gift if my memories are wiped clean? How accurate is my mother’s ability to read and manipulate my thoughts? The idea terrifies me, but the pain of losing Liam’s love is unbearable.
I stand up, realizing I can’t just hide out in here forever. Maybe I’ll grab some fruit and practice my saranga moves with Aurora in the gym. Avoiding her vicious blows clears my mind—as long as she doesn’t hit me with a brain-scrambling kick.
I’m about to leave when I notice the vine with familiar blooms that twines around a trellis, the distinctive pale blue glow of the Midnight Lady Skirts that used to light my way to the sea from my father’s cottage on Salttain Island. The bell-like flowers were one of Liam’s specialties, courtesy of his ability to coax plant-life from the soil, a gift to his sickly half-brother Evan so he could paint at night.
The tears return. Liam will never conjure Lady Skirts again. Yet here they are.
I peer closer and see the outline of a human form glimmering in the negative space between the leaves. The illusion flares brighter, until a glowing figure separates from vines.
“Rosalie,” says a voice, faint as a summer breeze. “Please turn away from me.”
I recognize the voice of my dead almost-boyfriend, whose ghost followed me from California to Salttain and now apparently here. “Tyler?”
“I’m here, but only…for a little. Passing through the heavy wards requires…great effort.”
I try not to turn around to look at him. He’s another blade in my bouquet of heartbreak, his horrible death still fresh in my memory.
“Okay,” I say. “You really must want to tell me something. Or do you just miss me?”
“I’ll always miss our friendship, Rosalie. But that’s not why I’m here. You can’t turn your back on my brother.” Tyler’s ghost voice is crackly and harsh to my ears.
He means Liam O'Donnell, his half-brother, who he'd been inseparable with for his first eight years on Salttain Island and who had been made to forget him. “I won’t forget you, Tyler.”
“I don’t want you to remember Tyler, Rosalie. Remember me, Fionn, the person I really am.”
My head pounds. The murmur of the grass grows louder, taunting me.
“You’ll forget all of this. The Garden,” he continues. “You’ll cut yourself off from your legacy. Your heritage. All to avoid pain.”
“No,” I say, hugging my arms to my chest. “I’ll hear the plants. I’ll remember my love for you, Tyler. How we almost…”
“But you’ll forget Liam, who you truly love. We were never in love, Rosalie. It was just…our bodies. That kind of love is lost to me.”
The revelation that Tyler never loved me beyond a schoolboy crush stings. Another thing worth forgetting.
“No matter the cost, you can’t let them make you forget,” he says.
I resist the urge to turn around and face him. “Do you know about the Tribunal?”
Tyler’s faint voice dissipates, fading away. “I suspected. But the danger to you out there is real, Rosalie. If you let them strip you of your defenses, of your memories of past battles, you will be vulnerable. They will find…” he says, trailing off.
“Who will find me? The Fist?”
Alone with the dewy grass, the rare orchids, and the now-dimmed Lady Skirts, I wait for him to speak again for a long interval, but he doesn’t. My stomach rumbles. Reluctantly, I decide maybe it’s best to make important decisions on a full stomach.
As I exit the greenhouse Aurora barrels towards me.
“For fuck’s sake, Rosalie. I looked everywhere for you. Why didn’t I think to look here first?”
“What is it? Is something wrong?”
Aurora hesitates, then casts a glance over her shoulder as if afraid someone might be listening. “Not exactly. But they scheduled the Tribunal for midday tomorrow. We’re to leave at first light.”

Four
The blue-gray light of dawn creeps through our dorm room’s mullioned windowpanes much too soon and I’ve slept far too little.
Aurora and I crowd the shared dorm bathroom and scramble to shower, then dress in our formal novice’s attire—purple muslin tunics and pants. The finishing touch is a gold satin body sash embroidered with runes and images of a hand with roots sprouting from its fingers.
We help each other braid and coil our long hair, then join the throng of other novices. We’re gathered at the end of the tunnel that leads to the underground river and queued up at the ramp to the bathysphere that will carry us to the Tribunal’s secret location.
They deemed the event significant enough to require the entire level four class to attend. Jessica is in the crowd, and I groan as Aurora drags us toward her. But my heart lifts when I spot Issy and Vlad, who hop from the tunnel wall in perfectly synchronized leaps, their faces lit with sunny smiles.
If it weren’t for Jessica, I’d feel perfectly at ease with my new friends. The thought of forgetting the twins twangs in my chest, along with the bitterness of Liam’s denial of his love for me. I know that returning to my former life means returning to loneliness—there’s no ghost of Tyler, there either.
The bathysphere exterior may be small, but the vessel is deceptively massive inside. It seems to have been magically modified to create the illusion of a tiny iron ball, the kind normal, what my new people call outsiders, use to explore shipwrecks.
I can’t help but think about what I’ll become if I decide to leave the Hand—a normal.
Without explanation, we’re led to an opulent interior chamber with no windows to the sea that will swallow us once we submerge. My head pounds and my palms are sweaty. Ocean adventures never end well for me.
But there’s no shortage of delicious food. A table piled with fruit, pastries, omelets, breads, and pitchers of juices rises from the floor, but I’m too antsy to eat much. Three championship fencers join our group; Bester, Prode, and Ridalious. I’ve proved myself to be half-decent at it, so I’ve garnered some grudging admiration from them.
Issy and Vlad, beloved by everyone, hold court. “Ho, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum,” Vlad sings out.
“With not a drop of rum in sight,” quips Issy.
“Another dry run, you can call it,” adds Bester.
“No brandy for the littlies,” says Ridalious in his thick Scottish brogue. “We might lose our self-control and wreck the place.”
“Gods forbid we novices have any fun,” says Prode in his upper-crust British accent. Born and raised on a lavish estate in York, his hybrid family had sent Prode to the Institute as an adolescent. His prior knowledge of fencing helped him rise to the top of the ranks, though behind his back, people whispered how unfair it was.
“We drank our fill of coconut wine on Verdua,” says Bester, who grew up in an enclave off the coast of Papua New Guinea. Known for their resonant singing voice, calf-length beaded braids, and pink lipstick, they had a tendency to lash out when people teased them that their ancestors were cannibals.
“Same with Salttain,” adds Aurora, nonchalantly sipping from a glass of pomegranate juice. “No liquor allowed.”
“You do know,” says Jessica, her voice dripping with disdain, “that until you’ve fully mastered your Jith, liquor it is to be avoided, even in the smallest portions.”
“Jith you,” Bester mutters under their breath, and flashes me a wicked smile. We rarely use Jith, the old word for our varied and unpredictable abilities.
“Bester the jester,” I say and grin back at then, because no matter how down I feel, they always make me laugh.
“Any idea where in the world this gig is being held?” bellows Ridalious. The two colossal fencers were also known as The Mountains. “Last year’s was a pip. Dodging those lava flows in the water caves under Java. Still got me burns on me toes from that.”
“What’s it matter if we’re facing it stone cold sober?” Prode asks with a raised eyebrow. Short, but dignified, platinum blond hair always in place, wings fastidiously groomed and retracted, he’s always reminded me of a fun-sized mythical statue come to life. Sometimes I wonder if that’s not how he came into being.
Prode directs his gaze briefly to Jessica, who was probably formed from ice to begin with, and as always, she disregards him.
It’s an open secret that Prode has it bad for her. The image of the odd pair, willowy and aloof Jessica, small but noble Prode, makes me laugh inwardly. I’d choose Prode over the Ice Queen any day. I’m not sure why Aurora, popular among the novices, keeps her around.
It will, I muse, be sad to forget these friends I’ve made. Friends who accept me despite my moody and antisocial ways.
At college, I tell myself, without the burden of heartbreak, I will make new friends. Normal friends who don’t walk on walls or sprout wings and fly. Or shoot fire from their eyes like Ridalious. Or create plants with his fingertips, like Liam. Or communicate with the dead through a network of plants, like me.
But will the dead forget me, if I forget them? Will they seek me out, regardless? I need to ask the Tribunal as I weigh my options.
After the breakfast table retracts into the floor, and the bored novices have run out of jokes, our vessel jolts to a stop. It wasn’t a long trip as far as these things go. With our transport augmented by magic, we could be on the other side of the world for all I know.
We form a single line and grip the shoulder of the person in front of us. Once we do, we’re plunged into darkness as we shuffle forward. This is not an unfamiliar experience. It’s common practice at the Institute to blindfold the uninitiated and lower novices when traveling to classified locations.
I blink, my eyes adjusting to the sudden brightness of the sun. I look around and find myself on the deck of a massive vessel that appears to be a cross between an aircraft carrier and a medieval pirate ship. We’re surrounded by endless sea, our exact location concealed by magic.
I’m seated with hundreds of other guests in the open-air amphitheater, uncomfortably hot in the customary blue velvet cloak draped over my novice’s attire, a gold laurel crown on my head. I feel utterly ridiculous. And probably look it.
In the hustle, I’m separated from my friends. Anxiously, I search the crowds for them and my for mother and when I can’t, my nerves skyrocket to level ten.
I still haven’t decided on what road I’ll take. It’s all happening too fast. I’ve barely had time to heal from the catastrophe that almost wrecked Salttain and killed Randy Lambert.
And even though my decision is not binding for two weeks, I don’t feel there’s a right choice. That I’ll be damned by either.
Salty air fills my nose and I can sense that we’re much further south than the Institute.
With the chiming of a symphony of bells, the ceremony begins. A dozen hooded High Councilors step forward onto the stage to thunderous applause, as if we’re at an outdoor concert and they are the star attraction. By the time the crowd settles into silence, I am rattled to the core. Even my bones shake. I never imagined I’d be left to make such a momentous choice, entirely on my own.
Why would my mother allow this to happen?
As the petitioners are called one by one, my palms are sweaty, my mouth dry as the heat of the sun bakes my neck. My healed legs ache with phantom pain, and I’m trembling so hard, I can feel it in my teeth. If only Aurora was with me.
And then, it’s my turn. A sergeant-at-arms strides toward me up the aisle, then leads me down to step on the stage and face the Councilors. I feel as if my heart is beating so loud, it can be heard echoing through the silent open space, along gentle lap of the ocean waves and the call of gulls overhead.
But as I wait shaking, a mournful horn pierces the air, so loud it feels like the inside of my head is split open like a ripe melon. I clutch at my ears to protect them, too stricken to notice what’s happening around me.
Chaos erupts. People are yelling, rushing from their seats, and stampeding for the exits. I have no idea what’s going on and no one to ask. The Councilors stand as a wall of silver mesh rises from the floor, isolating them from the crowd.
My ears still ring as someone shouts that the Tribunal is under attack. Frantic, I scan the panicked crowd for a friendly face, but I’m surrounded by a sea of terrified strangers.
Dizzy with fear, the surreal scene unfolds as we're herded below deck like spooked cattle. Swept through the ship's corridors, I finally spot my friends. Ridalious barrels towards me through the surging bodies like a battering ram and hoists me over his shoulder.
Shell-shocked into silence, we’re hustled back to our craft and directed into the holding room lounge. We've barely settled in when a sudden lurch jolts us as our transport detaches from the Tribunal ship and speeds away.
Moments pass. I account for all my friends with relief, but a heavy silence hangs over us.
Until finally, Bester produces a bottle of expensive wine. “I may have evacuated a little something extra. Macnally’s Reserve, the best there is, eh Redic?”
“Where on earth did you get that from?” Jessica huffs.
Ignoring her, Redalious grabs the bottle and takes a long swig. “That’s debatable, Best, but I’ll not turn ye down.”
The bottle passes around, and by the time it’s emptied, we’re all hammered. All except Jessica, who watches us with disgust, her back stiff.
I can’t decide if I’m relieved or angry that I didn’t get my chance to petition the Council. I’m just glad to strip off the heavy petitioner’s cloak, forget everything that’s transpired and laugh with my friends, who, for now at least, I still remember.
That’s when the lights flicker and bathysphere’s alarm siren lets out a shrill wail. And in an instant, the lounge explodes around us.
 

Five
In what feels like a slow-motion replay of past disasters, I breach the water’s surface, my head still ringing from the blast. A circumference of roiling ocean is strewn with burning chunks of debris, remnants of the destroyed bathysphere. There’s no sign of the Tribunal ship. No sign of land, either.
Processing the reality of my third shipwreck in as many months, I cling to some floating wreckage and scan the cold water for my fellow novices. Spotting Prode, my heart leaps with relief. But as I yell his name, he remains oblivious to my cries, appearing disoriented and unresponsive.
That's when I realize with mounting horror that I can't hear anything either – not the crashing waves nor my own panicked screams. It's like the world is on mute, leaving me alone with my thoughts, and the chill waters that threaten to swallow me.
I paddle toward him and as I approach, I see the terrible wound on the side of his head. Frantic, I search for the others, and see the cluster of people crouched on the bathysphere’s evacuation raft which is too far from us and being pulled further away by the waves.
I pull Prode up onto our piece of wreckage, then return to the water and kick until I can barely feel my legs. I shout to the people on the raft, but I doubt they can hear me over the waves—or if they can hear at all. Prode lays on his side, eyes staring blankly at nothing. I kick wildly, but the waves keep tossing me back.
Until something propels me forward, as if there’s a motor attached to our hunk of debris. We shoot across the waves and I catch only a glimpse of the creatures that tow us. Seals.
When we reach the raft, I’m beyond relieved to see the bedraggled, but very much alive, Issy, Vlad, Bester, and Ridalious among the dozen or so survivors. The four of them help lift Prode onboard, then haul me in after.
“He’s in bad shape,” I say, breathless. I can tell their from the way the others gape at me, their hearing is also compromised.
Issy squats beside Prode. She’s an apprentice in the infirmary and has the most medical training among us. She peers at him for only a moment, before shaking her head. And I know the truth. Prode is gone. Holding in a sob, I add the beautiful winged boy to my long list of people to grieve. He might have made someone more deserving than Jessica a good boyfriend.
Who propelled me to the raft?
The world remains noiseless but there’s a faint sound, like the whistle of a kettle—not in my ears—but close by, like a tickle inside my ear canal.
“Girrrrrrrrl,” it seems to say. I whirl around, but there’s no one near me. Crouched beside Prode’s lifeless body, Aurora silently cries, while the others try to communicate with each other.
The water around the raft erupts in a froth, and a small squadron of dolphins surrounds our raft. Their voices break through the silence. “Girrrrrrl, girrllllllll,” they hiss.
A single seal emerges from the waves, and my heart hammers. It can’t be. But, it is.
“Liam,” I whisper.
Aurora meets my gaze, then dives into the water. I long to join them. My heart clenches for the Liam I’ve lost and the Liam who kept his promise when I needed him.
My head spins. I’m too woozy to question where the dolphins are taking us as the raft begins to glide across the waves. Though there is no land in sight, I imagine they must have a destination in mind.
Our group of surviving novices has dwindled down to just eleven, and it’s clear from our injuries we won’t last long out here. Vlad's left ear is sheared off, Issy's face a map of bruises, and Bester cradles a broken arm. It's only when I try to stand that I realize my right leg is a raw, angry red. We huddle together in the damp, freezing air, clinging to warmth and try to hold on.
Slowly, my hearing returns as our raft drifts across the empty sea. Time loses meaning as we bake under the scorching sun and shiver through frigid nights. We don’t have the heart to offer Prode’s body to the sea. No rescuers come for us.
We fall into a heavy silence as we pass the full day mark. I find myself wondering if our seaborne friends are savvy enough to seek help, desperately hoping that Aurora has gone with them to find aid.
Midway through our second day adrift, I float in and out of coherence, occasionally musing that the third time's the charm - the ocean's been trying to kill me for almost a year now. Suddenly, Ridalious's voice cuts through my stupor. “Ahoy! Look!”
We rouse, cheering with relief and waving frantically at our apparent rescuers. But as the ship draws closer, my relief curdles into icy fear. I recognize the portly silhouette haloed by the harsh sun—it's Godwin Sampling, the corrupt Coast Guard officer who'd helped Randy Lambert terrorize Salttain Island.
I sink to the floor of the raft, my chest constricting with dread as another figure limps up beside Sampling.
It’s Brody Lambert, son of the enemy I vanquished, his smile gleaming in the glaring sun.
The exhausted novices celebrate our rescue, but I don’t have the heart to tell my companions the truth because I’m consumed by what horrors await us on the shores the rocky coastline looming in the distance.
We’re being taken to Salttain Island.
We’re not being rescued. We’re captives.
 

Six
My body is shaking and weak. I'm on the verge of collapse.
This can't be happening.
My companions have gone quiet, clearly grasping that this is no rescue. I get a closer look at Brody, and my blood runs cold. His once movie-star handsome face is pitted and scarred, the empty socket stuffed with what looks to be a golf ball scribbled with a cartoon eye. One of his legs is nothing more than a stick of driftwood.
A leering smile never leaves his sun-ravaged face, making him look positively deranged. It’s not lost on me how closely Brody’s disfigurement nearly tracks Liam’s but in his case, the result is more sinister.
Issy cries out. “Who the hell is that?”
“Looks like a real creeper,” Vlad says, his voice uncharacteristically soft.
My mind whirls. Brody once assaulted Aurora and savagely brutalized her. He'd always taken what he wanted, whether offered freely or not. And now he looks like he's lost what's left of his mind. I'd heard whispers that he was mad with rage over his father's demise and blamed me.
A horrifying thought strikes me: Had he blown up our bathysphere to kidnap me? Are my friends in danger because of me?
“Stand down,” I grind out past my exhaustion. “It's me he wants. If we don't provoke him, he'll let you go.”
“I will do no such thing,” Ridalious booms. “We will fight.”
With a shared look, he and Bester rise in unison, their strong bare backs forming a wall, and stride forward to the edge of our raft.
But it’s no use.
Brody's leering smile only widens. It seems his hand barely moves before a dagger embeds itself in Prode's lifeless body.
“Oops,” Brody drawls, his voice dripping with false concern. “Looks like I need to adjust my aim. I’m sadly out of practice. Now, who wants to be my first live target? You’re spot on as usually, Rosalie. You’re the one I want. As far as I'm concerned, the rest of your pals are fish food. I'll leave you two Goliaths for last. Or maybe repurpose you for better use of your brawny bodies.”
Ridalious and Bester exchange a look of shock and fury, then sag in defeat.
“So,” Brody says, his tone suddenly icy, “are we going to play nice, or should I stop with the practice shots?”
The Coast Guard boat docks where Evan and I had first stolen his family's cabin cruiser, and our group, bound together at the ankles by a chain of ropes, is led ashore. Though none of us has spoken, it's clear from the moans and muffled sobs that we're all terrified of what's to come.
Once we’ve disembarked, Sampling helps Brody hobble off the boat.
On the beach, we’re met by a cluster of villagers who stand as still and expressionless as stone pillars. Four young men I don’t recognize carry a weathered upholstered chair and set it down at Brody’s feet. He sighs as they ease him gently onto the seat.
Smiling, he regards us with one blue eye and that one horrible google eye. The young men kneel on the sand, lowering their heads like supplicants.
This island once embraced me as a long-lost daughter and now even the air feels wrong. I sense its anguished cry through my bare feet.
“What is this place?” Issy whispers as she’s jostled against me.
My throat burns around my answer. “The place I once called my home.”
I steal a quick glance at Ridalious. His green eyes blaze with fury in his florid face, the veins bulging on his thick neck. My scalp pulls taut. I know what’s coming—the famous temper of doom. “What gives you blokes the bloody right to herd us like cattle? Who do the hell do you think you are?” he shouts.
I scan my friends, my heart thudding in my chest. Brody’s single blue eye flashes with light, but his smile remains fixed. He waves his hand like an orchestra conductor, and a fifth blank-faced young man brandishing a tall stick steps forward. Without even blinking, he gives Ridalious a ferocious whack on the side of his head. I stifle a cry as my friend crumples in a lifeless heap.
Brody’s powers are much stronger than I could have imagined. I can’t let him control us like puppets on strings. With a deep breath, I summon all the strength within me, all the knowledge and skills I’d acquired during my time at the Institute.
And come up short. The island does not hear me.
Or if it does, it’s refusing to listen.
We’re led by the silent villagers to the Bailey estate, apparently the new home of the self-proclaimed chieftain of Salttain Island. I try to reach again for the island’s pulse, its song of wonder and power, but find only a strangled whimper.
Inside the mansion, the once sunlit space is dank and dingy, with the soaring windows boarded up to block the light. Everything reeks of mildew and rot, of decaying food and scraps that are feasted on by emaciated dogs that growl as we pass.
We’re led up a spiral staircase to the room that was once Evan’s. His hospital bed is still there and the glassy-eyed minions help Brody undress, don a bathrobe, then climb onto the bed.
“It’s so good to have you as our guest, Rosalie,” Brody warbles, as if holding court at a dinner party. “Your timing could not be better.”
“What the hell do you want?” I snap. “You know the Institute will search for us, and when they find us…”
Leaning back on his pillow, Brody cuts me off with a barking laugh. “You were always such a know-it-all, Rosalie. I found you pitiful children adrift at sea. Rumor has it the Tribunal ship sank. It’s going to be weeks until the Greater Council realizes what’s happened.”
I stiffen. Is it true the Institute leadership did not survive? An intrusive ribbon of ice snakes its way up my spine, then fizzles away. Brody’s influence, at least, does not take.
Beside me, Bester is rigid, eyes glazed over, Ridalious struggles to his feet, eyes equally blank, his ruddy face gone milk-pale, and Vlad stands at attention like a tin soldier. All of my companions are affected by Brody’s treacherous touch, except Issy, whose mortified gaze meets mine.
There’s no sign of Aurora or Jessica. It could mean that Aurora left to seek help—or simply abandoned us to save herself. In my heart I know that is not like Aurora. And hadn’t I seen a seal that I knew for certain was Liam? Where the hell is Jessica?
My mind is so scrambled from exhaustion, thirst and Brody’s onslaughts to my psyche, it’s no wonder I can’t form a coherent thought.
I’m grateful, at least, that don’t know the other zombie attendants. My blank looks on my friend’s and the other novice’s faces and I shudder.
Brody’s lips curl into a languid smile as he sips water from a glass offered to him by a scantily dressed and vacant girl.
“Your friend is very pretty,” he says in a soft drawl, gaze fastening itself on Issy. “Come a little closer, will you, Princess? My eyesight isn’t so good these days.”
Trembling, Issy, glances at me then inches toward him. Rage rushes through me, but when I reach for the power I once harnessed so readily, there’s nothing but the frail echoes of what it once was.
Brody rakes Issy over with his one blue eye and I shiver. “I do wonder where our little hellcat Aurora has scampered off to. I’d do anything to see her.”
“She’s not here,” I bite out, relieved that’s true. I can’t imagine what he’d do to her. I silently forgive her for fleeing if that’s what she did. If not, I pray she brings help, somehow, but stays the hell away, herself.
“Swam, off did she? Just like those O’Donnells to ghost you when you need them most. Pity fish boy can’t leave his tank for you. Otherwise, I’m sure he’d be here in a flash.”
I clench my fists, my teeth grinding. If I could rip his working eye right out of its socket, I would, and then stuff it down his throat. I search the room for the power that he’s used to tether people to his will and hit a wall. I don’t understand its source, but it’s as strong as the power his father once wielded, albeit lacking Randy Lambert’s finesse. Everything about Brody is coarse and grotesque.
“What do you want from me, Brody?” I snap. “You didn’t just reel me out of the ocean to gloat, did you?”
“Time will tell,” he says in a sing-song voice, his one eye drooping closed. “I’m all tuckered out. Don’t have the strength I once did, since, you know, your boyfriend beat the crap out of me.”
“It wasn’t Liam, it was—”
“Silence!” he screams, bolting suddenly upright in the bed. “You will not contradict me! Take them away.”
At Brody’s command, the ropes are cut from our frozen companions and two of his minions lead away Issy and me. My heart pounds wildly. Issy’s face is contorted into a mask of terror. I can’t let this monster lay a hand on her.
“Vlad!” Issy cries. “Please—don’t—”
“Stop!” shouts Brody, and the two girls who accompany us halt and stare at him with bland disinterest.
“You want to stay with me, Blondie? Then stay! I can use a little company on these long dull nights. These folks are not, you know, much good for conversation.”
“She comes with me!” I say, trying to force command into my voice.
Brody’s attention cuts to me. “I call the shots, sweetheart. Now you get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day.”
To my horror, the two vacant girls step away, and now it’s Bester, Ridalious, and Vlad, who subdue me.
I struggle and claw at them, but I’m overpowered by their brute strength. I catch one last glance of Issy’s frightened face as a hood is lowered over my head and I’m jerked away.

Seven
I’m not sure how, but I fall asleep—hooded, with my wrists and ankles tied to bedposts. I wake with a start to blackness, every bone aching, my burned leg throbbing and the suffocating stench of my own breath.
Brody’s zombies neglected to gag me, so I shout from beneath my hood and struggle at my bonds. “Hey! Where are you? Set me loose, damn it, or I’ll pee this bed!”
Without a word, I’m cut free from the posts, and my wrists zip-tied behind me. Still under the hood, I’m led barefoot across a creaky wood floor. By the time my feet touch the cool of the bathroom tiles, I’m sure I know where I am.
I’m being held captive in my father’s beach cottage.
“Where is he?” I spit out. “Where’s my father?”
There’s only silence as Brody’s zombies wait for me to finish my business and guide me back to the bed. My bed.
The floor creaks with the shuffle and clomp of a person with a crutch. I blink as the hood is yanked off, and sunlight streams though lace curtains, illuminating the coat stand where my floral dress and sunhat still hang. Sure enough, beside me on the night-table is the Field Guide.
My chest squeezes at the remembrance of that first morning when the island serenaded me with its sweet music. Now, there’s only the faint sound of waves lapping at the shore, and Brody Lambert sitting on my desk chair, smiling his tombstone smile. Today, instead of a golf ball, there’s a yellow and white billiard ball stuffed in his empty socket.
I swallow down the urge to retch. “What did you do with my father?”
“Now, now,” Brody says. He turns to the door, gestures, and the ginger-haired girl [LA1] I’d last seen get the stuffing knocked out of her by Aurora slinks into my room, her arm linked in Issy’s. Issy’s face is bruised, one cheek swollen and blue. Her whole tiny body seems to shake. Her haunted eyes meet mine and my heart flips.
The ginger girl sprawls across Brody’s lap and caresses his face while Issy stares down at her filthy feet.
“Mmm,” says Brody. “So many flavors of wonderful. Apricot with a side of vanilla. You are truly my gift, Latonia.”
“You bastard,” I say, my gaze flashing to Issy. “You sick fucking maniac.”
Crinkled in that perpetual smile, Brody’s single blue eye meets mine. “A shame Da didn’t make use of his talents. Luckily, his bones act as an amplifier. My own powers are more potent than ever.”
The comment hits me hard, like a whipcord. Randy’s bones add to Brody’s power? I remind myself to stay calm and think this through, instead of reacting like I did with Randy. He always tried to provoke me, and it seems like Brody is cut from the same terrible cloth.
“In the end,” he says, twirling Latonia's ginger locks, “The Fist abandoned Da and me. I had planned to prove my worth with other feats of power, but then fortune smiled on me when you fell into my lap. It must be a sign the universe favors me.”
I gape, trying to make sense of his words. “You're working with The Fist?”
Brody shakes his head and laughs. “No, Da didn't share any details of his contract to them with me. The connection is severed. It's a foolish move for an organization with such lofty goals. You should never leave your pieces on the game board, or they'll come back to haunt you.”
Latonia strokes the bristle on Brody’s jaw and I shudder as I remember the day I first met him behind the counter of the general store. How those fresh good looks hid the true nature of the darkness inside of him.
“Cut to the chase, Lambert,” I snarl, trying to push away the dread that grips me. I can’t stop thinking about Issy and the others, their wills stripped away, trapped in servitude to this monster. And what about Aurora? Had she sensed Brody’s arrival and fled danger in seal form?
I force myself to focus. Brody mentioned chess, and I realize that he’s challenging me to a game of wits.
“Fine,” I say, my eyes fixed on him. “You want to strike a deal. Otherwise, you’d have turned me into one of your mindless pleasure puppets, like these other girls you’ve enslaved.”
Brody shakes his head, the smile unwavering. “There are no slaves on this island. Everyone serves with joy and shares equally in its bounty.”
I squint, not buying it for a second. “You can’t fool me. Something’s very wrong here.”
Brody sighs. “You’re too clever for you own good, Rosalie. The crops won’t grow and that damn Garden you love so much won’t reveal itself. Luckily, people don’t eat much these days.”
I glance at the skeletal Latonia who’s curled up on Brody’s lap like a contented cat, clearly in a state of bizarre ecstasy.
“Make your point, Lambert. What are your terms?”
“Terms?” he throws back his head and laughs. “You’re quite the brazen hussy, as Da used to say. To ask for terms you need something to bargain with. But I already have all the chips,” he says, turning to the door. “Bethellia, please come in.”
The sound of shuffling in the hallway draws my attention. My heart drops as I see the Landsider girl who used to ride on the back of Liam’s motorbike, now vacant-eyed and dressed in a ragged nurse’s uniform, leading a stumbling old man who’s been leashed and collared like a dog.
I gasp, straining against my bindings. “Dad!”
Dressed in filthy rags, my father hunches over, his gaze fixed on the floorboards.
“Save your breath,” Brody sneers. “No need to magic this one. Mind’s gone. But I see he still holds some sentimental value to you, eh?”
I grind my teeth and spit out in disgust. “You fucking monster.” I thrash against the ropes, but they hold fast. Powerless, I’ve never felt more vulnerable.
Brody laughs at my outburst. “Now, now. Your father hasn’t been harmed. In fact, Bethellia takes very good care of him, don’t you dear?” He turns to the girl in the nurse’s uniform, and she replies in a monotone voice, “Yes, Sir Brody, I am good at my job tending the sick and needy. I thank you for the privilege.”
Brody smiles indulgently. “A true leader nurtures and rewards natural abilities. Bethellia is a genuine healer, aren’t you, Bethy?”
I watch Bethellia’s expressionless face.  “I am, Sir.”
Brody orders her to fetch his special tea, and she complies, tying my father’s leash to a hook on the wall before exiting the room. My stomach twists with disgust.
“Spit it out. What the fuck do you want?” I demand.
Brody idly strokes Latonia, who sighs and nuzzles him. “First you should know that if I summon the Fist, they’d be delighted to come and retrieve you at once. But I’m not as foolish as all that. They spurned me, and they need to pay a price for the big prize.”
My anxiety jitters in every nerve-ending, but I force myself to remain still and composed. This is a game I can’t afford to lose. “You want to use me as bait but want something in return. How clever.”
“You make it sound so simple, Rosalie,” he says. “I plan to turn you over to them and reap my reward. But not until I get what’s due me. Now if you don’t want to see your dear da strung up on the bluffs, his bones picked clean by gulls and your friends in my service until they join him, and your pretty little bird, here…well… use your imagination.”
I focus on steadying my breaths. The game. The board. My move. It doesn’t seem there is one. But there has to be.
“I don’t see what I can accomplish tied up like this.”
“You really don’t give me any credit, do you? I’m not my dumb little brother. I have a task for you. And your reward will be that I let your father and your friends go. If I’m really happy, I’ll even let this little waif go free. But you? It’s always been your destiny to work with your natural opposing force for the greater good. Once I get what I want, The Fist will claim you and will install me as an honored member of its inner circle.”
I blink rapidly, trying to understand what he’s saying. Is he going to set me loose on the island. He’s got to know that even with its wards destroyed, its song silenced, it will always be my ally.
 
 

Eight
Brody struggles to his feet. “What I need is more salttain,” he says. “I wish to be whole again. And you’re going to make that happen.”
I frown, my head throbbing. The island is corrupted, the sensitive salttain weed vanished again as it had been for a generation. “It’s gone,” I say. “How do you know I can call it back?”
Brody shuffles closer and leans in until his face is inches from mine. I flinch, but fortunately, he doesn’t smell as foul as he looks. “You don’t have to call it. It’s waiting for you in the Garden. That witch, Lila O’Donnell, who’s holed up in her cottage behind a wall of unbreakable wards taunts me with it. Every so often, she tosses me a stalk to prove it.”
He settles back into his seat, wincing. “But I need it, Rosalie. I need it to rule. To focus on something other than this constant pain that bastard Liam inflicted upon me. Repay his debt and your friends walk free. If not…”
My body shakes, my wrists and ankles chafing from my bindings. But I keep my voice level. “If not what? You turn me over to the Fist and murder my friends and my father?”
Brody’s leer is unsettling. “Do you think I won’t?” he says. “I am Randy Lambert’s son.”
“Yes,” I say, my voice low, “you certainly are.
Brody falls back into his chair. Latonia crouches on the floor and starts to massage his foot, but he kicks her away. She scuttles into the corner, her expression blank. Bethellia returns with a mug of steaming tea on a tray, which Brody accepts. He raises the mug. “To my health. Bethellia still recalls how to brew a decent tincture with the dregs of salttain the witch provides. But the benefits are fleeting.”
He lifts the mug to his lips, takes a sip, but explodes in a hacking cough. The mug falls to the floor and shatters.
Issy shoots me a fearful look before scrambling up the wall and across the ceiling like an insect, making her escape through the open window. Brody lunges out of his chair and staggers to the window.
 “Little bitch won’t get far,” he says, returning to his chair with a heavy grunt.
“If you make a single move, like your foolish friend,” he says to me, “Nurse Bethallia will slit your da’s throat. Kapish?” He cuts through my bonds with a pocket knife, leaving me free but still trapped.
On my father’s front porch, the smell of decay overpowers the ocean breeze. The day is damp and gray, the air filled with a fine mist. Issy struggles pointlessly to escape Ridalious’ ironclad grip.
Leaning on the dilapidated porch railing, Brody says, “Ahh, nice work, my new fledglings. The wards may be gone, but bog holes are more plentiful than ever.”
Torrents of rage, grief, and bitter memories wash over me. My world had first cracked open to a new life in this yard, but now it feels like the gateway to hell.
“Are you ready to discuss terms?” Brody asks, turning toward me. I can probably push him over with a flick, but I can’t fight off an island filled with his mindless minions.
From my vantage point I catch a glimpse of the ocean and scan for seals or dolphins, but there’s not much Liam and his friends can do for me on land. Only Aurora can set foot on this island, but why would she risk confronting her worse nightmare just to save me?
Issy stumbles up the steps and falls into my arms, sobbing. “If you lay a hand on her, I will…” I say, but Brody cuts me off.
“Pipe down, Rosalie. I’m not sending you on your mission alone. You can have your frail little bird to keep you company. She’ll be useful assistance should you both happen to fall into a bog.”
Issy and I exchange terrified looks. Ridalious and Vlad stand motionless, their gazes vacant.
Brody flings a dagger that whizzes past Vlad’s unflinching ear. Issy cries out and Brody snarls. “What are you waiting for? Get moving. Do you think I didn’t miss on purpose?”
Without another word, I grab Issy’s hand and together we sprint into the brush. We’re parched, famished and shoeless, we don’t stop running though I have no idea which way I’m headed. The Garden is a sentient entity, clearly still protected by Liam and Aurora’s mother, Lila, the witch Brody referred to.
A thought flies into my head—we can escape toward the water, swim out as far as we can and hope the dolphins that at first rescued us, find us again. But then what about Ridalious, Vlad and Bester? What about my father?
And so, we run. Issy deftly navigates the overgrown underbrush, sidestepping tangled vines and snapped branches. My bare feet are raw and blistered, tears blurring my vision as I struggle through the wreckage of my former home. How much loss can one heart hold?
The island is barren and lifeless, as dead and silent as a grave. But I can’t let Brody find the Garden. Somehow, we have to locate it Garden without leading either Brody or one of his minions to it.
We slow our pace, depleted. I plod onward no longer sure if I’m doing the right thing or just playing into Brody’s hands. If I lead him to the Garden, nothing good will come of it.
But I can’t think of another plan that makes any sense.
Issy bounds ahead of me and forges a path through the dessicated terrain. The once fragrant scent of sea and the healing power of the native plants is gone, replaced by death and destruction. We evade the bog holes that open beneath our feet as we trudge.
Time is liquid, slipping away from us. The sun rises briefly, piercing the haze, then sinks, casting the battered terrain in shadow. Soon, it will be a silent nightfall with no sweet voices to guide me to my one-time sanctuary.
Thirst and hunger drive me closer to delirium. Ghosts seem to mock me as we march forward, too afraid to stop. Tyler, Evan…Liam who’s life as a human is over, my brilliant father who’s a shell of what he once was. For all I know, my mother may have perished on the Tribunal ship.
Maybe I should join them. Let a boghole swallow me, let the island I once loved devour me at last.
Randy may be dead, but he’s still winning this game. The island is on his team now, confounding and bewildering me. The longer Issy and I walk, the more I can’t help but wonder if we’ve been going in circles.
We reach the high ridge, the place where I’d first lost my way and stumbled upon the Garden. In the distance, the waves glitter with silver froth and I try my best not to think of Liam, who now lives beneath them, his only companions the creatures of the sea. The island still mourns his absence, and so do I.
As the moon glows faintly behind the clouds, and I’m certain even Issy can’t take another step, a gentle hum tickles the bottoms of my feet. Can it be? Can the island still speak to me? My heart picks up a rhythm and I know we are getting closer.
“We’re nearly there,” I whisper to Issy and she gives me a weary smile in return. She’s barely spoken a word through this entire ordeal, and I worry if her time in Brody’s clutches has left her more broken than I can know.
And then below us I see it. The island hasn’t failed me after all.
Glowing in the moonlight, the Garden lies nestled in a hollow surrounded by lush greenery. Its beauty takes my breath away, and for a moment, my pain and fear subsides.
The air is different here, softer, more alive. I inhale deeply, savoring the freshness of it. There’s been no sign of Brody, or his followers, and I can’t help but wonder Liam’s wards or Lila’s magic have held, if they are still protecting the Garden. If Issy and I never leave this place, at least maybe, we’ll be safe from Brody.
We make our way across the field, our feet sinking into the marshy grass. Then the scent of flowers drifts in on a gentle breeze. The sight of the familiar bricks, vibrant vines cresting its wall fills me with joy.
“Issy! We made it!” I shout.
She lifts her head, eyes wide with wonder. Having grown up on a frigid northern island, I’m sure she’s never seen anything like this fabled Garden before. “It’s like all the stories I heard,” she whispers, coming to my side. “Do you know how to get us inside?”
“Yes,” I reply, but a seed of doubt has taken root. The Garden is booby trapped to keep intruders out. And there’s been no sign of Brody. What if it’s a trap? Or, even worse, what if the Garden itself has turned against me just like the rest of the island?
As we approach, the scents and fragrances grow stronger, filling me with calm and ecstatic joy, my worries dissolving with each step. I have no further doubt.
This is where I truly belong. Where the spirits of my lost friend Evan, his father Charles Bailey, my Aunt Millie, and generations of spirits of the People of the Hand wait for me.
And then, without warning, the ground gives way. I’m plunged into darkness, scrabbling for anything to stop my fall. Issy’s screams echo from somewhere above me. I’m afraid I’m about to hit bottom, but I bounce as if on the end of a bungy cord. A delicate hand grasps my wrists.
Issy’s voice breaks through the chaos. I try to stifle the howl of fear and rage that’s built up inside me. Where is my power? Why am I so helpless here?
“I have you, Rosalie.” Issy says, as she hauls us both out of the gaping sinkhole that almost swallowed us both. We collapse on the moonlit grass, gasping for breath.
The whir of a motor shatters the stillness. My father’s buggy appears over the rise of a nearby hill with Brody at the wheel, my father blindfolded in the passenger seat. Ridalious and Bester, huge and blank as twin mountains, sit in the back seat.
Brody gets out of the buggy and limps toward us, his huge white grin like a crescent moon in the dim light. Ridalious and Bester loom behind him, implacable and silent.
Issy sobs beside me, as I stare, speechless. It was as I feared. I led him straight here. What a fool. How did I think I could outsmart this diabolical monster?
“You do remember the Lambert talent for tracking, don’t you, Rosalie?” Brody taunts. “I took a gamble with that bog hole, but it did thin the wards that witch still maintains long enough to find you.
My mind reels as I try to process his words. Does he mean he sensed me in the bog hole, no longer masked by the protection of the wards? It was how his brother Wade, who died trying to get into this Garden, tracked me all over the island.
Brody’s smile turns sinister. “You know what’s next, Rosalie. Go inside, create a portal, then let me in. The healing can only happen in there. If anything goes wrong, I’ve got your beefy friends programmed to slit your da’s throat.”
The odd word reverberates in my ears. “Programmed?”
Brody laughs. “Do you really think my natural abilities are that strong? I have the entire island networked and under my control, except for this godsforsaken Garden. I was always good with technology. Once the Fist learns what how I augment them with technology, they’ll welcome me with open arms. Especially when I turn over a prize like you. Now get me inside and make me whole, or your Da breathes his last.”
My heart races as I weigh my options. Even if I take him down, he’s rigged this island with some kind of magical network. Why had the Council not briefed us about him and what he’s done to Salttain?
Brody approaches and I close my eyes, focusing on my breath. Would walking away from the Hand have prevented this? Right now, I have no clue.
I just know there must be a way out of this—a way to protect my father, save my friends, and stop the Lamberts once and for all.

Nine
Brody’s taunting voice rings in my ears. “What are you waiting for, Rosalie? I played your little game and let you think you had a fighting chance. But you never suspected my hand. You always looked down on me.”
Stone-faced, Ridalious and Bester help him limp toward me. “You and your fishy friends always thought you were better than me. Where are those friends now?”
I grit my teeth and slowly edge toward the Garden wall. If I can create an opening and drag myself and Issy inside, we’ll be safe from him. I bite back on the ache in my throat. Will I be able to join Tyler? Join Evan? But with Liam sentenced to an eternity at sea, there would be no one left to save him.
“Checkmate,” Brody says.
He’s interrupted by a voice from behind. “I don’t think so.” Something flashes and whizzes through the night and Brody collapses sideways, his one leg no longer able to support him, a shuriken protruding from his leg. Aurora steps out of the shadows, Jessica Trang at her side. The ice princess looks a bit more thawed than usual, but no less composed.
Curled up in a ball on the grass, blood staining his pant leg, Brody’s howls shift to maniacal laughter. “Well, look who’s finally made her appearance, fashionably late as always.”
“I have more where that one came from,” Aurora says, pulling out another round projectile from a bag attached to her holster. “Do you think I just swam away without leaving a few stockpiles around to attend to unfinished business?”
“Ahh…you are even more glorious in the moonlight, my love. Remember the night we…”
“Shut up!” Aurora screeches, throwing another projectile that imbeds in Brody’s shoulder.
“Of course, you did,” he sputters through the blood bubbling from his lips. “And I waited in vain for you to come claim them. I relish your wounds on my flesh. They are almost as good as when I…”
Aurora screams, poised to launch another shuriken, but I call out. “Don’t!”
I stand frozen, trembling, as Brody laughs uncontrollably. “Smart move, Gatell,” he says. “Kill me, but you can’t stop me. This entire island and all my followers are connected to my power grid. I’ve programmed a signal to be sent to the Fist on the event of my death, your father’s throat will be cut, and the rest of my followers will never let you off this island alive.”
Ridalious holds a knife to my father’s throat as Bester stalks toward Aurora and Jessica like a raging bear.
“Take me inside, Rosalie,” Brody pleads. He lifts himself up on his elbows, then collapses onto the grass, “and restore me…to health. Your friends will be free…except for you, Rosalie, the prize among prizes. But you are a noble and self-sacrificing girl. Almost as stupid as your boyfriend, Liam.” He groans and sprawls across the grass.
I glance at the seamless wall. I can’t see any other way out of this. If he dies, he takes us all with him anyway. It’s the only way to save my friends.
“Don’t do it” Aurora pleads, her gaze fixed on mine. But I don’t know what other choice there is.
Ridalious’ knife gleams as it draws the first bead of blood from my father’s throat. My father whimpers and flails wildly, unable to comprehend what’s happening to him.
“Okay!” I shout. I have no idea what I’m doing besides buying time, hoping that the Garden will provide some solution to my predicament.
And then, with the languid moves of a runway model, Jessica Trang saunters over to Bester, extends a palm and touches their forehead. Bester sinks to their knees, and falls over onto their back.
“He’s new! Easy to unwind!” Brody says, grimacing and trying to sit up. “You can’t stop the others, you freak. Who the fuck are you, anyway?”
Jessica turns to him, face as cold as marble in the moonlight. “Someone a fool like you should know better than to tangle with.”
She pivots and glides toward Ridalious, who regards her with blank disinterest. When she reaches out to touch his forehead, he keels over like a giant tree felled in the woods.
Brody writhes on the grass, howling, more beast than human. A chorus of voices echo from the hillside.
“Go ahead,” he snarls, choking on his own blood. “Make my day.”
“Open the wall now, Rosalie!” Aurora cries. “We need to him inside. He’s dying!”
I stand frozen, trembling. Get Brody inside? Wasn’t that what we’d been trying to prevent? Then it dawns on me — we are moment’s away from Brody’s death, which will activate the trigger he’s rigged up. As much as I’d love to let him die, I can’t. I spring into action, fueled by instinct rather than conscious thought.
My attention flickers to Jessica. She stands a few yards away, her back turned, her arms raised to the sky. And I wonder just who or what she really is, what secrets she’s been keeping. But there’s no time dwell on it—not with Brody’s crazed followers closing in on us.
Meanwhile, Brody, curled on his side, bleeding and chuckling to himself, murmurs between gagging coughs, over and over, “I win, I win, I win.”
“Issy!” I shout. “Get my father!”
Lithe as a spider, Issy hurries over to the buggy and frees him, then helps him shuffle toward the Garden.
The next few moments are a blur as I breach the wall in a flash of blinding light, and I find myself inside, accompanied by Issy, my dad, Aurora, and the half-dead Brody Lambert.



Ten
The Oak Heart tree rustles gently in the light breeze, and my chest tightens as power surges through me. Salttain Island is still alive, hiding from the monster who wants to use it for evil, and it’s up to me to protect it.
Evan’s remains are still visible beside the tree where his father’s soul rests. The body of the boy I’d healed of a terrible illness, only to watch him fall victim to Randy Lambert’s terror was never buried. It pains me that his spirit may never find peace, but I don’t have the luxury of time to do anything now. I vow, yet again, to return when I can, and finally honor the memory of my lost friend.
I turn my focus to the roar of Brody’s minions who have gathered from all corners of the island and now surround the Garden, clamoring for their leader’s release. Their dull chants strike dread in my heart, especially knowing that our friends, Ridalious, Bester, and Vlad are trapped among them. Fury rips through me for what Brody has done, taking the power to warp and bend minds to a new level beyond his father’s evil.
I shudder but look back to where Brody writhes on the grass, moaning and laughing all at the same time. Ignoring him, Aurora and Issy comfort my confused father. I keep my distance. The sight of his revolting face chills me to my core.
“Who knew this idiot was an evil genius as well as creeper?” Aurora says. I’m stunned by how nonchalant she considering how the bastard had once attacked and beaten her nearly to a bloody pulp. In fact, by virtue of the immortality granted by her curse, she can’t die, or she would have been dead. “Get it over with and heal the bastard before he triggers his doomsday mechanism,” she barks.
Brody squints toward Aurora’s voice, but only blood burbles out when he tries to speak. I want to ask Aurora about Jessica, about who she really is and whether she can survive the raging loonies outside the Garden walls. But there’s no time. Brody is dying, and though I’d much prefer to twist his neck, I have to give him exactly what he wanted to begin with. His health restored.
“You asshole,” I sneer at him, barely containing my rage. “I should have leave you for dead out there.”
He chuckles, spewing up blood and coughing. I shudder. “You wouldn’t…just leave your friends to…s-suffer, would you…Rosalie?”
I grit my teeth and force myself not to reply. The man is utter filth, and here I am, not only poised to save his life, but to restore him to full health. All while Liam swims the seas, unable to return to the wrecked body I can’t repair.
I spit on the grass and kneel beside Brody.
A familiar vibration rises through my legs, and up my arms. Tyler’s voice sifts into my mind like a cool breeze. “Brody’s corruption is spreading,” his faint voice whispers. “Disable his mechanism or it will infect the People. The pinions will fall.”
I hesitate and try to understand his meaning. What mechanism is he talking about? I only know that if I let the wretch die, he will trigger some cataclysm.
“Do you understand?” Tyler asks.
“Yes, Fionn.” I say, though I really have no idea what he means.
I only know that the power floods through me, its resonating hum warming me. I nod, a smile spreading on my lips. Then the truth hits me.
It’s become a part of me I can’t bear to lose.
 In here, I am powerful. And I am resolved. I won’t let anyone take my memories.
I’m a bulwark against the abyss.
I am the only one who can stop The Fist.
I reach down into the soil where the salttain weeds cower, awaiting my call, and beckon them to the surface. They rise at my command, their majestic blooms surrounding us in a canopy of white, the petals raining down like snowfall. At my signal, the stalks bend and envelope Brody in a cocoon, which will not only heal him, but also hold him captive until we figure out what to do with him.
“What about Jessica?” I ask, turning to Aurora. “How can she keep those crazies at bay?”
Aurora only smiles. “Never, ever worry about Jessica Trang. I don’t know the how or why of her power, but the girl is indestructible.”
I frown and look over to where Issy kneels beside my father, wringing her hands. “I want to find Vlad. Do you think I could…”
Aurora shakes her head. “I wouldn’t go out there just yet, kid. We need all the zombies neutralized, including your brother. He would still rip your head right off. But maybe you can, you know—see what’s going on out there?”
Issy nods grimly and without hesitation bounds to the edge of the Garden, scales the wall, and perches on the top of it. It’s a long moment until she calls out her report.
“Oh, my god! The hill is littered with bodies. There’s no sign of Jessica!”
I glance over at Aurora, my scalp tight with dread. “You don’t think… she didn’t kill them all, did she?”
Aurora flashes me an enigmatic smile. “I doubt it. She doesn’t need to. And I think that’s our signal to go.”
My heart races as I contemplate the thought of leaving our sanctuary to face the unforgiving island. “Now?” I ask Aurora, hoping for a different answer.
She nods solemnly. “Is this the life you want, always on the run? Always looking behind your back? Doesn’t a new beginning, free of this danger appeal to you?”
I study her for a moment and chew my lip. When I speak, I keep my tone soft. “I can understand why you would want to switch places with me, Aurora. But I can’t imagine leaving this life behind, risks and all. Before I found the Hand, I never felt fully alive.”
“Alive one minute, maybe dead the next,” Aurora says.
I study her and keep my voice level. “Do you really believe I’d be safe if my memories are wiped? How would I defend myself if I don’t know what’s coming for me?”
“Let’s quit dawdling,” Aurora says. Shaking her head, she takes my father by the arm, while Issy drags the cocoon with Brody wrapped inside.
I open a doorway through the bricks, and I look back once before we leave the Garden behind. I’m overwhelmed with regret as the sweet hum of energy fades away. The bricks fuse behind us. If I do what Aurora suggests, I will forget ever knowing this feeling.
Right now, absorbing the power of the earth is worth all the danger my enemies can throw at me. How did I almost let my mother talk me into giving this up?
We make our way to the buggy, surveying the fallen minions that litter the hillside.
Jessica strides towards us, looking more rumpled than I’ve ever seen her, but uninjured. “Don’t get you’re your panties in an uproar.” she announces. “I didn’t kill them. But we’re not done here. I’ve seen the asshole’s so-called trigger mechanism, and to disable it, I need your help, Rosalie.”
I’m baffled, my heart pounding. I wonder if I can really trust a girl who can single-handedly knock out a hundred living beings with only her touch. I also wonder, what else can she do, and why has she’s never shared her abilities with any of us at the Institute?
I turn to Aurora, but she only nods gravely. I can’t help but wonder if Jessica’s also controlling her with her strange abilities. If she’s the female counterpart to Brody.
“My help?” I blurt.
“Yes, Rosalie,” Jessica says, her voice laced with her typical condescension. “Believe it or not.”
 “How?”
“Like this,” she replies, reaching out to touch my scalp with cool fingers.
Instantly, my world goes white hot before turning pitch black.
 
 

Eleven
My eyes flash open and snap closed, the brightness a smack. Sweet smoke wafts around me, invading my nose and lungs. My head pounds. My insides buzz but my limbs are heavy logs, impossible to budge.
“It’s okay, dear,” a voice says. “You should rest.” My mother.
I force my eyes open long enough to see that I’m in a private room in the infirmary, one usually reserved for the upper echelons. So, we did make it back to the Institute. “Is everyone okay?” I ask, my heartrate spiking. What on earth did Jessica do to me?
Mom lays her hand on mine and the usual wave of calm floods me. I know how to resist when she controls my thoughts. But right now, I don’t want to. “Mom, are they?”
“Everything is fine, Rosalie. Believe me when I say I’m telling the truth.”
She’s not speaking in the same melodic tone she uses when I assume she’s altering my memories.
I pry my lids open, then quickly shut them. The pain throbbing behind my eyes is like the worst hangover ever. “Okay, so where are they? When can I see my friends?”
“They are letting you get some much-needed rest—at my insistence. Not that they haven’t tried. You’ve been in and out of consciousness for two days, but the medics have examined you and can find no physical reason for your malaise aside from shock. They advised me to get you up and moving, but recommend you remain in isolation for the time being.”
“Shock? Isolation? How long is the time being?”
“Until I say so. Now, let’s get you out of this bed. There’s going to be an inquiry on the attack of your vessel and the subsequent events on Salttain. You’ll be glad to know that I’ve arranged for them to come to you. The sooner we get through this the sooner we can reschedule another Tribunal.”
My mother explains that the attack on the Tribunal ship was a false alarm, but the vessel that transported us to the secret location was the real target. Hence the inquiry.
She eases me to my feet, but I can barely keep my eyes open for more than a few seconds. The dark world sways around me. I’m certain if she lets go, I will slump to the floor in a heap.
My mind moves slowly, sifting through the bits of information that float in the soup of my recollections. Then I realize what my mother really means. She hasn’t given up on her original plan. Despite everything that’s happened she still wants me to leave the Hand. “Wait, what? Another Tribunal? Here? After everything that’s happened?”
She guides me to a chair by the fire and helps me sit. I scan my brain for the last thing I remember before winding up back here at the Institute—Jessica laying her hand on my scalp, and her unmistakable power coursing through me.
A moment ago I was certain I could convince my mother that I’m strong enough to fight our enemies. Now, I’m not so sure. Am I just what my mother fears? A weakling, too fragile to deal with the responsibilities that accompany power like mine. Did Jessica exploit that weakness? “Where the hell is Jessica? Did she do this to me?”
“Rosalie,” my mother says. “No one did anything to you. It’s possible you’ve suffered an overdose of whatever madness Brody Lambert unleashed. Regardless, you need to remain isolated until the Tribunal. We can’t risk letting anything else happen to you. It’s my fault things got so out of hand, and I will not allow that to occur again.”
My mind whirls, fragmented bits of memory churning but not connecting. Brody. We had him incapacitated. Wrapped in a cocoon. Didn’t we?
“Is he…is Brody here? Is that why you won’t let me…” The thought of Brody and his corruption here inside the Institute sickens me.
He’s safe and healed while Liam is still consigned to the sea. I want to scream and run to my garden. But my veins are filled with sludge and my lids are heavy shutters that won’t stay open. That has to be it. He’s here and she’s protecting me from him.
“Rosalie,” my mother says again, and this time her voice drills straight through my torpor. “You need to collect yourself. You must testify. The medics will be here to help calm you before the interview, as clearly, I cannot. I know this is a lot, but I’m sorry.”
Anger gives me a jolt and I’m alert, as if my nerves have been electrified. I glare at her, my eyes now wide open. “Calm me? I’m not…wait... An inquiry? Do you mean a trial? Brody is here, isn’t he?”
My mother blinks slowly and pulls in a long breath. “He’s not.”
My heart pounds. The thought of facing that maniac, even in chains, constricts my chest. “So, they’re holding him at another location until the trial?”
For a moment, her tranquil mask slips and I catch the fear slipping across her smooth features before she wrestles her expression back to its usual composure. “He…we’re not sure how it happened. But Brody escaped.”
Her words hit like a shockwave. Dull pain throbs behind one eye. “What? We handed him over to you, giftwrapped and tied with a ribbon…How did you let him escape?”
My mother kneels, meeting my gaze at eye level. “We’re not sure exactly what happened. No one besides Jessica Trang was conscious when our rescue team landed on Salttain Island, nor has any recollection of how he escaped. Jessica claims not to know, but her testimony is well, questionable…And that is why we’re conducting an emergency inquiry. I had to move heaven and earth to get you out of it.”
“But I want to go. You don’t get to make decisions like this for me.”
She sighs. “The medics strongly advise against it. Actually,” she adds, “I’m bringing them here now to prepare you for your session. You’ll feel much better afterwards. I promise.”
She leaves the room so quickly, I barely have time to react. Exhausted, I drag myself to my to bed to wait. Just as I’m settling under the blankets, a figure emerges from behind the heavy drapes. I nearly jump to the ceiling. But it’s only Aurora.
“Way to give me a heart attack! How long have you been hiding there?”
Aurora plops down on the edge of the bed. “I’d just climbed in through the window when Alicia came in. I had to think fast and hide.”
“Why on earth did you have to sneak in to see me?”
Aurora shakes her head. “Your mother won’t let any of us see you. She’s even refused to let the concierge bring your food. She’s taken paranoia to a whole new level.”
My head spins, and the pain behind my eye shoots out sparks of light. As much as I’m thrilled to see my friend, it’s a struggle to keep my eyes open.
 “Listen,” I say. “she’ll be back any minute. Make it quick. The last thing I remember before waking up here is Jessica touching my scalp. Now I’m a wreck. Tell me what you know, Aurora. What did she do to me?”
Aurora glances toward to the door. “I could get expelled if I’m caught in here. And Rosalie, my time is near. I have a week at most before…”
“Before you return to the sea,” I finish her sentence.
She nods, her gaze dropping down to my bed. When she looks up, I’m surprised to see her that eyes shimmering with tears. “Remember when I told you leaving the Hand was the best choice for you?”
I tilt my head, puzzled. “Don’t you still believe that? After what happened on Salttain? One encounter with the bad man and I’m completely broken.”
Aurora grabs my hands, pressing them between hers. “Things are different now. Come with me, and I’ll explain everything. We’re running out of time.”
“Are you kidding? My mother will be back and…”
“Come on, Rosalie. If we were on Salttain, would you care about your mother thinks?”
Her words hit me hard. Just like that night in the canyon garden in California with Tyler whic seems like a lifetime ago, instead of following my heart, I listened to my mother. And it had cost Tyler his life.
I don’t know how we manage it, with me dragging along, but Aurora and I climb out the window and make our way across the hammered copper rooftops of the Institute toward the Observatory Tower. It’s frigid, icy winds whipping our hair and tunics. In the distance, the sun sets behind the jagged peaks, beyond it, the harbor a shimmering bowl of fire.
Technically, novices aren’t allowed in the Observatory Tower, but Aurora confesses that she lifted the key from her astronomy professor. Her studies are accelerated due to the unique circumstances of her curse, which only allows her to dwell on land for half of the year. The rest, she spends as a seal, bound by the same curse as her twin brother, Liam.
I pause to catch my breath as she helps me climb the spiral staircase to the top of the tower. I don’t want to think about her leaving. About facing Jessica alone. “How much time do you have?”
“A few days. That’s why you need to hear this. Tonight.”
Heart racing from exertion and fear, I push myself to reach the top, panting. Aurora springs up the steps as if she’s made this climb a hundred times before. “Not too shabby, is it?” she says, proudly when we reach the top.
“Wow,” is all I can manage. I’m not too tired to gawk at the wonder of this sanctuary. I suspect that while I’d sought solace in the Institute Garden, obsessing over lettuce, Aurora, a girl of the sea, had found her haven here, in the cosmos.
A massive brass telescope stands in the center of the space. Red velvet couches line the perimeter, tempting me to sink into them, and possibly, die here, gazing at the stars.
Aurora helps me to a seat. “As much as I’d like to show you Cassiopeia and Cygnus, we don’t have the time. Rosalie,” Aurora says, her face grim.
“I overheard everything your mother said while I was hiding behind those curtains. She’s stalling the Council. She has no intention of letting you participate in the inquiry. It’s a lie that she’s going to question you privately. She wants to force the new Tribunal and push you to leave the People. She’ll chew off her own arm to keep you out of danger.”
I stare at her, perplexed, my head throbbing a pounding bass line. A halo of sparks dance around my right eye making it difficult to focus on her face. “Last I remember, you were trying to convince me to leave it all behind. To go back to California and be a regular valley girl.”
“You are a valley girl!” Aurora smirks. “So, I was wrong. And don’t you dare tell anyone I said those three words. You can’t leave the Hand. Because…”
And there it is, refracted by the sparks in my eye—a glimmer of tears in Aurora’s eyes. “What is it? What’s really going on here?”
Aurora looks out the Observatory window toward the sea, now cloaked in twilight. “Brody got away and no one knows how. He was bound and guarded on the rescue boat, but then he just vanished.”
I shudder, remembering Brody and that horrifying golfball eye. What kind of havoc could he have wreak if he’d infiltrated the Institute and used his twisted power to control of the Council?
Aurora continues, her tone urgent. “Your mother is keeping things from you, things you need to know to defend yourself. There’s no running away from this life. There’s no escape. I don’t know what made me think there was. The Fist and Brody are working together, and will stop at nothing to get you in their clutches.”
I close my eyes, trying to steady myself against a fresh wave of dizziness. The sparks still dance behind my lids, pulling me down into a whirlpool of fear and panic. I feel myself slump as I murmur, my voice slurred with exhaustion. “What do they want with me?”
Aurora shakes me. “Rosalie! Rouse yourself! Listen to me. Jessica is in trouble for what happened on Salttain. They think she helped Brody escape. Your mother is keeping you locked up until she can call for another Tribunal and force you to abandon your legacy. She doesn’t care what happens to Jessica. But you know Jessica didn’t help Brody. She’s the reason we’re alive!”
I blink, the room spinning around me. The sparks in my eye blaze brighter than the stars outside the observatory window, splitting my vision in two. “Why should I care about Jessica? Maybe she did this to me, whatever this is. I feel like total shit. Maybe she really is working with Brody.”
Aurora stands, her fists clenched. For a moment she looks like the fierce and angry girl from that day she first warned me to stay the hell away from Liam. “She is not!”
I squint, trying to focus past the chaos of fractured light. “How do you know? Maybe she’s hypnotizing…”
Aurora grabs a glass prism from the shelf of curios that line the walls and shatters it against the marble telescope pedestal.
“Do I have your attention now? She is not hypnotizing me. We..we..”
And then it hits me. The signs were there all along. It explains Jessica’s animosity towards me. She’s jealous. “You and Jessica are…”
“We’re in love, Rosalie. You and Liam aren’t the only fools in this game. And as you know, for a member of the Hand, loving me is a death sentence. But no one else knows.”
My mind spins with possibilities. With my head throbbing and my vision clouded by shards of light, I struggle to think straight. “You know I won’t say anything.”
Aurora lets out a sigh. “You can be so dense. I know you won’t, for crying out loud. But that’s not what I’m trying to tell you. We have to get you to that inquiry. You have to stand up for Jessica. She’s promised she knows how to break our curse.”
My insides deflate. What kind of manipulative bitch would tell someone she cares about such a lie? Everyone knows it’s an unbreakable curse even the Council can’t break.
But Aurora looks so sincere, so earnest in her belief and concern, I don’t have the heart to admit my skepticism of Jessica’s claims. “You have to promise me you won’t leave the Hand, now, Rosalie. No matter what. Something happened to Jessica on that island, and I’m not sure what it is. And when I leave, who will look out for her?”
My chest tightens. I can’t let down my dearest friend. But to take care of my worst frenemy? Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse. But what if it’s true? What if Jessica knows something about Liam’s curse my mother either doesn’t or has been keeping from me?
“Okay,” I concede. “You know I was originally the one who didn’t want to leave, right?”
Aurora meets my gaze with her intense black eyes, her brow furrowed. She nods. “We can discuss everything later. Right now, we need to get you to the inquiry. It’s taking place in the domed amphitheater on the west roof. If we scoot over a few parapets we can enter through the mezzanine.
“But what if my mother catches us?”
“Trust me, Rosalie. She won’t. She’s running it.”  

Twelve
We slide into our seats in the back row of the mezzanine without anyone noticing, though I know it’s only a matter of time until someone spots me. Aurora is in her dress formals but I’m in my flimsy muslin nightgown. We embellished it with a blue velvet curtain sash from the Observatory and Aurora wrangled my knotted hair into a braid. I hope I’ll blend in as long as no one looks too closely.
Without warning, Aurora whispers a quick goodbye then hurries down the aisles to take a seat in the front row beside Issy, Vlad, Bester, Ridalious, and to my annoyance, Jessica. I look away, relieved when Jessica doesn’t see me. What Aurora expects me to do for her is beyond me, especially in my current sorry state. I don’t remember a thing past that moment she laid her hand on my scalp.
A loud thwack draws my attention. My red-cloaked mother, seated at the center of the dais, has just banged the gavel. She freezes, as if she senses my presence and when our eyes meet, I feel her fury and shock thunder in my bones.
But there’s nothing she can do now. She’s already called the inquiry to order, and she’d sooner tear out her fingernails than break protocol. Squirming in my seat, I keep my focus on the unfolding events before me as the other Council members join her on the dais. The vast amphitheater is so hushed, I’m certain the audience can hear the frantic pounding of my heart against my ribs.
A covered object is wheeled out onto the raised platform. When the curtain is drawn back, the crowd breaths out a collective gasp. There, confined within a cage, is an obese man wearing nothing but a filthy loincloth. My hand flies to my mouth to keep from crying out.
It’s Godwin Sampling, the complicit Coast Guard who did whatever Randy asked, and who helped capture us and hand us over to Randy’s deranged son.
Sampling hangs limply from his chains, barely conscious, his bloated body exposed. My first inclination is to feel pity for the man—until the memory of what he did to Liam comes flooding back. His men beat Liam to a bloody pulp and stole his human skin. When I last saw Liam in human form, the ravages of that brutal beating still scarred him.
Rage surges through me. It’s all I can do to keep myself from rushing the dais and incinerating the man to ash.
But I’d been warned to keep my powers under wraps, because I’m untrained.
That brief moment in the Garden on Salttain is the only time I’d been able to access them since killing Randy. Currently, the thought of that power makes my head throb. The bright shards in my eye intensify. My mother’s gaze locks on me again, and I struggle to get a hold of myself. She stands to face the crowd, imperious, and the murmurs subside.
Scanning the room, my mother employs one of her well-practiced dramatic pauses. Then, with her voice unnaturally amplified, she addresses the assembly.
“Honored Sisters and Brothers, you are all aware how our previous Tribunal was disrupted by a heinous attack and one of our evacuating vessels was destroyed, its survivors seized. I am pleased to tell you, though a few novices were lost in the tragic events, most are with us today, including my daughter, Rosalie, who is still recovering from the shock of her abduction and imprisonment at the hands of a fugitive madman.”
“We will reconvene a new Tribunal here at the Institute once the culprits face justice and our righteous retribution. I now call the witnesses to step forward and testify about the events following the wreckage of the transport vessel, and the survivors’ subsequent rescue from Salttain Island.”
One by one, my friends, dressed in their Institute finest, are sworn in and asked to recount their harrowing experiences. Horrified, I listen as they describe their captivity under Brody’s spell, and how despite being trapped in their own minds, were fully aware.
Vibrating with rage, I vow to punish Brody. How can I even consider abandoning my friends and taking the coward’s way out by leaving the Hand? What was my mother thinking? That my life has more value than those of my friends?
Anxiously, I wait for Jessica’s turn to testify, hoping to gain some understanding of what happened to me on that island and what she did there. but it never comes. Instead, my mother takes the floor once again.
“Let each testimony of the vile acts committed by the fugitive Brody Lambert, our former brethren and son of the disavowed Randy Lambert, be entered in the Book of Records. In lieu of the fugitive’s absence, we shall commence the interrogation of his accomplice, Outsider, Godwin Sampling of the United States Coast Guard.”
I’m stunned as Jessica rises to her feet, supported by Aurora. She looks wan and weak, maybe worse off than I am. Maybe Aurora was mistaken about Jessica’s situation. She’s not being interrogated; she’s the one conducting it.
Jessica extends her hand, palm facing Sampling while my mother strides closer to the captive man’s cage. “Prisoner, identify yourself!” my mother demands.
Sampling remains silent. My mother nods at Jessica. With a small nod in return, Jessica closes her eyes. Sampling let’s out a yowl like a whipped dog, his body tensing, until eventually managing to speak, he gasps, “I am… Godwin Sampling… of the United States Coast Guard.”
I’m stunned at this sadistic display, this use of Jessica Trang’s previously unknown powers. What else is she capable of?
“You!” my mother shouts and points at Sampling, her voice dripping with contempt. “You are an enemy of the People and accomplice to the traitor, Brody Lambert. Tell us his whereabouts, and we will show mercy by granting a less agonizing death.”
Jessica extends her hand and shuts her eyes again. I feel nauseous watching this display. Are we no better than our enemies? Has my mother lost her mind over the perceived harm done to me, and is now using Jessica as her weapon? Sampling shrieks, then speaks, his words barely audible. “I am…Godwin Sampling of the United States Coastguard.”
“Say it!” my mother cries. “Reveal where he is, so you can spend your final hours in relative peace.”
Sampling’s eyes bulge. He swallows hard, before choking out, “I am…Godwin Sampling of the United States Coastguard.”
“Do you think this is a game?” My mother’s voice turns menacing and a shiver runs down my spine. “Where is Brody Lambert?” I can sense her probing, reaching into the man’s mind, stripping away his resistance. Meanwhile, Jessica’s outstretched arm begins to shake, sweat glistening on her brow. If not for Aurora supporting her, she would surely collapse.
Suddenly, I understand that this is Jessica’s punishment too, for allowing Brody to get away. She is being forced to torture Sampling. I can’t believe the depravity I’m witnessing at the hands of my own mother.
I’m about to flee, anywhere to get away—maybe to seek refuge in the Institute Garden—when a shrill screech pierces my eardrums, drowning out all other sounds.
The shards of light in my eye stab me, daggers of pain. I see, but don’t hear Sampling’s scream. Jessica’s body convulses, and I swear I can feel my own bones rattling at the same frequency. Deafened and partly blinded, I’m clinging to my own consciousness by a thread.
I don’t understand what’s happening to Jessica. To Sampling. To me—but somehow we all seem to be bound in the same terrible moment.
Dark lines spread across Sampling’s limbs and face, like intricate cracks in porcelain, until his entire body is charred and blackened. The man is being cooked alive, from the inside out. If he continues to shriek, I no longer hear it. Jessica writhes in pain as Aurora struggles to keep her upright. I stand frozen, whipcord of agony surging through me.
Is Jessica doing this to him? Or is he doing it to himself?
Sampling’s skin fractures, and brilliant white light spills from his ruptured flesh. The air quivers as he erupts, engulfing the amphitheater in a blinding white fireball.
Energy drains from me, like the sea retreating from shore before a tsunami. I slip in and out of my senses as the room descends into chaotic slow motion. Nothing feels real. It dawns on me, hazily, that Sampling is a Trojan horse—a bomb delivered then detonated within our seat of power, the Institute. The Council has, once again, been duped again by the Fist.
But the full impact of the blast never materializes.
Jessica’s back arches, her body trembling, her face contorted with pain. A shimmering dome of energy contains the explosion, suppressing and diminishing it. My own energy continues to ebb away, as if I’m connected to a power source. In a daze, half-aware, I realize that Jessica is siphoning my power to bolster her own.
And then it’s over. Jessica collapses as the shield dissolves, the inferno within evaporating.
All that’s left of Godwin Sampling is a pile of black ashes.
Aurora crouches beside Jessica, trying to rouse her. A fleeting horror crosses my mind. If Jessica dies, how will I ever find out if her claim about Liam and Aurora’s curse is true or just some boast to manipulate Aurora?
In a panic, the crowd stampedes for the exits. Gradually, my hearing returns, but I’m trapped in my seat, too weak and depleted to stand and escape myself.
On the dais, four Council members trail my mother as she storms toward the pile of ashes that was once Godwin Sampling. She whirls on the men, pointing an accusing finger at each one of them. “Why didn’t you know he was ensorcelled to explode? Why would you let us take this risk?”
“How could we know, Alicia? It’s another diabolical plot from the Fist.”
The man who speaks, rail thin with a pointed face and hawk nose, is apparently unfazed by her rage. He scans the empty seats until his gaze lands on me.
Ignoring my mother’s attempts to harangue him further, the man strides up the aisles, straight toward me. Still dazed, I notice Issy and Vlad as they spot me, too, and hurry in my direction.
I try to stand and run toward my friends, but my legs are too wobbly to hold my weight. I’m frozen as the Councilman closes in on me and my fearful friends shrink back, too intimidated by his imposing stature to intervene.
The man, his face still expressionless and calm, clasps me by the wrist. Without a word, I’m powerless to resist as he half-carries, half-drags me down to the dais. Meanwhile, still oblivious to my presence, my mother continues her tirade.
“We have no choice!” she shouts. “We must convene the Tribunal at once. It cannot wait another...”
She breaks off as her furious gaze meets mine. Most of that anger, I realize, is directed at me—for being here in the first place when I should have been safe in my sick room. But she rolls with it, driving home her point.
“Look at what your carelessness has wrought! Your hesitation is killing my daughter! She is too vulnerable! Too weak! I will not allow her to be used as cannon fodder in your foolish war. You’ve ignored my warnings and this attack is the result. I demand that we…”
“Sister Alicia,” says the man who brought me from down to the dais, the deep registers of his voice silken against my battered eardrums. Lowering me gently to the floor he whispers to me, “I’m sorry if I was too rough. Rest easy, sweet one.”
Then he turns his attention to my mother, his voice still soft yet firm. “I understand how distraught you are, Sister. We will not allow any harm to come to your precious child, but surely you see why this is not an appropriate time to convene a Tribunal? People are shaken. We cannot proceed until we learn exactly what killed this man—whether his death was self-inflicted or through some other nefarious means. We do not believe it was caused by Daughter Jessica.”
My mother glares at him, then fires back. “Don’t preach to me, Verris! We have delayed for too long as it is. I will not sacrifice my daughter for what’s convenient for the Council. Arrange the Tribunal this instant or…”
My mother's words break off, and my gaze is yanked toward Jessica. She's fighting to lift her head off of the floor, pure terror etched on her face. It's like a jolt of pain connects us, a pulsing thread that crackles with electricity, just for that split second before the shards of light scatter my vision.
My eyes roll back as my body convulses, jerking uncontrollably. Waves of searing white fire surge between Jessica and me, binding us in an unbreakable grip. I fight to sever the connection, but I'm helpless, trapped in its excruciating embrace. The acrid smell of ozone fills my nostrils.
My mother’s distant wails echo in the chaos. But my hold on consciousness slips as I feel my psyche tear free and drift away from my physical being. I’m fading my mother’s tortured sobs and her words jumbled together.
“See what you bastards have done? I warned you about that girl! And now it's too late! This is all on you, you pack of fools!”
Dazed, I slip in and out of awareness as a phalanx of medics load me onto a stretcher. They hustle me out of the amphitheater, their urgent voices a buzz around me. But the further they carry me up the bleachers, away from Jessica, the deeper the agony in my chest. It's as if my insides are being rent apart, each cell screaming in protest.
I thrash and struggle until finally, my mother is at my side. She smooths the sweaty hair from my forehead, her touch cool against my hot skin. Agony wrenches my chest as I blink into her tearful gaze. I want to ask her what's happening to me, but I can't string coherent words together.
“Oh Rosalie, sweetheart,” she says between sobs, her voice cracking. “Can you ever forgive me for my abject failure? I know my ways were harsh but tried to save you. I tried so hard.” She pauses, swallowing hard. “But you see, I always knew you had too much power for them to leave you be.”
I gather what little strength I have left. “Mom,” I grit out between spasms of pain, “Am I dying?”
Her face contorts with anguish. “No, my love,” she whispers, leaning closer. “You are being reborn. Into something I'm not sure either of us will like.”
I want to question her further, to understand what she means, but the pain eclipses all thought. My mother is torn from my side, her anguished cry fading as I drift away to a place where nothing can reach me.

Thirteen
I jerk to awareness, the pain gone, but my movements restricted. My eyes blink open to a nightmarish dreamscape. I’m stuck inside some kind of tank like an exotic fish, suspended in a warm, gelatinous substance, the suckers of a squid-like creature adhered to my skin, pinning me in place. Their touch thrums with a tingling sensation that isn’t entirely unpleasant. I struggle to get free, but the creature’s grip on me holds.
I’m horrified to notice a pulsing cable of light that sprouts from my chest, as if I am a conduit in an invisible network.
What are they doing to me? Had I heard my mother say something about rebirth? Have they turned me into some kind of monster? Or, like Liam, and I one of the medical team’s latest experiments gone wrong?
I will my gaze to focus in the soupy darkness and spot the form of Jessica, still unconscious, floating nearby in the goop. Whatever my fate, it seems as though she’s stuck in the same bowl of stew with me.
Jessica’s skin is jellyfish pale, almost transparent. A crown of glowing tentacles encircles her head, a similar cord of brilliant light protruding from her chest, entwining itself with the one that extends from mine. Glyphs, like the ones from Salttain shimmer through the thick cable that connects us.
Beyond the glass, onlookers peer in at us with curious eyes. I struggle to move, but my body doesn’t respond. Again, I try to scream, but a thick tentacle plugs my mouth, serving as a creepy yet functional oxygen mask in my slimy bath.
Jessica and I seemed to be trapped together in the same tank, like a conjoined grotesque carnival curiosity.
Anger blooms inside me, rising until it reaches a crescendo and seeps into the cord that connects me to Jessica, staining it a neon ultramarine blue. My insides zing with energy. Is she feeling this too?
Something tells me that if the chaos inside me can’t find release, I’m going to go supernova. Jessica’s eyes blink open, her terrified gaze finding mine.
I still have no idea what’s happening to us as the hue bleeds from the pulsing cord into the surrounding gelatin, delicate threads of color spiking throughout the tank like frost. I’m vibrating now, as if my finger is plugged into a live socket. I feel my eyes trying to roll up inside their sockets, but I cling to awareness. If I let go, this time, I’m sure will mean the end of me. Of both of us. Because I have no doubt, though I don’t know why. Jessica and I are somehow linked.
Is our own power eating us alive?
By now I’m in a full-blown panic mode. Still paralyzed, I’m unable to pull in a breath as the oxygen plug rips loose. The twining cord deepens to shades of violet and then flares blood-red, and finally vivid orange-yellow, before bursting into a phosphorescent lime green.
A deep rumble shakes the tank as the goop I’m floating in begins to heat. The tentacles that bind me shrink and wither. A powerful crack shatters the tank, expelling Jessica and me in a cascade of broken glass and glowing goo.
I land in darkness on cold hard cement, my limbs flaccid and useless. All around me, I hear people screaming, shouting but can’t comprehend their words.
Spitting out the glop, I wipe it from my eyes, and discover I can move again, but still can’t see much beyond a smeared blur. I stumble to my feet, skin still sticky with the repulsive stuff, the smell like rotten fish.
Finally, the scene begins to clarify. I’m covered in goop, stark naked in front of a crowd that gapes at me in stunned silence. Instinctively, I search the area for Jessica, and spot her lying face in a puddle of the glop, struggling to get to her feet. I feel the cable that bound us in the tank before I see it, now pulsing gold and rose and white between us like an umbilical cord made of light.
Why am I tethered to her? Of all the people to be stuck with. I tug viciously at it the cable, intent on tearing it out by its roots to no avail. Jessica is on her feet now, wobbly as I am. Still dazed, I scan our audience. Solemn, white-coated medics study us cautiously, while a group of Council members of various rank stare, open-mouthed, their shock obvious.
What are they doing to us? What had they expected to achieve?
My gaze falls on my mother, whose seated amongst the Councilors. I lock eyes with her for a moment before she springs up from her seat, her voice shrill.
“How did you let this happen, Verris?” she shouts, her voice breaking. “Let me see my daughter! Rosalie, can you hear me? Are you…”
But as my mother tries to move toward me, Verris grabs her by the arm to hold her back. In this moment, I am a child, yearning for the safety of my mother’s embrace. But my heart hammers, each beat pounding through the cord, that binds me to Jessica, reminding me that it has not been severed.
“I wouldn’t go near her, Sister,” Verris croons to my mother, preternaturally calm. “This could be another external attack on our people. Your daughter is an asset coveted by many. We must examine each crime scene before we can determine what has transpired here.”
“My daughter is no your tool!” she shrieks. Wrenching free from his grasp, he storms toward me. I want to be held by her, but yet, I’m angry. She let this happen to me. I feel my connection to Jessica heat, the cord between us a fiery whip. A glowing orange barrier rises around us, walling me off from my mother.
“Mom!” I shout through the mayhem. “Get back! I don’t want to hurt you!”
“Rosalie! What’s gotten into you?”
It’s a question I can’t answer myself. All I know is that I can’t risk having her near me right now. That she’s in danger.
But I can feel Jessica’s tremulous exhaustion through our connection. We are linked, but our energies are not synced. We are, I realize, yin and yang, cancelling each other out.
Nauseated, my head buzzing, the vision in one eye splinters in a kaleidoscope of brilliant light. I sink to my knees and empty the glowing contents of my stomach just as a bewildered and equally groggy Jessica manages to lift herself onto all fours. Breathless, enraged, I whip the sopping hair from my eyes, and turn to my mother. “Tell me what—what they did to me! “ I roar.
Alicia Bouchard Gates backs away. For once in her life, it seems, my mother is genuinely afraid. Afraid of me.
“Rosalie, I’m sorry, I…they… needed to determine if…” she says, trailing off
“If I may,” Verris says, gently moving my mother aside. “It appears your mother has reached the conclusion of her campaign to keep you from taking your rightful place as a member of the People of the Hand. Good sense has prevailed. Quite mysteriously, an unbreakable bond has formed between you and Miss Trang, preventing her from wiping your memories clean. Therefore,” he continues, “you cannot return to your former life. You must remain where you belong. Here with us.”
Whispers ripples through the crowd. “Liar!” my mother shrieks. “You did this to her! You want her to manipulate my daughter to use as your tool! I will not…”
“Enough!” Verris’s voice thunders through the darkened laboratory silencing the audience. Scattered luminescence blobs of the goop from the tank throb and pulse, creating the only light.
“The matter is closed, Alicia,” Verris says, his tone returned to its normal volume. “Medics, bring the young ladies to be cleansed in the healing baths. Training will begin immediately upon their emergency ascension.”
“What? Training?” My mother looks at me, eyes wild. “You can’t ascend my daughter without my consent. Without her consent!” 
Though I know ascent to full novice is the realization of her worst nightmare, the source of all her paranoia, all I can muster is a shrug. It seems my choice has been taken from me. There is no way out now. I may be tethered to a person I detest, but the die has been cast. I’m a full-fledged member of the People of the Hand, subject to the required training, laws, and punishments.
It’s what I wanted, isn’t it?
My mother whirls back to Verris and resumes her tirade. “You can’t pull rank on me, Verris! I am the one who mentored you, who paved the way for your Ascension to Councilor in Chief. You cannot do this…you..”
“Oh, but I can, Alicia,” Verris says, cutting her off, voice rich and sonorous. It’s the classic dominant male move, getting my mother look like an hysteric. I almost feel sorry for her, except I have to admit, after everything she’s subjected me to, it’s a nice change to see her bossed around for once.
“And therefore, I shall,” Verris continues, “You have my eternal gratitude for your mentorship. Now, please return to your chambers before I am forced to convene a hearing to determine your continued fitness to serve.”
My mother’s mouth clamps shut, the rage still burning in her eyes.
***
Jessica collapses. Totally spent, I have no further strength to argue. I sink to my knees as a group of veiled novices glide into the lab bearing two covered palanquins. My mother’s protests trail off as Jessica and I are eased into our own curtained vessels like a pair of sickly royals.
No one bothers to explain where we're being taken or what the healing baths are. Nestled among satin sheets, the soft pillows are heaven against my chafed skin. I’ll ask questions later, for now, I just want to sleep. And as waves of exhaustion wash over me, as I succumb to the rhythmic sway of the palanquin, I can’t summon the energy to care. I doze off, the buzzing in my ears and splinters of light that fracture my vision, receding.
One thing is clear. The bond between Jessica and me, initially weak and sporadic, now blazes with an intensity that pulses through my head, throbbing into an ache when we're more than a few yards apart. I know should be alarmed. What will this mean? Is it permanent? Will it ultimately kill us both?
“Jessica?” I whisper, testing our connection. “Can you hear me?” There's no verbal response, but I feel a flicker of acknowledgment through our bond.
And yet, I muse, as I’m jounced inside my darkened palanquin, my thoughts finally clarifying— witnessing my mother's fear of me was oddly satisfying.
The trek continues up slopes, down steep winding corridors. The air is musty and dank, but I can’t to see anything beyond the thick drapery to hint at where I’m headed. I only know that Jessica is nearby, for each time she falls out of range, I feel the tug of her distance like a thin hot wire shoved up my spine. The pain is sharp, immediate, and I bite back a gasp. How will we live like this?
The trip concludes at last, and when the velvet curtains are drawn back, I blink at the brightness of the cavernous chamber, made entirely, it appears, from crystal. Clusters of icicle-like stalactites catch the ethereal light and cast shifting prisms on the glittering walls. The scent of roses, lilacs, and violets mingles, floating on the air, lulling, and unsettling my frayed nerves all at the same time. I feel my raw edges soften, despite the razor’s edge of questions that gnaws at me.
At the chamber’s center sits a colossal crystal lotus flower, its petals are filled with luminescent water which trickles gently over the edges like a fountain. Healing waters, Verris had said. Each petal is big enough to hold a person, and instinctively, I understand that this is where I’m to be submerged.
My heart races as I’m taken from the palanquin by veiled attendants, their identities hidden, and carried toward the massive lotus, too weak to resist, even if I’d really wanted to. But doubts swirl in my mind. And as much as I’d secretly enjoyed my mother’s comeuppance, her antipathy to the man was undeniable. She didn’t believe he had my best interests at heart and there was nothing in his manner to counter that.
How long with my connection to Jessica last, I wonder? Did she cause it, or was it simply an accident? Maybe my mother has good reason to mistrust Verris. Either way, it's clear things aren't going so well for Jessica. Softly moaning as if she’s carried from her palanquin to the lotus, she can barely keep her eyes open. I feel the vague pressure of her discomfort through the cord that still connects us.
“What's happening to us?” I manage to croak out to one of the attendants. They remain silent, but their grip on me tightens slightly. Whether it's meant to be reassuring or restraining, I can't tell.
Dismissing my fears, I let myself be eased into a petal. I sink in, basking in the warmth of the soothing water. Beside me, Jessica rests in her own petal, her presence both comforting and disturbing all at the same time.
There’s no time to dwell on any of this. Tiny crystals bob to the surface, sparking with light. Prickling energy charges the water, stirring up a gentle current that seeps into my skin, awakening a mix of sensations—calming yet electrifying.
The lotus water seems to have a message for me, as if it understands my desires and fears, as if it holds the answers to the questions churning in my mind. And as I soak in the waters, my wariness fades, my uncertainty unraveling.
My connection to Jessica heats into a pulsing ribbon of energy, one I can't imagine existing without it. Shared experiences and unspoken thoughts flow between us. Drifting to sleep, I want to remain in this moment, to remain in these waters forever.
***
Scrubbed, and groomed, the next morning, Jessica and I are helped to dress in fresh novices’ attire by our silent attendants, then led up the winding stone stairs that lead directly to Verris' office. Though we haven’t spoken a word to each other through our entire ordeal, when our gazes meet, I know instinctively that everything between us has changed. Once we were rivals, now we are bound.
“How are you feeling?” I ask Jessica quietly as we climb the stairs. She gives me a long, inscrutable look before responding.
“Like I've been torn apart and put back together wrong,” she mutters. “You?”
I nod, understanding completely. “Same. Do you think this is... forever?”
Jessica's lips tighten. “I sure as hell hope not,” she says, but I feel a flicker of uncertainty through our bond.
I have no idea what to think since no one is telling us anything. If this bizarre situation is beneficial or dangerous to us. I plumb our connection to see if I can slip free of it, but the shock of pain I receive makes me pull back. Fast.
Jessica’s haughty expression has returned, her dark eyes fevered, a steady ferocity simmering in their depths. But where before her aloofness irritated me, now that we’re linked, though I hate to admit it, her crankiness has become a part of me. And as we approach Verris' office, I realize with a start that I can feel her apprehension mirroring my own.
A smug satisfaction bubbles up inside of me. I've won this round against my mother. Her bid to control me has failed. But as quickly as the thought forms, another slithers in. Have I just swapped one puppet master for another? Verris, with his smooth words and cold smiles, doesn't exactly scream “father figure.”
I push the doubt aside. This is my chance to finally be free of my mother's influence, to call my own shots. Yes, I'm inexplicably tethered to Jessica Trang, but somehow, I’m sure I’ll figure out a way to to gain the advantage. As we near Verris' door, I know I should be wary. I should think twice about what’s about to unfold. But I’m anything but.
This is, I know, deep in my bones, my destiny. What I’ve always been meant for.
Time to face whatever comes next. Bring it on.
The office suite occupies a tower in the south wing, a short distance from my mother’s chambers. Massive gothic windows stretch from floor to ceiling, providing a majestic view of rugged peaks and an endless expanse of the gray ocean beyond.
My mother is seated in an elegant wing chair, encircled by her fellow councilmembers. She watches us enter in silent contempt, but only her eyes betray her fury. A chill permeates the air, evidence of her attempts to manipulate my thoughts. But her efforts fail, like rain sliding off a windowpane. I can’t help but feel a little thrill as I realize that now I’m now totally immune to her tricks.
Finally, I’m Alicia-proof, for good.
Verris stands in front of his colossal desk, his sharp gaze dissecting us as Jessica and I are brought before him. A shiver crawls up my spine. The consequences of my decision settles heavily on my shoulders like gathering flock of crows.
Once I commit, I’m in this for life. Unless I can void his curse, being with Liam is a death sentence.
But I have no other choice.
“Daughters.” Verris’s voice resonates in my teeth. “In a different time, this momentous occasion would follow years of training and a formal ceremony, but urgency demands expedience. Esteemed daughters, as Grand Council and Headmaster of this Institute, I hereby welcome you to the Hand as a bonded pair of Adept Initiates.”
A small gasp escapes my mother’s lips. Verris shoots her a stern glance, but the rage still smolders in her eyes.
He continues, his voice steady. “You are now bound to this path, and to each other, in service to the People. Tomorrow at first light your training will commence. This marks the end of your initiation. Go in peace.”
My heart pounds in my chest, my throat parched. What have I done? I’ve let myself become entangled with this stuck-up girl, surrending myself as a tool to a secret organization I didn’t know existed just a few months ago.
I shift my gaze to Jessica. Our eyes meet, the bond between us pulsating, and I sense her uncertainty mirroring my own. But that’s all it is—a connection. Her secrets, her motives, everything that drives her remains shielded behind an impenetrable wall.
Deep down, I always knew my mother’s attempts to protect me would fail. I wanted it to fail. But I never asked to be joined at the hip to Jessica Trang.
As we're escorted out of Verris' office, my mother's furious gaze fixed on me, a realization dawns. Maybe I can spin this whole mess into something useful. If Aurora's claims are true, and Jessica really does know how to break their curse, then this bizarre alliance may hold the key to their salvation. And to getting Liam back.

Fourteen
Relief floods through me as we escape the suffocating tension of Verris’ office and my mother’s icy glares. The veiled novices guide me through the quiet corridors, but the pounding in my head returns, the vision in one eye shattering with a blast of light. I stumble, my steps faltering, but one of my companions catches me before I hit the floor.
“It’s me—Issy,” she whispers. “Pretend you don’t know.”
I squeeze her hand, but say nothing. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed her until now. The further I am from Jessica, the worse I feel. By the time we reach my room, I’m drenched in sweat, every movement a struggle.
Issy and another novice assist me to my bed, and I crawl gratefully under the covers. I’m trembling with chills, dizzy with vertigo. How they expect me to train in the morning is beyond me. I’m having second thoughts about being attached at the hip to, of all people, Jessica Trang.  
“Sleep well,” Issy says softly, tucking me in. “You’ll be taken to the training rooms at first light.”
“Thank you, novices,” I say, my voice stiff and shut my eyes against the spinning kaleidoscope of color and light, craving solitude despite Issy’s comforting presence. Just before straightening, Issy whispers one last time. “She asked me to say goodbye for her.”
My eyes snap open, and that’s when I notice the empty bed, Aurora’s belongings neatly arranged. I bolt upright, my head protesting at the sudden movement. Shit. Aurora’s gone and leaving me to deal with Jessica on my own.
The novices leave. At first, I’m relieved to be alone. But my body, alternately fevered and chilled won’t settle. I toss and turn, trying to block the shifting light and the throbbing pain in my head. The cord that ties me to Jessica flashes dimly, and I know our bond is the cause of my problems.
But the more I struggle, the worse it gets. Short of crashing through the halls and throwing myself at Jessica, there’s no relief. And hell if I’m going to do that. There has to be some way to function that doesn’t include bondage to her. Damn Aurora for abandoning me.
Damn this whole stupid Institute. The one I’ve sworn eternal allegiance to. What an idiot.
Hours pass, and dawn arrives. Somehow, in this sorry state I’ll be expected to spar and train, a soldier of the People. Will Verris revoke my status when he sees what a mess I am? And what will happen then? Will he have me killed?
No. I won’t let that happen. There has to be some way to control this. Maybe it’s like withdrawal from a drug. And maybe there’s an antidote.
And I know at once where I need to be. The only place that offers any hope to gain an upper hand over myself.
***
I grope my way into the corridor and stumble forward. I could find my way blindfolded, but the headache grinds into my skull, the fractured sight in one eye hampering my progress. My surroundings swirl, leaving me dizzy and off balance.
But I push through the pain until finally, I reach the Institute exit. Once outdoors, the cold helps reorient me, the icy ground slicing up my calves through the soles of my bare feet. My tether to Jessica holds fast, refusing to release its grip, but I resist its pull and with a final effort, fall inside the greenhouse doors.
The garden’s warmth envelops me, and drawing in a deep breath, I take in the sweet earthy scents, each inhalation calming me. Still half-blinded, my skull threatening to split open like an overripe melon, I sink onto the soft grass, relishing the peace I’ve always found here.
I lie there, cheek pressed to the ground. The tether pulses, but my headache fades, my fractured vision partly restored. I sit up, and closing my eyes, soak in the relief.
I can’t stay here forever. Soon, dawn will come and I need to be dressed and ready for training.
But for now, this respite is all I have. I dig my fingers into the soil, seeking strength. Sleep claims me instead, until a gentle pressure against my ear startles me awake. I bolt upright, scanning the area. There’s no one there.
Or so I think.
“Tyler?” I call out.
“Call me Fionn,” he whispers. “And don’t look at me.”
“Such a bossy ghost,” I quip, and swallow down the urge to cry for what’s been lost and try to enjoy what remains of my lost friend.
I can almost hear him huff out his response. “That’s not fair.”
“What happened to your sense of humor?” I say, forcing lightness into my voice. “You used to tease me mercilessly.”
There’s only silence, the weight in the air palpable, our almost-love turned to dust and memory. The link one that bridges the space between us, the living and the dead, is fragile.
“I’m sorry…Fionn,” I say. This name is sand on my tongue, sealing my loss of the boy who used to be Tyler. The boy I’d kissed, just once, then watched die.
“I’m at peace now, Rosalie,” he says in a voice like summer breeze.
I force back tears and dig my fingers deeper into the soil, seeking solace in the earth’s touch. “That’s easy for you to say…Fionn.” You don’t remember the salt smell of your skin, the ocean spray in your hair as your lips touched mine. But just as the tears brim in my eyes, I feel it, the softest of touches.
“I do remember, Rose,” he says, as if he hears my thoughts.
I clench my fists in the soil. “Please. I came here…because I need your help.”
There’s a pause, a subtle vibration in the air. “I know.”
I pull in a breath. Where once my headache pounded, there’s only a slight tingle. Small sparks of light dance in one eye, but I can see clearly again. “So will you help me?”
Another hesitation, followed by a light breeze. “I can’t.”
I grind my jaws. I should have known better than to rely on a ghost. “Great. Nice to see you, too.”
“Rose,” he says.
“If I can’t call you Tyler,” I say, gritting my teeth against the tears, “you can’t call me that.”
“Don’t be unreasonable,” he says, irritation creeping into his tone. “I didn’t mean to say there’s no solution. I mean I can’t help you with your bond to Jessica Trang. It has to come from within yourself.”
I get to my feet, exhausted by the run around. Tyler the ghost is even more evasive than Tyler the trailer park kid. But I do feel better, so maybe it’s time to go back to my room and get ready for training. “Okay. I see I’m wasting my time here.”
As I make my way toward the greenhouse exit, a loud crack rips through the tether stealing my breath away.
I scan my surroundings. “Did you do that?”
“Turn around, Rose.”
“Why? Why can’t I look at you?”
“It’s not that,” he says.
“Then what is it?” My cheeks flush, the pain intensifying.
“It’s…it’s  that I can’t…I can’t bear to look at you.”
I stifle a sob. Somewhere in that ghostly form the echo of his humanity lives on. I close my eyes against the tears which I can no longer hold back. Against the pain. Is he saying he still loves me?
“Yes,” comes the whispered response, confirmation that he does know what I’m thinking.
My heart quickens, the pain coursing through the tether sharpening. “If you love me, then why won’t you help me?”
The silence lingers, as if holding its breath. A breeze, soft as a feather, brushes my cheek like a kiss. “Dark times approach. Embrace your bond with Jessica. She holds the key to saving Liam—and yourself.”
The air crackles with an electric charge, surging through my jaw and down through the tether, toppling me to the ground. All I manage is an “uff.”
“Goodbye, Rose,” he whispers. The air shimmers and stills. I feel his absence, a profound longing that gusts through my soul like a cold wind. He’s gone, and this time possibly for good.
 
 
 

Fifteen
A hollow ache in my heart, I make it back to my room before dawn, but instead of finding peace, I found more angst. Somehow, I need to get Jessica to spill what she knows about Liam and Aurora’s curse, while taming the unruly bond that lashes us together. I’m sure she hates it as much as I do. I manage to grab an hour of sleep, only to be woken by a gentle touch on my shoulder.
“I convinced the other novice to let me see you alone,” Issy says, pulling back her veil. Her bright, dark eyes scrutinize me. “Are you okay, Rosalie?”
I force a smile. “Sure. Slept like a baby.”
“You’re a terrible liar,” she says. “And if it helps, Vlad is stuck caring for Jessica. He tells me she’s in worse shape than you. And very nasty about it.”
I groan, sinking into my pillows. “That doesn’t make me feel any better. Why, of all people, am I stuck with her?”
Issy shrugs. “Hell, if I know. Vlad isn’t having an easy time of it either. Yesterday she threw her dinner tray at him. He narrowly missed getting coated in mashed potatoes by scooting up the wall.”
I try to chuckle but end up coughing. “I guess that’s why they gave you guys the job…expert projectile avoidance.”
“I suppose.” Issy smiles, then adds. “I’m not sure I had the chance to tell you, but we’re both training as field medics.”
I nod and attempt to stifle another rib-rattling cough. “It suits you. I just hope you never have to use those skills on an actual battlefield.”
Issy’s face falls. “Rosalie,” she says, her voice dropping into a whisper. “There’s talk another attack is imminent. That’s why they’re rushing our training. Why they’re pushing you so hard.”
“How delightful.” I mutter and will the dull throb in my chest to subside. Instead, it burns deeper, more insistent. Will being near Jessica help? It’s obvious no one really knows what’s going on with us. This is uncharted territory. And according to Tyler/Fionn, I’m on my own without a map.
“I’ve brought you some azurianth to ease your pain,” she says softly. “It’s a powerful elixir, rarely administered. The relief is only temporary. It shouldn’t be taken frequently as it can dull the bond and, uh, create dependency.”
“As in it’s addictive?”
Issy nods, noting my look of fear. My mother brainwashed me to avoid all drugs besides Advil, legal or otherwise. “Yeah, it can be dangerous if misused. But right now, you need it. You can't train if you're stuck in bed, and since no one knows how to break this bond, you both need to learn to use it.”
“Fair point,” I mutter, taking a hesitant sip from the spoon she offers. Being tied to the school mean girl wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I joined the Hand. If I can't get out of bed, I can't dig for information from Jessica. 
I’m beginning to wonder if the answer lies with the bond itself—if I can push past whatever blockade Jessica’s got in place and dig out her secrets like a nut from its shell.
I wonder if she’s getting dosed with the same potion and how that will affect our bond. As my thoughts churn, a cool wave of relief sweeps over the throbbing in my chest, soothing the pain. It’s the best I’ve felt since the Tribunal.
“This stuff is amazing.”
Issy shakes her head. “Don’t get too used to it. This will be your last dose. The risks are too high. Verris assures me that with time and practice, you’ll learn to manage the bond and control the pain.”
That again.
***
The azurianth works its magic and in thirty minutes, I’m dressed in the new sparring gear Issy brought me, feeling revitalized. Verris has wasted no time in getting us up to speed.
This is what I wanted, isn’t it? To be a part of this new life, to leave behind the old timid Rosalie. The saying, “be careful what you wish for” lingers in my mind. One thing is clear—I never asked to be joined at the hip to the likes of Jessica Trang. And now with Aurora taken to sea, I’m left to contend with her royal highness all by my lonesome.
As Issy and I walk the corridors toward the training gym, I hear the footsteps of other novices heading in the same direction. I can’t help but wonder if Verris has locked up my mother. There’s no way she’d stay away from me for this long.
I sense Jessica’s presence before I even lay eyes on her. Our tether crackles with an electric charge, tugging at me like a root being yanked out of the ground. Every hair on my head stands on end, my entire body pulsating. One eye blurs with shattered light, half-blinding me again. Nausea rises in my throat. I stumble and Issy grabs hold of my arm to catch me before I fall. I guess even azurianth has its limits. It’s quite the conundrum. I can’t stand to be away from Jessica, but I can’t stand to be near her either.
“Easy there,” Issy says. Supported by her, we enter the gymnasium. The bright lights hurt my eyes and my legs threaten to give way. The gym is packed with sparring novices who go abruptly silent and turn stare at me.
And at her.
Because there she is, Jessica, looking disheveled and nearly skeletal as she struggles in vain against Bester and Ridalious. I’d take a moment to gloat at her misery if I didn’t have the sudden urge to empty my stomach.
Jessica and I are ushered to the center of the training room, encircled by scores of curious novices. The tether burns in my chest, making it hard to breathe or keep my head up. I moan. I think hear Jessica screaming.
Everything freezes, as if time stands still. Jessica and I are lifted, suspended three feet off the ground as a tall, genderless figure, clad in a diaphanous white robe, glides to the center of the gym, their huge opaline eyes reflecting unfathomable depths. Unable to free myself, I glance at Jessica. She’s equally paralyzed, her eyes bulging with rage and fear.
And recognition. She knows this person.
“We are Avelia,” the figure declares, their harmonious voice vibrating in my teeth. “We are to be your trainer.”
Fear tightens my chest. Avelia radiates an immense power that blazes through the tether. I’m afraid I’m going to black out, or worse die here, dangling like a broken puppet, right in front of everyone.
The strangely amplified words resonate through the gym. “We are here to guide you on your journey to master the dormant power that resides within you both,” Avelia says, “if you can harness them, you will possess power unmatched by any bonded pair the world has known.”
Bonded pair? Is a thing in the People of the Hand? There’s clearly so much I don’t know about this society I’ve just consigned myself to. But it’s too late for buyer’s remorse, now.
The tall being’s gaze sweeps across the stunned onlookers. I struggle to focus. I don’t feel powerful. Instead, I feel crushed and insignificant. Weak as a newborn.
“You will train for eight hours each day,” they boom. “Your tether demands discipline and will push you to your limits. You have no choice in the matter. If you do not master it, the bond will master you. It is a ravenous thing, a visceral entity, that if given the chance, will devour its host.”
Great. This is worse than I’d ever imagined. Maybe my mother’s fears were justified. But then, I think of Liam. No matter what, I could never have just walked away from him. So, I steel myself against the exhaustion, the pain, the rattling of Avelia’s deep voice inside my head.
Their words echo outside my head and through the gymnasium, as well, reminding everyone that Jessica and I must learn to control the tether—or face death, probably in a very unpleasant manner.
It’s not what I need to hear right now, so I disconnect from my sorrows, the way I always have, and throw myself into the task at hand. I force myself to think of my garden in California. Of Tyler’s golden locks in the moonlight. Of Liam and the glowing ladyskirts. Of all the places I’d rather be than here. And still, nothing helps to beat back the pain, the bone-deep weariness.
I glance over at Jessica, who’s delicate features are drawn into an angry scowl. She turns to look at me, and a sharp jolt of agony snaps across the tether and plunges into my chest.
She hates this as much as I do.
But, if possible, she hates me even more
***
We’re given the rest of the day to recover from our so-called training, which was, technically, more like torture than not.
The following day of training is pure hell. Avelia is relentless, cycling through outright assaults and impossible commands. Nothing seems to please them or break the tether’s stubborn refusal to cooperate. The gymnasium echoes with Avelia's strident voice. “Again! Push harder!”
I grit my teeth, sweat pouring down my face. Jessica and I are back-to-back in the center of the gym. We’ve been ordered to walk as far away from each other as possible until the pain becomes unbearable. I get about two yards, when my legs begin to feel like lead, my chest aching, each step more excruciating than the last. We only make it half the distance to the furthest corner of the gym, before I buckle. Jessica folds soon after.
“Return to center,” Avelia demands. “Try again.”
Panting, I glance at Jessica. It’s almost a relief to be in close proximity again. But her face is a mask of determination and pain and she refuses to meet my eyes, as we repeat the exercise over and over.
After what feels like hours, we’ve only stretched the tether a few more feet. Avelia finally allows us to collapse from exhaustion. “Five minutes break. Then we move to the next exercise.”
I try to catch my breath, hoping to muster the courage to break the ice with Jessica. Since the debacle on Salttain, I haven’t had to chance to confront her—about how this happened to us, and what she knows about Liam and Aurora’s cure. I try a casual approach. “Hey, do you think—”
“Don't,” she snaps, cutting me off. Her eyes are cold, her jaw set. “I'm not here to be your friend or your confidante. Just... don't talk to me unless you have to.”
As the week progresses, Jessica is even more intractable, rebuffing my every attempt to get her alone and talk. Meanwhile, the other novices gather every day to watch us, placing bets as if our torment is some sick form of entertainment.
Our days follow a grueling regimen. Four hours in the gym, swinging swords and grappling with the tether which still resists our every move.
After lunch we’re sent on a run around the island along the shoreline, where I’m on the lookout for signs of Liam—or any chance to speak to Jessica. I’ve yet to give up, but each time I’m met with an electric slap through the tether, as if she’s wielding it to keep me away from her.
By the time we’re back in the gym for Avelia’s sadistic exercises, we’re both dead on our feet. It’s rinse and repeat, day after day.
Again, I question my judgment for consenting to this insanity. Am I really any closer to saving Liam? It’s odd that I haven’t seen my mother at all since the training began. And what’s worse, is that I’m isolated from my other friends, Ridalious, Bester and Vlad, who I haven’t gotten a chance to speak to since our imprisonment on Salttain — who have, apparently been warned to keep their distance.
The only friend I see is Issy, who has no insight into how Jessica and I actually became a bonded pair or what it means for our future. Verris comes to our daily practice to watch in stern silence, but offers no answers either.
My questions gnaw at me. Is this permanent? Once our training takes hold will Jessica and I be more powerful together than apart? Will I learn not to detest her with every fiber of my being?
Despite the misery of my situation, I press on, A student that I am, determined to show my worth. Determined to wrest Jessica’s secrets from her, whether by coercion or by force.
As the second week begins, Avelia announces a new challenge. We’re led barefoot up a steep mountain, trailed by a group of curious onlookers, who, by now, I’ve learned to ignore.
My frozen feet ache but, when we finally reach the summit, I’m not too far gone to appreciate the breathtaking scene that lies before us. The top of the mountain is a plateau where iridescent glaciers in shades of vibrant blues, purples, and greens reflect the sunlight, casting a vibrant glow upon the desolate surroundings. As we trudge closer, I realize these are the mouths to a series of magnificent ice caves. If I wasn’t frozen to the bone, I’d be awed at the sight.
Avelia, gown rustling in the fierce wind, is already there waiting, apparently untroubled by the cold. Jessica and I are provided with heavy furred boots and thick parkas, but my insides squirm. If freezing half to death isn’t part of the challenge, I can’t imagine what other adventures lie in store.
Once we’re suited, Avelia, opaline eyes as glacial as the surrounding terrain, launches into one of their customary speeches, their deep alto ricocheting off the sheets of gleaming ice.
“You are at an inflection point, Daughters. Your hard work has begun to pay off, and now you must face an even greater test.”
“Each cave harbors a power that will either thwart or assist your efforts. Allow the tether to guide you. Trust your bond and each other, or your battle against yourselves will eventually result in your deaths. Which would,” they add, with the closest their expressionless face ever comes to a grin, “be a monumental waste. But we have never failed in our endeavors. And we do not intend to do so now.”
Our deaths? Does she mean if we can’t figure out how to work together our connection is going to kill us?
My teeth chatter, a sudden wave of loneliness blowing through my chest. Though my mother’s monitoring always felt suffocating, suddenly, its inexplicable absence fills me with dread. This was what I wanted, wasn’t it? To face life on my own terms?
But I’ve never been one to turn my back on a challenge, so I pull in a long breath and vow to push on.
There’s a smattering of applause from the onlookers and I shake my head. It’s astounding how nosiness can drive people to such extremes that they’d trudge after us to this frozen wasteland.
Still, I’m glad for witnesses in case Avelia gets tired of our failures and decides to stop our hearts. Which, I’m certain—though I know absolutely nothing about them or their background—they can easily do.
Meanwhile, Avelia drones on. “Tap into your serenity attunement to listen. With the right harmonics, a cave will vibrate to your resonance, thus deepening your connection. This correct alignment will allow you to filter out obstructive energies. Do not,” they add emphatically, “come out of the cave too soon or there will be consequences.”
I shiver. Vibe with a cave and coerce a reluctant tether? This sounds like a tall order since I’m lashed to the orneriest person in the universe. Glumly, I wonder if Avelia means consequences directly from them, or if the caves will have a violent reaction. Given their typical ambiguity, anything is possible.
The multi-colored ice formations loom around us, their depths shimmering with hues of magenta, blue, purple and gold.
“Begin!” Avelia booms.
I’m not sure where to start. I steal a glance at Jessica. Her face is etched with exhaustion, her gaze fixed on the swirling patterns of the lights. She charges forward, and I follow, but with each attempt to enter the caverns, we fail, the tether snapping back on us in a painful backlash.
“I don’t know how much longer I can stand this,” I mutter.
Jessica shoots me a frustrated glare, her brows furrowed in concentration. “Really, because I'm having a grand time here? What do you propose? Ask to return to the Institute for a sauna? Newsflash—the gold glacier seems to drain our energy instead of amplifying it. I think we should try the magenta.”
I sigh and shake my head. Even the threat of our mutual demise hasn’t broken her determination to humiliate me. Again, I question my sanity for choosing this path, for not taking the easy road and listening to my mother. I try not to think about the cozy and opulent rooms that would have been waiting for me at Lausanne University, my days steeped in the study of science.
“Follow me.” Jessica jerks her head in the direction of the turquoise-hued cave on the far left, the smallest of the lot. The tether buzzes in agreement.
Since I have no better ideas, I trudge after her through the snow, my feet freezing despite the warm boots. All the while, the tether complains if I let too much distance fall between us but zaps me with an electric shock if I get too close. Talk about a toxic relationship.
And yet, I persist. I can’t get what Aurora and Tyler said out of my head. That somehow, this arrogant bitch holds the key to saving Liam and I’m going to crack her, and this godforsaken tether, or die trying.

Sixteen
At the lip of the turquoise cave the lights shift eerily. The tether seems to balk, shuddering with a long slow tremor, as if it isn’t sure either.
“Wait a minute,” I blurt. “Maybe we should focus on our serenity thing first. Out here before we enter. Like Avelia said.”
It sounds like a joke, given how much we can’t stand each other. But I sense the tether is getting fed up with us. One of us has to give in, or we’re both toast. And not the delicious kind.
“Are you kidding?” Jessica yells. “You’re just looking for the easy way out.”
“No,” I snap back. “I’m dead serious. I’m not enjoying your company any more than you’re enjoying mine, but we have to work together. Is your pride worth more than—I don’t know—your love for Aurora?”
For a moment Jessica looks like she wants to punch me, but then her face falls. “You…know?”
“Come on. Do you think Aurora would keep something like that from me after all we’ve been through? She made me promise to look after you when she left.”
Jessica narrows her eyes at me. “And you’re doing such a fantastic job. Stay out of my personal business, okay? Let’s just go in and get this over with.”
Arguing with Jessica is like trying to convince the sky not to be blue, so I step forward cautiously. The cave entrance gapes like the maw of a hungry beast waiting to devour its prey. Against my better judgement, I follow her inside.
As we tread deeper into the cave, our footsteps echoing in the silence, the translucent walls shimmer with ethereal light. A low hum reverberates through the cave, vibrating beneath my boots and straight through the tether.
“Stop!” I call out to Jessica. “Can you feel it?”
“I do feel it,” she says. “And that’s why we should keep going.”
“Try and make me,” I say, anchoring myself to the spot. Jessica may have the power to make the tether keep me from getting too close to her, but maybe I can keep her from getting too far away.
Stuck, she stops a few yards from me, arms folded across her chest. Ignoring her, I sink to cave floor, and closing my eyes, turn inward to focus on the vibrations that ripple through the tether. They seem to form a pattern, a familiar rhythm that stirs a memory in me, like the control I had over the ribbons of light on Salttain.
The vibrations intensify, heat coursing through the tether. Jessica cries out. “Ouch! Did you do that on purpose?”
I swallow down a chuckle. “Surprise, surprise. I’m just full of them. Shut up and let’s see what happens.”
She glares at me, her jaw set. “You think you know everything, Rosalie Gatell. All of you idiots do, but you…”
I cut her off. “Actually, Jessica, I don’t know much of anything. But I hear that you do. For instance, Aurora thinks you can help lift her curse. Liam’s curse. But you don’t want to talk about that.”
Jessica’s body goes taut. For a moment it looks like she’s going to lunge at me. Instead, she sinks beside me with a heavy sigh. “If you think I’m holding out on you because I’m just a stuck-up bitch? You’re wrong, Rosalie. There are…things you couldn’t possibly understand. Secrets the Council keeps even from themselves.”
I tense, her words hanging in the air between us. “Such as? If we’re bound together like conjoined twins, don’t you think I should know? Where you go, I go.”
She shakes her head. “It’s too dangerous. Which is why we need to break this damn tether or beat it into submission.”
“Just tell me if you know,” I whisper, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice. “tell me if what Aurora said about the curse is true. I won’t push you to tell me anymore.”
“You love him.”
I swallow hard, nodding in response. “It’s no secret. And you love her.”
At first, Jessica frowns, then breaks into peals of laughter, the sound bouncing off the cave walls. “What a pair we are!”
“So, you’ll tell me?”
Her laughter subsides, her face gone grim. “When it’s safe to do so.”
I’m about to counter her, when a wave of heat washes through the tether, the cave walls humming in unison.
Jessica leaps to her feet, excitement in her eyes. “This is it! This is the spot!”
I’m jump to my feet, too. I’m still frustrated, but maybe if we can control this tether, I can wrench the information out of her. “Alright,” I say, steadying myself. “Let’s tap into that serenity—then wait and see what happens.”
***
We sit on the cave floor for the better part of an hour, trying to channel serenity while my butt grows numb on the freezing ground. Eventually, subtle heat creeps from the tether, providing some warmth.
And then, without warning, the cave walls come alive with pulsating energy. The ground beneath us quakes, jolting me with tremors that shake me to my core. My muscles erupt into intense convulsions, and my eyes roll up into my head. I’m unable to free myself. To move. Through the tether, I can feel that Jessica is experiencing the same agony.
The spasms escalate into a violent frenzy, my head slamming against the hard cave floor. It’s hard to find serenity when my skull is about to crack open, but I try to latch onto the vibrations that shudder through the ice and detonate in my ears.
Through fluttering eyelids, I catch glimpses of glyphs that flicker and glow inside the ice walls. Garbled words shout in my mind, at first incomprehensible, until they clarify. Finally, I recognize them as the same chant I’d unleashed to obliterate Randy Lambert on Salttain.
It’s also then I realize that the shouting in my brain is actually Jessica, reaching for me through our tether. I strain to synchronize my lips with hers, to mouth the words Liam taught me, that she somehow knows, in unison…Nizedha. Yunakti. Invati. Vimukti. Dyati. Hanti. Anything to stop this agony, even if it means our death.
As if in response, the glyphs detach from the walls, swirling together into a dizzying vortex. Our bodies lift, sucked into the tempest. I fight to stay conscious, but I can sense my life draining away, not just from me, but from Jessica as well, as if the cave, is indeed, going to consume us.
Then, in a cascade of sparks, the glyphs shatter, severing the tether. I’m cast adrift in a silent void, weightless and disembodied. I feel nothing. Hear nothing. See nothing.
It seems an eternity that I float, cut free from my earthly bonds, until, at last, a vague scenario materializes before me.
It can’t be.
Waves of revulsion surge through me. There, bathed in a spotlight like an actor on a stage, smirking back at me with his repulsive false eye, stands Brody Lambert.
The silent world holds its breath, the tether stretching taut as a wire. For the first time in a while, I sense Jessica, a frigid rage flaring between us, followed by a rumble of deadly words. Brody’s smirk contorts and our senses unite before we explode together in a supernova of blinding light.

Seventeen
A deafening blast expels us from the cave. I land on my knees in the snow, heavy gusts of snow pummeling my cheeks. The cave shudders behind me, followed by a loud crack.
I remain still until, on instinct, I reach out through the tether, searching for Jessica. At first there’s only silence. But then, a faint thrum pulses through the connection, and I spot her struggling to her feet a few yards away. There’s no one else around. Avelia and our crowd of spectators are gone.
Relief washes over me as the tether’s vibrations intensify. Jessica stumbles toward me, a trail of blood streaming from her nose. A sudden boom, like gunfire, echoes through the air, and the ice cave collapses in a cloud of crystals and white dust.
“Oh God,” Jessica says. “What just happened in there?”
I gather myself and stand. Nothing seems to hurt, although I swipe away blood from my nose as well. A low rumble reverberates beneath our feet.
“I don’t know,” I say, “but we should get the hell out of here and talk about it later. I think this whole ice shelf is about to give way.”
We race through the blizzard’s fury, groping our way down the mountain, too winded to speak. Yet, Jessica’s thoughts flow freely through the tether—not actual words, but impressions and emotions.
It’s odd, having this connection to her. It’s not an open door but a narrow corridor —one we can open and close at will. Jessica allows what she wants me to know, keeping her secrets stashed behind a vaulted door. The secrets I need. Eventually, I’ll pry that door open. But our survival comes first.
As we approach the base of the mountain, we finally come upon Avelia and the group of novices, huddled together against the storm. I’m not sure if I’m relieved or furious at them for abandoning us as they glide toward us, motioning for the curious novices to step back. But instead of looking triumphant over our apparent success, their features twist in fear, as if they’re surprised to see us. Had they hoped we’d fail all along?
“You…have…you’ve achieved the impossible,” they stammer. “We—we didn’t dare hope you would…”
Jessica lunges, taking a swing at our instructor. “You deceitful bitch! You sent us in there to die!”
I manage to hold Jessica back as Avelia effortlessly evades her attack. Jessica’s rage sears through the tether, but I send a cool surge of reassurance in response. She steps back, visibly calmer. Amazing.
Keeping my voice steady, I say, “Maybe you can explain what you expected to happen to us in there.”
What’s left of Avelia’s composure crumbles completely. “W-we were given no choice. But we did have faith against long odds that you would succeed.”
“Faith?” Jessica screams, a rush of heat threatening to melt my cool blockade. I counter with an icy blast. Jessica shoots me an indignant glare, but reluctantly retreats. Avelia watches us in horror, while I fight back a smile. Tether tag team is going to be interesting.
Before I can press Avelia further, a figure comes running toward us, breathless and winded. Issy.
“Rosalie, you must come at once,” she pants, producing a scroll from within her robes. “It’s an official request from Councilor Alicia Bouchard.”
Avelia’s expression shifts from annoyance to relief. She nods imperiously and I’m dismissed. Jessica is instructed to join me, but to keep a reasonable distance.
I feel Jessica’s anguish through the tether, as if my insides are being pulled like taffy. The situation is clear—we may have some control over it, but we still can’t break free of the tether.
***
I’m told to leave Jessica behind and return to the Institute at once. Fortunately, our drills have extended the distance the tether will stretch, but nevertheless, I experience her distance as a vague tug. I try to shove her continuous presence out of my mind, but it remains as a dull ache.
Inside her office, I find Alicia Bouchard Gatell pacing, as close to unhinged as I’ve ever seen my mother. Her disheveled appearance—uncombed hair, smeared makeup, and ashen complexion—makes her seem years older. It’s a jarring sight.
“Darling!” she exclaims, once Issy leaves and we’re alone. Rushing toward me, she squeezes me in a rib-cracking hug. To my shock, my iron-willed mother stinks of booze.
I draw back. “Have you been drinking?”
She blinks, as if she’s shocked that I can smell the alcohol on her breath. Her cheeks flush. “I-uh. Oh, Rosalie. I’m sorry. Please, have a seat.” She gestures to a chair, and sitting behind her massive desk, reaches for a button. A shimmering curtain of air, like sun on rain, descends, enveloping us in silence.
“I hope you don’t mind,” she says. “It’s for privacy. What I need to tell you is absolutely confidential.”
Her bloodshot her eyes lock with mine. I feel the sudden absence of Jessica’s presence as if the oxygen has been sucked from my lungs. Heaving in a breath, I reach for her, and am relieved when I pick up the threads of our tether and the constriction in my chest eases.
Now that I can breathe again, my attention shifts back to my mother. It’s obvious she’s been crying. Which chills me to my core.
“Rosalie,” she continues, her voice shaky, “you know I’ve made it my mission to shield you from this life. But when you bonded with that girl,” she says, emphasizing girl with a note of disgust, “I knew things had spiraled beyond my control. However, what I didn’t know, what I could not have imagined is this. I’ve been worrying about all the wrong things. It’s not just the Fist we need to fear, Rosalie.”
Her eyes gleam with fervor and I question who’s really the crazy one—my dad or her.
“Mom,” I say, keeping my tone measured. I probe for her usual attempts to influence me, but find only raw fear, which terrifies me.
“Jessica and I had a major breakthrough today,” I say, hoping to mollify her. “We’ve finally harnessed our duality. Avelia may be bonkers, but their crazy scheme actually worked—they almost killed us but…”
Springing from her seat, my mother leans across the desk, cutting me off. “You what? That sea witch is caught up in this? I don’t know who’s behind the conspiracy, but members of the Fist have infiltrated the Council.”
I shrink back, my heart pounding. “Sea witch? Do you mean Avelia?”
She takes a shuddering breath in a useless attempt to gather herself. “There’s no time to explain, Rosalie. What’s done is done. You must hone your craft to its fullest. There are traitors among us. I fear an imminent attack. And..I fear—I fear that…they are onto me.”
“Who do you fear? What do you mean, onto you?”
Her eyes widen, her words slurred. Her face crumples and she collapses into her seat, sobbing. “That I’ve uncovered their treachery. I’m so sorry.”
“Whose treachery, Mom? Don’t you think I should know?”
“Rosalie,” she says, her voice shaking. “You must…not let them. They must not…”
Her words choke off. I’m shaken to seeing my unflappable mother falling apart, but I struggle to keep my head.
“I understand,” I say, my voice steady, humoring her. “And I’m sorry to bring this up, but if you can’t help Liam, can you at least tell me how I can?”
She shudders and squeezes her eyes closed. “A-ask your friend Jessica. S-seek out her p-people.” Gasping, she clutches her chest as if it’s difficult to breathe.
I frown, completely baffled at her words. “Jessica’s people? She’s from the Hand, like us. Isn’t she?”
A strange expression flickers across my mother’s face. She shakes her head. “There’s so much you don’t know, darling. I would tell you,” she says, struggling for air. “but I’m ensnared by…by an enchantment that binds all high Councilmembers. If we reveal certain…privileged information, the consequences can be…deadly. I would share it with you now if I thought that would help you. I would…”
“Mother!” I shout, jumping to my feet. “I don’t expect you to sacrifice yourself for a piece of intel. I can just ask Jessica! You’re the third person to tell me she can help Liam.”
Her gaze cast down at her desk, she nods. “It’s true. I’ve failed you, Rosalie. I’ve failed you horribly.”
What the hell is my mother talking about? Has she finally snapped? Frustration surges through me. I attempt to send a message through the tether to Jessica, but it seems she’s blocking me again. All I sense is a faint tingling, an awareness of her on the other end and I can’t help but wonder—who is this person I’m fused to? Who is Jessica Trang, really?
My mother freezes as the air around us fractures and drops like ice crystals, rupturing the silence. A group of guards barrel into her office and she leaps up from her seat, searching around as she’s if looking for a weapon. “Run, Rosalie! Like I said. Go!”
But I’m rooted to my seat as the guards converge on my mother, paying me no mind.
“Alicia Bouchard Gatell,” one of them announces. “You are officially removed of your duties. You are now under arrest by the order of the High Council.”
I watch in horror as my mother is gagged with a pulsating plug of blue light, her hands bound by glowing cuffs. She steals one last desperate glance as she’s led away, the door slamming behind her.

Eighteen
She told me to run.
I stare at my mother’s office door, momentarily paralyzed. There’s a fiery ache in my chest and no sign of Jessica. I send a pulse of energy out to her, but none is returned. Did something happen to her in my absence?
Maybe my mother had been right all along to be so paranoid. Now, she’s the one in danger for real, and I’m tied to a girl with unclear loyalties, surrounded by hidden enemies.
But there’s no time to wallow in self-pity. Regardless of who Jessica is or the source of her strange powers, we’re bound. And if we can put our differences aside and learn how to cooperate, we’ll be unstoppable.
I need to find my way back to her. Had separating from her leave her exposed and vulnerable? Was this part of the plan?
I slip into the corridor, finding it empty. No one stops me as I sprint through the halls, down the spiral staircase, and across deserted dining hall. Bursting out the kitchen delivery entrance, I run through the walled yards, the frigid air biting at my skin. Snow gusts blind me as I fight my way beyond the Institute’s gates, clinging to the faint pulse of the tether like a lifeline.
A cloaked figure blocks my way, materializing seemingly out of nowhere. At first, I mistake it for Issy, but as it draws closer, I see the silver mask that covers its entire face. Panic floods me as I attempt to run in the other direction, but the thing is too fast. Intercepting me, it grips my arms with unyielding strength.
“Rosalie Gatell,” it says in a mechanical voice, like metal scraping metal. “You are in immediate peril. Report to the waterfront on the island’s southern tip.”
And then, as abruptly as it appears, the being or whatever it is, vanishes back into the mist, leaving me shaken and completely bewildered.
I press on through the swirling snow and finally stumble upon Jessica, half-frozen, lips blue and teeth chattering. In the near distance Avelia stands motionless among the novices as if she’s been frozen solid.
For an instant, I see the relief on Jessica’s face, before she schools her expression back to its usual facade. But she can’t hide the tremble in her voice, or the fear that vibrates through the tether. “What took you so long?”
I glance sideways at Avelia, who’s currently stalking toward us. My mother’s word for them—sea witch—echoes in my mind. But that makes no sense. Nothing does, though I’m now certain Jessica knows exactly what it means. She’d recognized Avelia the first instant she laid eyes on them.
 “We can’t talk here,” I whisper. I close my eyes and focus on pushing my thoughts through the tether. At first, it’s like a blocked drain, but finally the obstruction gives way, and my warning seeps through.
Wide-eyed, Jessica sputters. “What on earth? Were you trying to tell me something? It—it—you…I don’t understand, but don’t ever do that again without asking first…”
I glance at Avelia, and hope the howling wind drowns out our conversation. That’s assuming sea witches don’t have superhuman hearing. “It’s not safe to speak out loud, but we’re in trouble. I’m sorry if it violates your boundaries, but we need to open up to each. Unless you’d rather die to protect your precious secrets.”
Rage contorts Jessica’s face. A surge of energy blasts through the tether, knocking me off my feet. “Don’t you dare order me around, Miss High and Mighty…just because your mother is…”
Steamed, I scramble to my feet just as Avelia reaches us. In my absence, they seem to have gathered themselves and accepted our new status. “Have you not learned discipline under our guidance?” they scold, imperiously. “You’ve achieved a significant milestone. Do not squander your progress with petty squabbles.”
Still bent over with pain from Jessica’s assault, I confront Avelia. Suddenly, they’ve changed their tune and I’m going to get to the bottom of it. “If I may,” I say, straightening. “My mother has been arrested. Do you have knowledge of this?”
Their opaline eyes bulge. For a moment, it seems I’ve rendered Avelia speechless. “No! I—of course not, I would never,” they blubber, stepping back from me, “I would not…”
“She called you a sea witch. Who are you, really? Tell me what’s really going on here!”
Heated with fury, I feel my rage blister through the tether. If I can’t rein it in will I incinerate Jessica on the other end?
Instead, a gentle vibration pulses back to me, followed by a wave of soothing coolness that dowses the flames. Coherent words flow through the connection. Words I can understand. “Calm down, Rosalie,” Jessica says in my mind. “Let me handle this.”
Trembling, I glance at Jessica, and she nods grimly. I watch as she strides towards Avelia, arm extended, palm out the same way she took down Brody and his minions. Dark waves of energy crackle between she and Avelia. The air shimmers with heat, melting a circle of ice around them.
There’s a whooshing noise as the energy rebounds, followed by an explosion as Jessica is catapulted backward. She’s shielded me from the shock, but I feel the impact jackhammer through my teeth. The ground rumbles around Avelia, melted snow lifting in a spiraling funnel cloud of water droplets.
“Run!” I scream at the bewildered novices. “Go back inside!”
Jessica remains sprawled on her back in the snow, unconscious. The swirling cloud rotating wildly around them, Avelia stalks toward me and booms. “How dare you question me, novice? We are here to safeguard the common good, to protect the world against the corruption. Your mother allowed herself to…”
A shrill whistle pierces the air as Avelia’s words cut off and a spear implants in their forehead. Eyes wide with shock, Avelia topples backward, crashing to the ground like a felled tree. The other novices crowd around us, but I shout, searching for where the strike came from. There’s no sign of anyone. I shout at the novices who gape at me like deer in the headlights. For lack of any better advice, I shout. “Get back inside, you idiots! Go!”
Then, I spot Issy, trailed by Vlad, the massive bulk of Bester and Ridalious looming behind them.
“Why did you kill her?” I ask, both relieved and stunned as my friends surround me.
 “Kill who? We’ve been watching out for you the whole time,” Bester says. “Did you think we’d leave you to face this all this crazy stuff alone?”
Puzzled, I search again. Bester wouldn’t lie, would he? But he’d been controlled before, by Brody. Oh shit. Is that what’s happening? Is Brody about to invade the Institute?
I scan the tether, and get no response. Jessica is still unconscious. Issy orders the novices to scatter, and they obey.
Still searching the mists for Avelia’s assassin, my gaze lands on their lifeless form bleeding into the snow. The bleak realization hits me. I’m pretty sure they were trying to kill me and Jessica, but I can’t help but wish I’d gotten some information out of them before they died. Meanwhile, my tether is silent and Jessica is nowhere to be found. Wonderful.
And then I remember the warning from the cloaked figure that had intercepted me earlier—to head to the waterfront. Lacking any better plans, I gesture to my friends and shout, “We need to…”
I never get the chance to finish as the horde of armed intruders breaches the snowbank, swarming right for us.

Nineteen
It’s got to be Brody, I think, as I grasp for the tether. My friends flank me, refusing to budge.
From the distance comes a shout and my tether surges to life.
“Stand down!” Jessica screams, as she staggers toward us, through the snow.
The figures that emerge over the rise are like no fighting force I’ve ever seen. If it’s Brody’s army, he’s made himself some scary new friends.
Clad in armor resembling the iridescent exoskeletons of crustaceans, dozens of them advance on us, their weapons a hybrid cross between whaling harpoons, laser blaster, and a cluster of barnacles. Meanwhile, there’s no sign of Brody anywhere.
“What are they?” I manage to choke out, as Jessica reaches my side.
“The most lethal assassins in the world,” Jessica shouts. “Get back, damn it!”
“Is it the Fist? Are you in league with them?” I blurt out, my mind racing.
“Shut the fuck up, Rosalie! I’m not in league with them!”
Our tether convulses with panic, transmitting Jessica’s terror to me. She knows these creatures, and clearly, she’s scared to death of them. But there’s no place to run as our attackers close in, their armor glinting like beacons in the blizzard conditions. Their horned helmets are lit from within by a sickly green that conceals their faces.
But there’s no time for questions as the onslaught begins. Weapons scream through the air as a surreal and deadly battle spools around me as if in slow motion.
Ridalious roars, swinging his massive axe with ferocious force. Three assailants fall to his blade, but more keep coming. Bester hurls an explosive device that detonates at the feet of another four attackers who explode in a spray of red vapor.
At least, I think numbly, whatever these creeps are, they bleed red. Though, I’m not sure if they’re fully human. Either way, the assault is relentless. Other novices join the fray, but fall, their bodies littering the snowy ground.
There’s no sign of Brody. The coward has stayed behind, probably watching from a safe location.
Issy and Vlad launch in unison. Defying gravity in a breathtaking dance of midair choreography, they hack away at our assailants with curved scimitars in a lethal aerial assault.
The battle raging on around me, I’m frozen, still unsure if I can trust my connection with Jessica. If she’s really on the same side, or if our shared power won’t backfire on us.
But Jessica shows no such reluctance as she storms directly toward the relentless wall of assailants, her arms extended. Not this again. She really is a slow learner.
Corrosive heat blisters through the tether. I scream as snake-like tentacles of light blast from our chests and coil in the air, monstrous white-hot appendages. They lunge toward our attackers, ensnaring and lifting their victims airborne, squeezing the life out of them, then letting their incinerated husks drop to the snow. It’s a grisly scene and I’m horrified to have participated. Yet, we beat them back. Together.
Finally, the assault ends as the last attacker thinks better of getting flame-broiled, and retreats into the mist, vanishing as if they’d never been here at all.
Surrounded by the bodies of our dead attackers and fallen comrades, the six of us stand dazed and bruised, but very much alive. Jessica turns to me, eyes blazing with triumph. A thrill pours through the tether, tinged with something I’d never expected nor seen coming—bloodlust.
The tether has fed, and it hungers for more.
Had we fended off an attack from the Fist? Or was that strange squadron another entity, altogether? Maybe, with the Institute weakened from within other groups will want to seize on an opportunity.
It’s obvious Jessica knows more than she’s letting on, but right now I’m steering clear. With our connection is currently sated, how long before it craves more violence? More death?
I’ve never been so disgusted and terrified in my life.

Twenty
I shake myself out of my daze. We can’t just stand around like sitting ducks. The cloaked figure had predicted the attack—but hadn’t helped in the fight. Still, with my mother under arrest, and her dire warning about the corruption inside the Institute, I’m at a loss for a better alternative.
“We need to go to the south end of the island!” I shout over the intensifying storm.
There’s a tug through the tether, resistance from Jessica, as if she’s hoping more prey will come at us to satisfy its hunger. I push back firmly, pleased I still have some control. The tether complies, but the look on Jessica’s face tells a different story. We are not in sync. And there’s no more trainer, albeit a murderous and sadistic one, to whip us into shape.
“There’s no time to explain! How about trusting me for a change?”
She sends a small shock through the tether but follows anyway. I contemplate zapping her back but decide I should be the bigger person here.
Facing no further attack, we trudge through the icy wind, our faces stinging from the biting cold. Eventually, we reach the small port where the Institute’s fleet is moored.
“Are you thinking we should steal one?” Ridalious asks.
“I, uh,” I say, stalling, hoping some useful idea will pop into my head. Or someone else’s. Maybe I’d imagined that figure. Or I’m just so exhausted my mind is playing tricks on me, in hopes someone will swoop in and save the day.
Jessica sends an irritated pulse through the tether and glares at me. “You have no idea, do you?” she snaps. Even though, together we’re a formidable fighting force, and she allegedly carries the secret to saving Liam, I really need this girl out of my head.
But despite myself, brain keeps churning, as it always does. The idea that the Institute can fall is too big to grasp. But going back to my old life is not an option. I shudder. If the People are toppled, that power will fall into the hands of scum like Brody. And that will imperil everything. Even the unsuspecting human population of California.
“We have to find the Fist’s headquarters,” I blurt. “If they’re behind this then we need to tear them up at the roots.”
Issy casts me a doubtful glance, but our two large friends beam and nod in approval. A surge of warmth courses through the tether. At the very least, it makes a great lie detector. Jessica might have a blood-lust, but at least it’s for the same blood I want to spill.
“How about that one?” Ridalious points to a compact vessel that looks like a cross between a submarine and a cabin cruiser. The craft, with its large porthole windows and its body, a blend of metal and polished wood adorned with ornate engravings seems give it the perfect renegade aesthetic. The wind howls and swirls around us, as if making its case.
“Do any of us even know how to operate this thing? And are we going, anyway?” Jessica shouts over the raging wind. “Back to California?”
I shoot her a sour look. “Real funny. Let’s just climb in and figure it out later. At least we’ll be out of this storm.”
“It’s nice to see you two getting along so well,” Bester quips as we hurry toward the craft.
Just as we reach it, a faint whirring sound grows louder. We look up and to see an airship hovering above us and descending with alarming speed.
“What the hell? Get inside! Quick!” I demand.
We scramble through the hatch, Ridalious yanking it closed behind us. The inside of the little craft is more spacious than it seemed from the outside, its metallic walls and polished wood, sleek and miminalist. If I weren’t so busy freaking out, I’d want to fiddle with its tech.
We locate the pilot’s controls just as the whir of the airship rattles the hull. I take in a deep breath and try to stay focused on the knobs and dials so I can launch this gizmo. It’s like a twisted déjà vu of the night Tyler died, but I push that memory aside.
My friends press their faces against the portholes, their expressions filled with sheer terror. “Holy crap!” Bester exclaims. “They're gonna land right on top of us!”
I abandon the cockpit and rush to join my friends. And there it is, the insect-like airship with its spindly legs, descending toward us. A resounding clank fills the air as the mechanical talons latch onto our hull, gripping it tightly as if claiming its prey.
“Everyone out!” I scream, motioning towards the hatch. Bester and Ridalious tug frantically at the door, but it refuses to budge, trapping us inside.
“Jessica!” I yell, summoning her more forcibly through the tether. But in that moment, a sinking realization hits me—there's no one on the other end. Where the hell is she?
The airship’s powerful engines roar louder, as we’re hoisted effortlessly into the air.
 

Twenty-one
“Holy shit,” Bester says. We all press our faces against the porthole as the vessel lifts airborne, the ground below us shrinking rapidly away.
Bester and Ridalious slam against the hull, trying to break it open, while Vlad and Issy crawl across the ceiling like spiders. I’m just stunned and empty, unable to process how I’d allowed us to walk into a trap. Could the ambush by that vicious amphibious army have been a decoy to distract us?
“Don’t bother,” I announce, mustering what composure I have left. “We can’t bail out of this craft or we’ll plunge to our deaths. Prode was the only one of us who could fly and he’s gone. Our only way through is to fight our captors when we dock— wherever that is.”
Vlad lands silently in front of me on the polished wood floor, with Issy right behind him. “You think it’s the Fist, don’t you?” he asks, his expression grave.
I nod, sneaking a quick peek out the porthole. Snag Island is now only a dot in the wide gray sea. I’d only just entered this new life, and now I’m not only leaving my old one, but everything else behind. My mother. Tyler’s ghost. My heart sinks as I swallow down a sob. Now what chance is there to free Liam and Aurora from their curse.
“Who else could it be?” I say. “My mother believes the Institute has been compromised. She was convinced there’s a traitor on the Council.”
Vlad scrunches up his face, lost in thought, as Issy looks on chewing her lip. “So why would they wait until we escape to snatch us?” he asks. Issy’s eyes widen “What about Jessica?” he presses. “Do you think she’s behind this?”
Ridalious and Bester continue pounding at the vessel’s flank, apparently not sufficiently convinced that a 20,000-foot freefall will kill us all.
Reaching for the missing tether, I come up empty. I study Vlad and his earnest black eyes. He’s a thinker, a strategist, someone who’s digs deeper and shares my logical bent. I’m relieved to have him by my side.  “You’ve got a point. But my mother said they want to use me. Maybe they want to get me away from the Institute, just like we were lured to Salttain after the Tribunal.”
I shiver at the memory, suddenly cold in body and soul. Self-pity threatens to drown me. Losing Tyler and Liam was bad enough and now I might lose my mother, too. But as much as I hate to admit it to myself, the absence of Jessica and her fiery spirit feels like a black hole in my chest. Whether she’s a traitor, or in serious trouble herself, the loss of her gnaws at me.
“Can’t you call that snake monster thing from your chest again?” Bester asks, having given up bashing the vessel.
I sink into the cushions of the plush conversation pit at center of the vessel’s common area and realizing this must have once been a pleasure boat for the Council’s elite. It’s possible my mother herself used it for secret missions. At least, I think glumly, our sky trip to hell is well-appointed. “I can’t. Not without…”
My words are cut off when a hatch in the ceiling creaks open and the same masked figure from earlier drops gracefully to the floor.
We all gape at the intruder as they pull off their hood and silver mask, revealing a stunningly beautiful boy with dark eyes and a shock of stick-straight black hair that stands almost on end.
“Sorry for the inconvenience,” he says, grinning. “but we had to move fast. We tried to make the docking as smooth as possible. Hope you’re comfortable in here.”
I step forward, my heart pounding and give him a death stare. If I’m right, this boy with a pretty face bears a striking resemblance to Jessica. I reach for the tether but it’s not there.
“Who are you? Are you working with Jessica Trang? Where is she?” I demand.
The boy runs a hand through his ruff of hair and bursts out laughing. “Hell yeah, I’m working with Jessica. I’m Kai, her twin brother.”
Before I can say a word, Ridalious charges forward and lifts Kai by the collar until his head hits the vessel’s ceiling. “You son of a bitch! You and your sister are working with the Fist! I knew it!”
Kai dangles from Ridalious’ grip, but he’s still smiling. “Easy fella. I heard all about you. You’re the one Jess calls you Ridiculous, aren’t you? You can put me down now. You have us all wrong.”
Right then, I feel a jab in my chest, which grows stronger until I’m gasping for air. Jessica drops through the hatch, dressed in similar cape and gear. Only, she’s not smiling.
“Obviously,” she drawls. “We’re fraternal twins. Kaikai and I couldn’t be more different.”
The tether surges with heat, stealing away the rest of my breath. Weak and jittery, I flop onto the cushion, while Issy rushes to my side. Vlad steps forward and gently lowers Ridalious’ arm, setting Kai back to his feet.
“Hmpph” Jessica grumbles. “I kind of enjoyed seeing you as a wall hanging.”
Kai looks at her and winks. Jessica grumbles some more, and another shockwave of displeasure zaps me through the tether. I’m too spent to ask what the hell is going on, but Vlad beats me to the question.
“If I may,” he starts, his voice calm, before rising at the end. “Can you please enlighten us…as to what the hell is going on here?”
Jessica sighs and shakes her head. “Okay, where should we start?”
“How about telling us why we should believe you’re not working with the Fist?” Vlad snaps, his jaw taut.
Jessica exchanges a look with Kai, who nods. “How about we start with where we’re really from, Kai-brother?”
“That’s a great idea,” I say, pushing back against the tether’s sizzling fury. I’m too drained to think about where Jessica is from or what she stands for; but one thing is clear: we’re still stuck together, whether we like it or not.
Kai nods, the smile never leaving his pretty lips.  “Get ready to have your world view turned upside down. Jessica-sister and I are from a place you might not be familiar with. And it sure as hell isn’t South Korea.”
I pull in a breath, the tether pulsating with a strange and unsettling vibration I can’t quite decipher.
“We’re from Atlantis,” Jessica blurts out, just as a numbing shock shoots through the tether and paralyzes me instantly.

Twenty-two
I’m unable to budge or make a sound.
“That’s not funny,” Bester says, just as Ridalious’ fist flies toward Kai’s face. Then, as if it’s a video on pause, my friends freeze in place. Ridalous’ fist halts, millimeters from Kai’s jaw. Issy suspended from the ceiling like a bat, hangs motionless, while Vlad freezes, mid-lunge toward Ridalious.
“No one is joking,” Kai says, his expression now as grim as Jessica’s.
“I was sent to spy on the Institute by my father as a bribe to his creditors,” Jessica says, matter-of-factly, “but the rest is more complicated.”
Kai casts her a look, then turns to us. “I’m really sorry for how things have gone down. But we’re going to have to knock you out for the duration of the trip. Again, apologies.”
My own eyeballs are like dry marbles in my head. I can’t even blink. Am I even awake or is this some fever dream?
But a cool hand closes my lids as the sounds fade away, the tether like a cat purring on my chest. I fall into a floating state, neither asleep nor awake.
***
Gradually, I’m aware of a faint tingling sensation inside my ribcage, as if the tether is there, but muted somehow. My ears pop painfully, and I jolt upright.
Finding myself sprawled on a cot in featureless, dimly lit room, I realize that my torn novices’ tunic has been replaced by a snug elastic jumpsuit, similar to the ones Kai and Jessica wore.
A wavering light filters through a solitary porthole, casting an eerie blue hue across the space. I rise and peer outside, greeted by the sight of dark blue depths, a hint of aqua light rippling from above. Where we’d last been airborne, we now seem to have descended underwater.
Limbs heavy, I navigate the small enclosure, and desperately searching for an exit, pound on the metallic walls and shout, but they prove rubbery and seamless.
My head throbs and the tether aches like a bruise. I try to piece what’s transpired into a coherent timeline, but the details are too hazy. Nothing really makes sense.
Yet one thing is clear. I’m a prisoner. And Jessica Trang is my captor.
I sense her approach before she bursts in through a concealed sliding doorway, Kai at her side.
“I understand how this may seem,” Kai begins says, his sunny smile returning. “but you are a guest, not a prisoner. In fact, if I may be so bold, you are a…”
“A refugee,” Jessica interjects, scowling. The tether twitches. “We both are.”
I massage the space between my brows. Even my eyes ache. “Start talking. Tell me what exactly is going on.”
“I think it would be better if we show you something first,” Kai says.
Panicking, I clutch at the smooth walls as the floor slides away beneath me. Below, all I can see is water and an up-close view the ocean floor. It takes a moment to register that the floor is still there, only it’s made of glass.
Forgetting my bewilderment, I become transfixed as exotic fish swim by, until a larger creature captures my attention. My heart nearly stops in my chest. Can it be?
Swimming beneath whatever strange craft now houses me, is a seal. It presses its nose to the glass bottom, its black button eyes gazing up at me with an intelligence unlike any seal I’ve ever seen. Thoughts flow through the throbbing pain in my chest. The tether is acting like a conduit enabling us to communicate.
I press my face against the glass for a closer look, before staggering backward. It’s him. It’s Liam.
His animal thoughts flood my mind—feelings of love, concern and reassurance. You are safe, Rosalie.
I turn to Jessica, too overwhelmed for words. How?
Jessica smiles, warmth radiating through the tether, like a blossoming flower in my heart. Until I abruptly sever the connection. She’s eavesdropped on us, and listened to Liam’s intimate message, meant for me alone.
Her expression falters, and a jagged pain shoots through my ribs, up through my neck and into my skull. Jessica clutches her head, as if she feels it, too. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean…”
Kai observes us both, his smooth features betraying little emotion. “By now, surely you understand that we are part of an opposition group, not the Fist.”
I gasp as the metallic skin of our enclosure retracts, revealing our surroundings.
We’re completely submerged underwater, safely encapsulated within a clear glass bubble. Other similar globelike formations cluster like berries on a stem, all connected to a single massive column, resembling an otherworldly underwater tree.
“I welcome you, Rosalie Gatell, to the headquarters of Undercurrents. Liam O’Donnell is one of our key operatives,” Kai declares.
Shock races through me, but before I get the chance to process his words, or fully marvel at the wondrous spectacle, a wave of agony screams through the tether, accompanied by an explosion of blinding light. Before I crumple to the floor, the last thing I see in the dazzling whiteness is the leering smile of Brody Lambert.
 
 

Twenty-three
I open my eyes to darkness. Something rigid clings to my head and face, pulsating like an energy-infused shell. I struggle, desperate to rip it away, but find my hands are bound to the arms of my chair.
In my dazed state, my first instinct is to search for the tether, to find my connection to Jessica. But my mind clutches at emptiness. There’s nothing but a chasm, as if my chest has been excavated and hollowed of its contents.
I fight to make sense of my surroundings. Indistinct voices seep through the silence, the words muffled by the gentle hum of machinery. My fear teeters on the brink, ready to consume me, but just as it escalates, sweet liquid trickles into my mouth, and with it, a soothing tranquility, like the embrace of someone who loves me. I let go, finally and surrender to the calm that envelopes me.
Someone who loves me. Had Jessica’s brother said Liam was a part of this bizarre operation, or had I imagined that?
The next time my eyes flutter open, it’s to a chaotic kaleidoscope of shifting color. The hard shell attached to my head sends needlepricks of pain through my scalp, but even with my arms free, I can’t pull it off. Muted voices reach me still, but I can’t understand them. Frustrated, I try to stand, but it’s as if my skull is anchored to an immovable object.
A sharp jolt crackles through the shell, stunning me. My limbs jitter as the swirling colors coalesce into a fuzzy image. Beside me, I hear a moan as the static fades, revealing the face of Brody Lambert. But the image is distorted, as if I’m viewing him over a faulty connection.
Fear surges through me. I try to scrabble backwards, but I’m pinned. The screams beside me grow louder until I realize, it’s Jessica, and that I, too, am screaming.
“So,” says the wavering image, as if addressing me directly, “you lovely ladies thought you had me, didn’t you?” Brody moves closer and the pain intensifies.
I shrink back, trying to escape the laughter that vibrates through my skull, but it’s no use. Jessica’s screams grow louder, but the tether remains silent, a blank void.
Just when I think I can’t take another minute of this, my vision again goes black, and at last, the horrid headdress is lifted. My body is jumpy, as if I’m electrified, but I almost cry with relief when the first flickers of the tether sprout and bloom in my chest.
When I open my eyes again, I’m find myself seated in a cold metal chair. Cylindrical screens project the image of Brody Lambert leering at me, repeating in an endless loop. I glance beside me and there’s Jessica slumped in her seat, looking pale and dazed, her bleary gaze fixed on the screens.
Seated around the circular space are Kai, and a group of unfamiliar individuals dressed in garb similar to his. I search the room for my friends, but they’re nowhere in sight. Finally able to stand, I spring to my feet, furious. “What the hell was that all about? What did you do to..” I glance at Jessica, who appears too weak to stand. I take hold of her, supporting her weight. “…to us?”
Kai nods, as if confirming that I’ve made some brilliant observation. “Yes, yes. You saw it, didn’t you? Absolutely incredible. Through your remarkable tether, the two of you can transmit Brody Lambert’s location.”
Speechless, I look around, trying to make sense of the situation. Something makes me look up, and I locate the object that was previously affixed to my head, suspended above me. It’s entirely alien; a metal crown fashioned to look like coral, embedded with a singling blinking ruby that pulses intermittently. I shudder at the thought that it’s what transmitted the live feed of Brody Lambert. “Is that why you brought me here—to serve as your damn cable TV hookup? I think it’s time you tell me…”
Still gripping my arm for support, Jessica squeezes it gently. Her voice is soft, lacking its usual edge. “Rosalie, I’m a part of this. We are…we’re on your side. No one is trying to hurt you.”
I swallow hard, then remember. Liam said I was safe. But does he really know that for sure? What if these weirdos are using him to manipulate me?
“Then what was that all about? And where’s Liam? Bring him to me so I can..speak with him.”
Kai stares at me for a moment, incredulous, before his face breaks into that maddening smile. “I’m sorry, but your boyfriend is cursed to remain a seal. And due to that curse, he can’t join us in here or communicate in a manner you can understand. However, you might find it interesting to learn why he and his sister Aurora have aligned themselves with our cause. Perhaps you’ve heard the rumors?”
I glance at Jessica, who nods, still weak in the aftermath of our encounter with Brody.
“Yes,” I say, hesitantly. “I-I have.”
“Well, it’s all true. When I told you we are from Atlantis, I was not lying. The true liars are your leaders, the Council of the People of the Hand. They’ve traded with us, exploited our pure magic to enhance their own weak and diluted essence. Of course, your mother never told you this or she would have been excommunicated.”
His words cut through me, sharper than the pain inflicted by that miserable headdress. Lies, lies and more lies. My mother’s favorite currency. I straighten and pull in a deep breath. “My mother has been arrested. Are you implying she violated the trust?”
Beside me, Jessica inhales audibly. The tether warms but does not heat. “That’s not why she was arrested.”
I gape at her, wide-eyed. “How would you know?”
A faint smile tugs at her lips. “Sometimes you really are so slow. I was sent there to, uh, spy on the Council. But my presence there has had…unexpected consequences. Such as our connection, which I want even less than you do.”
The admission sends a wave of shock through me, which rebounds through the tether and causes Jessica to grunt with pain then sink to her seat.
“All of this is beside the point, Rosalie,” she grinds out. “We are not here…to pass…judgment on your mother. We brought you here… to ask for your help. Think, Rosalie. The curse may be enforced by the Council, but it’s of Atlantean origin. Which means…”
Kai’s smile broadens. “What is imposed, can be removed. But if you want us to help Liam and his sister, and gain control over this bond between Jessica-sister and yourself, you have no choice but to join our cause.”

Twenty-four
I stare at Kai, my mind reeling. The Council claimed magic was its strict provenance, using it to subjugate and enforce justice, all while siphoning its power from our supposedly destroyed homeland. Was this what my mother had been trying to tell me? The reason she hinted she could help Liam?
Shrugging off my racing thoughts, I blurt out. “So, what exactly is your cause? If it’s to fight against my own people count me out.”
Kai chuckles and shakes his head. “No, Rosalie, that’s not it at all. We are all cousins. We Atlanteans are bound by the promise we made to your people. We provide the original magic that is your birthright, but …” his expression turns grave as he continues. “Your Council, bound by the same oath, to protect and defend us, has betrayed that trust.”
A surge of horror shoots through me. “And you believe my mother is responsible for this?”
He continues to laugh softly. “On the contrary, Rosalie. Your mother fulfilled her duty. Keeping our existence secret was her responsibility. We relied on the Council to perpetuate the lie of our destruction for all eternity. For if the knowledge that Atlantis lives were to be revealed, imagine the consequences.”
Confused, and weakened from my ordeal with the coral crown, I massage my throbbing temples. “You still haven’t answered me. You think the Council is going to reveal Atlantis’ existence?”
“It’s more complicated than that. Let me show you something,” he says. With a gesture, the space darkens. I cringe as Brody’s enlarged face appears on the cylindrical screen and the previous playback loop resumes. This time the video continues as Brody’s voice scrapes against my eardrums in a chilling singsong, his mottled face twisted in a menacing grin. “Your high and mighty Council has been compromised, Rosalie, did you know that? I think you do. I can feel you, Rosalie, so it won’t be long until I find you and use your power for all it’s worth. And unlike my failure of a father, I won’t ask for permission. I will be the one to do it. I will be the one to resurrect Atlantis!”
His image flickers and vanishes. The lights return, leaving me trembling, feeling filthy and violated. I glance at Jessica and realizes she’s been similarly affected.
“Do you understand now, Rosalie?” Kai says. “Your Council has fallen, infiltrated by its greatest adversary, The Fist. It no longer can protect your people, or safeguard Atlantis. Atlantis has no other choice but to defend itself. Those assailants who attacked you on Snag Island? Do you know who they were?”
My trembling intensifies. Is this what my mother tried to warn me about when she told me to run? “Whoever they were, we overcame them,” I say, mustering a hint of defiance. “So, they couldn’t have been that fearsome.”
Kai studies me in the silence. “You and your friends defeated the Hydra, the elite team of assassins dispatched to eliminate you and Jessica. Which makes you even more of a danger to them than they already believed.”
A searing fury roars through the tether, causing me to gasp. I glance at Jessica, whose face flushes as she struggles to rise. “My own people were sent to assassinate me? What are you saying, Kai-brother? That’s preposterous!”
“Is it?” Kai settles back in his seat, while the others listen intently, nodding and murmuring. “When has our homeland ever hesitated to strike against anything that threatens us? You, Jessica-sister, are inexorably linked to a lethal weapon, a daughter of our betrayers. The combined power housed within both of you could aid the Fist in demolishing the four remaining pinions, which, if released will raise Atlantis from the depths. And you know what that means. We will experience a second cataclysm, all who dwell there perishing—and with the People of the Hand decentralized and broken, the Fist will inherit our ancient power.”
Jessica sinks back into her chair, slumps, and lowers her head. A wave of icy sorrow pulses through the tether, making me shiver. “I never asked for this mission,” she looks up at Kai and says, tears shimmering in her eyes. “I just wanted to live my own life. But Father sold me out, Kai-brother. He struck a deal with the Assembly of Lords and the Council. He told me that if the Institute trained me, I could be a force for good. But he knew all along that Atlantis had other plans—that they expected me to be their spy—to spy on you, Rosalie,” she says, turning toward me. “and now, through some freak accident, I’m ruined, not good for anything.”
Kai nods, his expression grim. “Yes, sister. It’s all true. We are all fugitives. But I couldn’t…” he says, his voice breaking. “I could not let them kill you. So I formed Undercurrents, a counterinsurgency. We want peace, Jessica. Not a war that will destroy humanity.”
Jessica stares at him, incredulous, her voice choked. “You left Hydra and the position you trained all your life for, Kai-brother? For me?”
Kai smiles, presses a fist to his heart and nods. “Not only for you, sister mine, but for all of us. For what will our lives be worth if we allow our leaders to blow this world to smithereens? I understand the need to defend the homeland. But attacking our allies? That is foolhardy. I tried to plead with them, to plead with Father. But Father, he…he had me stripped of my command and exiled.”
Jessica’s face crumples and she collapses inward, sobbing. “I’m so sorry, Kai. I didn’t mean for this…I’m ruined and now I’ve ruined you, too.”
 
Her anguish and loss ripples through the tether, overwhelming me with her grief, as I sink back to my own seat, consumed by our shared emotions. Memories and impressions flow through the tether now; how Jessica Trang once shone as her father’s prized jewel; his brilliant and powerful daughter. Her aspirations of taking her place among the Atlantean elite, all, put on hold when he sent her to the Institute as an undercover agent. And now, her life was wrecked, trapped in bondage to me
Kai treads toward Jessica and presses a comforting hand to her heaving back. “But you are not ruined, Jessica-sister. In fact, joined with Rosalie, your powers are more potent than ever. The problem is that neither of you can control it. Which makes you dangerous. And if we don’t sever the bond, eventually it will kill you both.”
I close my eyes, letting the weight of our shared anguish wash over me. How did I end up here? Every choice I made—going to Salttain Island, embracing my powers, trying to save everyone—has led me deeper into this mess. Now, danger lurks around every corner, in every decision.
And Liam...God, Liam. My heart aches for him, trapped in his seal form, cursed to an eternity banished from land. All I want is to save him, then run away from all of this. To find some quiet corner of the world where we could just be together, where magic and Atlanteans and tethers don't exist. Where I'm not a ticking time bomb, where I'm just Rosalie and he's just Liam.
But that's a pipe dream, isn't it? As long as this tether binds me to Jessica, as long as my uncontrolled power threatens everyone around me, as long as he remains under his cruel curse, there's no escape. No refuge. Just the looming shadow of a fate I never asked for, and the crushing weight of powers I never wanted.
I open my eyes, meeting Kai's solemn gaze. Another ripple of emotion courses through the tether. Another obstacle to overcome. Another reminder that my dreams of freedom with Liam are just that—dreams.
“That is,” says a small, but fierce-looking woman with a long, gray-brown locs, I hadn’t noticed before, “if either Atlantis, the Fist or the Council, doesn’t kill you first. You are a both danger to yourselves, and now hunted by all.”

Twenty-five
“Take heart,” the woman continues, “you are safe here in the Undercurrent headquarters. We’re situated at the bottom of a Bahama Blue hole, once rumored to be true location of Atlantis, which is, as you might have already deduced, complete nonsense.” She smiles, but it never reaches those piercing eyes.
I can't help but scoff. “Right, because Atlantis is real, but it definitely couldn't be in the Bahamas. Got it. So what's next, are you going to tell me the Little Mermaid is based on a true story too?”
The woman's smile tightens, but there's a glint of ferocity in her eyes now. “Actually, Ms. Gatell, you'd be surprised how many of your fairy tales have a grain of truth to them. Though I assure you, our people are far less inclined to trade their voices for legs.” She pauses, her gaze sharpening. “And they're certainly not foolish enough to give up their powers for love.”
Before I can process the implications of her jibe, Kai steps in, his expression warm and reassuring. “This is Maya Singh,” he interjects smoothly. “My second-in-command. She used to be my lieutenant in Hydra, until we both left for the same reasons.”
Maya’s dark eyes assess us, her scarred face bearing the marks of past battles. Just looking at her makes me tremble. By her words, I’m sensing that these Atlanteans must possess more than just combat skills. Each of them most likely has some native ability rooted in the original magic.
“Hydra named my former captain, Avelia Stetume, a traitor and killed her,” Maya says, her words sending another shiver down my spine. Avelia, my instructor, was from Atlantis?
My confusion ramps us as I try to make sense of this tangled web. First, I discover my Atlantean lineage, then I learn it still exists, witness their merciless approach to threats, and now I’m a fugitive, branded as enemy number one.
Several others step forward, introducing themselves. I nod politely as Izel Cocom, the tech wiz and hacker extraordinaire, Ayo Okafor, captain of the guard, and Grace Chen, skilled tracker and head of bioscience bow and greet me.
“We are sworn to protect you with our lives, Rosalie Gates and Jessica-sister,” they declare in unison, fists pressed to their hearts.
“Your survival is the key to ending this conflict, before it consumes us all,” Kai adds, solemnly.
I study their faces but hesitate to ask how such diversity is possible in the Atlantean population given their insularity. But before I can ask, my tether itches and Jessica turns to me, a hint of scorn in her tone. “We are this way, Rosalie, because, over time, people of the diaspora were called back to our the homeland, to protect it from the harm of colonization and to rejuvenate and preserve our bloodlines.”
“Wait,” I say, taken aback. “So, Atlantis itself is populated by People of the Hand? Then why are we all fighting?”
“The passage of time has changed us,” says Izel, a frail young man with shaggy dark hair, says. “My people were summoned to Atlantis from the Mexico after the European’s invasions. Think about how your own country, once a colony, fought for independence from its motherland. Such is the manner in which our own peoples grew apart. We Atlanteans are not the same as you.”
“But we needed your kind out there,” Ayo, a tall man with ebony skin, declares. “As our emissaries. As our eyes and ears. I am Ayo commander of the fighters of Undercurrent, all skilled in Hydra’s lethal combat. We are sworn to defend you to the death.”
I observe these brave rebels from Atlantis, their courage shining through. Yet, the knowledge that Jessica and I are not only targets, but also a danger to each other, dampens the mood. My thoughts drift to Liam, and my whole body tenses.
“How did Liam get mixed up with Undercurrents?” I blurt out. “When can I see him?”
“Of course,” Jessica says, scowling at me, “being a creature of the sea, he was naturally drawn to Atlantis.”
But her words just skim the surface. I feel her probing me, rooting around for the source of my feelings, my anger and grief. Is she trying to test my trustworthiness? How is that possible when I don't trust her as far as I can throw her stuck-up ass?
Irritated, I shoot her a glance and attempt to block her invasive thoughts. It seems she can now read my mind more easily, just as I can read hers. A wave of despair washes over me. Not only are we destined to destroy each other, but we'll also live out what's left of our miserable lives without a shred of privacy.
I rise to my feet and lift my chin defiantly. Somewhere in this chaos, there was the mention of a way to break Liam’s curse. I won’t let go of that hope, no matter how the personal cost.
“Let me get this straight,” I say, struggling to steady my voice. “Jessica and I are doomed, all of you are doomed, and the world faces imminent annihilation. But you did mention, that despite all of that, there’s a way to break Liam’s curse. Do I have that right?”
An image pours through the tether, flashing in my mind too quickly to register. I get a glimpse of an eerily beautiful staff and shudder. It’s ornate metalwork, resembling the coral motif of the tormenting helmet, is adorned with sparkling gemstones.  
Jessica shakes her head, glaring at me. “It’s pointless. There’s no hiding anything from her. If it’s in my head, she’s going to see it, so you may as well spill the beans,” she snaps at Kai’s. “I swear if you can’t separate us, I’m just going to strangle myself.”
Kai shoots her a worried look but regains his composure as his companions return to their seats. “Well, we were planning to explain the scepter once you got acclimated, Rosalie. But I suppose there’s no time like the present.”
Kai gestures toward the cylindrical screen which previously displayed the hideous face of Brody. The screen flickers to life again, revealing the staff, this time in high resolution. Illuminated by a spotlight, it appears wedged into a rock amidst the undersea ruins of an ancient castle.
“This,” Kai begins, “is the Scepter of Raemon, the most powerful surviving artifact from Old Atlantis. It was forged by the first king of Atlantis, King Raemon, in the days before human civilization took hold.”
Squinting at the screen, I’m unnerved by the artifact’s similarity to the coral crown that tortured me.
“Alright,” I say, growing impatient. “I ask a question and I get history lessons. So, tell me straight. How do I save Liam, and how do I cut my bond with Atlantis’ Top Model?”
My remark elicits a flash of heat through the tether and a snarl on Jessica’s perfect lips. I stifle the urge to smirk. Maybe, I can have fun with this ridiculous tether, after all.
Kai and Maya exchange a look—amusement? concern?—before Maya picks up where Kai left off. “This artifact,” she explains, “holds unimaginable power. We've managed to steal one of the gems from an Atlantean noble who was hoarding it. The same gem that powered the helmet, allowing us to locate the notorious Brody Lambert, whom we believe is working with the Fist.”
I blink, trying to process this new flood of information. “Wait, hold up. Gems? Helmets? Brody Lambert?” I shake my head, feeling like I've stumbled into the middle of a convoluted heist movie. “Is this the real Ocean’s Eleven or something?”
I can feel Jessica's exasperation through our bond, but I ignore it. “Look, I appreciate you're all caught up in this grand rebellion, but can we circle back to the part where I save Liam and get un-magically-glued from Jessica? Because right now, that's kind of my priority.”
Kai's lips quirk into a half-smile at my Ocean's Eleven quip. “We do stream human content down here, you know. Though I'd say our Atlantean drama is quite different—and a lot wetter.”
His expression sobers. “But you're right about one thing—we are planning something big. We need the entire scepter, not just the gems. The scepter as a whole is, the key to breaking Liam's curse and severing the bond between you two.”
He pauses, his expression growing grave. “However, we also suspect, though we're not certain how, that Brody is aware of the scepter and plans to capture it for a far more dangerous purpose: raising Atlantis from the sea.”
I shift my gaze between Kai and the scepter pictured on the screen, sensing Jessica's whirlwind of fears and doubts mixed with a hint of excitement. I realize I share similar emotions. As preposterous as it all sounds, an outlandish and improbable solution beats no solution at all.
“And so,” Kai says. “We are in a race against time and must act swiftly. The show-and-tell session is over. It’s go time.”
I swallow hard, as a door in the crystal wall of the chamber slides open and Issy, Vlad, Bester, and Ridalious enter the space, all donned in the gear of the Undercurrent.
“Your friends are all exceptional fighters,” Kai says, bowing slightly to them. “Ayo will need an additional day to complete their training. Then, we embark on our first mission, which is to determine the exact location of the scepter. And for that, we need a map.”

Twenty-Six
“Hold up,” I interject, my voice laced with disbelief. “You're sending us out after one day of training? On a mission with a gang of undersea rebels?” I glance around at the group, still struggling to process it all. “How can we possibly be ready? We're just Institute novices. Do you even have a plan?”
All I want is some assurance that Liam's curse can be lifted. Jessica's emotions beat against the tether, revealing that she, too, has the same desperate hopes for Aurora.
Kai's eyes twinkle with amusement. “Patience,” he says with a wink. “All will be revealed. And we're not a gang—we're the best minds produced by the University of Atlantis. Some call it the Harvard of the Undersea World, our own version of the Ivy League. Let's just say our halls are instead of ivy, our halls are draped with kelp.”
I shake my head at his lame humor, but marvel over the revelation. Not only does Atlantis exist, but it has citadels of higher learning? Color me intrigued. Talk about taking a deep-dive into your studies.
Before I can voice my incredulity, Izel strides over to a clear U-shaped console rising from a nearby platform. At his approach, holographic dials and levers materialize, springing to life at his touch. His fingers dance nimbly across the curved surface, a blur of movement as symbols and glyphs accumulate into a glowing vortex.
Despite my skepticism, I can't help but be mesmerized by the display. Maybe these deep-sea bandits know what they're doing after all.
“Behold,” says Kai, brimming with obvious pride, “the back door to Atlantis.”
Too engrossed in his work, Izel doesn’t look up as the spinning cloud of data forms a circular formation in the center of the space. “These headquarters are an abandoned secret outpost of the Lords. The long-sealed portal will get us to Atlantis. Thanks to our resident genius hacker, here, we’ll soon be embarking on a sightseeing tour into the unsuspecting heart of our former hometown.”
“Excuse me? Did you just say what I thought you did?” I say, exchanging stunned glances with Vlad, Bester, Ridalious, and Issy.
“It’s just what I said. We’re breaking into Atlantis.”
Ridalious looks like he’s about to punch Kai again, but stops, as Kai lifts his palm. “Now, now, big guy. We remember where your brawn got you last time, don’t we?”
Ridalious grumbles and steps back as Kai nods and the whirlwind of glyphs retreats into the console. “Well done, Izel-brother.”
Finally, Izel looks up and smiles. “Piece of cake. The hard part will be staying hidden once we get there. This portal leads directly into the main rotunda of the Assembly of Lords.”
“Ah,” says Kai. “That’s an issue for tomorrow. Right now, it’s dinnertime and all good soldiers all need nourishment and some well-deserved rest.”
***
My friends and I are ushered into the dining hall, a spectacular clear module with sweeping views of the ocean floor. Suspended from the ceiling, jellyfish-like dining pods encircle a buffet piled high with platters of steaming lobster, seaweed pasta, and other unfamiliar but enticing dishes.
Though, despite the tempting spread, I find I have little appetite. Seated beside Jessica in our pod, anxiety tugs at my thoughts. I strain for a glimpse of Liam swimming beyond the clear enclosure, and can’t help but be captivated by the fields of undulating sea anemones and brilliant schools of exotic fish that flash by. Jessica, who hasn’t eaten a bite either, seems to share my lack of appetite, and has effectively blocked the tether from my racing thoughts.
Meanwhile, Vlad, Bester, Issy, and Ridalious laugh, talk, and trade quips, heaping their plates with food. I try to join in, but I can’t seem to shake my sense of foreboding, the weight of our impending mission casting a shadow over my heart.
At these depths, it’s impossible to discern day from night, but the Atlanteans maintain their own circadian rhythms. Guided to a dormitory, its small but well-appointed cubbies carved into the coral walls, exhaustion washes over me. I’m ready for sleep, but unprepared for what the so-called morning will bring.
***
We’re roused after what seems like an unreasonably short amount of time, directed to dress, and report to the same command center where Izel first demonstrated his technical wizardry. He’s already there, the portal swirling in position.
For an hour, we're briefed on the plan over what passes for breakfast in this underwater rebel base—some kind of kelp smoothie and fish protein bars. Yum. We're told that we’re supposed to slip through the Great Hall of Lords' defenses, then blend into the streets of Atlantia—yes, the actual capital city of Atlantis—disguised as Hydra cadets on holiday.
My brain feels like it's short-circuiting, trying to process this avalanche of information. First, I learn I'm a descendant of Atlantis, which was mind-blowing enough. Now, I'm grappling with the fact that it not only exists but is a fully functioning underwater civilization.
I take another sip of my kelp smoothie, suppressing a shudder. If Atlantis has universities, what other modern marvels might it have? Underwater shopping malls with seaweed boutiques?
With a pang, I remember Liam and the glory of his seaweed trunks. My internal humor sours. What wouldn’t I do to see that sight again— his beautiful chest, gleaming in the summer sun. To press my cheek against his sea salt smell, then look into those silvery eyes.
But that Liam is gone, his human skin marred and ruined. But I don’t care about that. Even in his scarred form, he’s still as beautiful as ever to me.
Jessica frowns and sends a gentle zap through the tether. I swipe away my tears and force myself to focus as Kai explains the preposterous mission: We’ll need to locate the nobleman’s house where the contraband map is hidden, steal it, then make our way back to the Hall of Lords and return to headquarters. The whole idea of breaking into a mythical city, undetected, and stealing something sounds beyond insanity.
Jessica opens the tether for a moment to scold me. “Just because you’ve lived your life in ignorance, doesn’t mean my home isn’t real. You may not like this plan, or me, but if we want to save Aurora and Liam, this is the only way.”
She adds a pulse that feels like a slap, but before I can respond, pushes through the rest of her message. “It’s not just for them, Rosalie. You know that.”
I want to pepper her with more questions. It’s obvious she knows so much more than she’s telling, but she shuts me out of the tether with a slam.
Still reeling from Jessica’s mental smack, I jam my attention into student mode, up until recently, my only superpower. With Maya and Kai instructing—Kai with gentle humor, and Maya with brittle impatience—we’re run through a simple series of gestures to use as we infiltrate, what basically amounts to an armed fortress.
The plan sounds like a suicide mission, but I’m stumped for a better way to raid Atlantis. I try to glean more information through the tether which results in a pounding headache. Jessica’s presence feels like a constant weight on my shoulders, yet she’s still successfully blocked her thoughts from my reach. I’m at the mercy of Undercurrent—and irrevocably bound to Jessica Trang, my own personal ball and chain.
The cylindrical screen flickers on, projecting a three-dimensional image of a sleek one-piece uniform, covered in metallic fish scales, topped off with a flowing yellow cape and silver mask.
My insides churn as I recognize the distinctive silver mask and scaled armor worn by the assassins who ambushed us on Snag Island.
“No better way to blend in,” Kai remarks with a shrug.
Vlad smirks. “Definitely an upgrade from our novice’s rags.”
“I hope they come in mountain-size,” Bester quips and side-eyes Ridalious, but is treated with a scowl and a raised fist.
I shake my head and stifle a snicker at their banter. Gratitude for their presence floods me, until I remember the insanity of what we’re all about to do.
Jessica narrows her gaze. “Deal with it, Gatell,” she says aloud. I try to zing her through the tether, but she seems to have frozen it, effectively shutting me out. I wish I had an axe to sever our connection, just to be rid of her.
“That is if you truly want to be free of me,” she adds with a smug grin.
I grit my teeth and hold back, as a clear cubicle rises up from the floor. At its base are silhouettes of footprints.
“You step onto these,” Kai directs. “It’s similar to security at human airports. The morpher will scan your body mass and vitals, then generate a custom uniform, tailored to your measurements which will graft to you like a second skin. Who wants to go first?”
We exchange alarmed looks, but Bester takes the lead, flinging their long hair dramatically. “You had me at new clothes, honey.”
Issy’s eyes widen. “Wait, will these masks also be stuck on our faces? What it we can’t get them off?
Kai chuckles. “That’s the least of your worries, kiddo. First, you’ll need to survive the Atlantean security net. We’re sending you Institute kids in because since there’s no record of you in the system. Izel’s false biometrics won’t trigger a purge.”
I lock terrified eyes with Issy. Jessica reads my thoughts, but remains unfazed. “It’s not a purge of you, Rosalie,” she snaps. “It’s a data purge. We’d have a few minutes before they unleash the Hydra guard units.”
Vlad's jaw clenches, his face etched with tension. “Oh, thank Poseidon,” he says, voice dripping with sarcasm. “And here I thought we'd spontaneously combust.”
“What about you and Maya?” I ask Kai. “Are you sending us alone?”
“Of course not,” Kai says. “We just have to hope our real biometrics don’t override the false ones. We are, you remember, Atlantis’s most wanted.”
I glance from Kai to Bester, who shoots me a mischievous grin. “Suit me up, Aquaman,” they say to Kai, earning an eye roll from Jessica.
“What about the masks?” Issy frets, apparently fixated on the sleek silver facial coverings. “They’re so creepy. Can we even breathe in them?”
Izel looks up from his console. “Trust me, we’ve run countless tests on this protocol. Once you complete the mission, the entire suit self-destructs. As long as you avoid trouble, you’ll remain undetected. My artificial biometrics are flawless. This was what I was trained for. No one else can do what I do, and the Lords believe I’m dead. You’ll be equipped with the standard Level One Hydra cadet weapons.”
The image of a harpoon that also resembles a ray gun materializes. Bester’s dark eyes light up. “Sweet!” he says. “Let’s do this!”
Issy shakes her head, brows furrowed. Vlad looks slightly less hesitant than his sister. For my part, I’d rather lick the ocean floor than face this perilous mission, but am, at the same time, resigned to its inevitability.
“Rookies,” Jessica sneers. “You Institute brats have no idea what real training is.”
Just as I’m about to try to kick her for real, the cubicle rotates open. Kai motions to Bester to step inside.
Bester’s imposing figure fills the space, and Kai pushes a button releasing a thick fog, concealing their form from view. Moments later, Bester emerges, clad in iridescent fish-scale armor and a seamless silver mask that hides their face. They bow deeply. “No autographs, no pictures,” Bester declares, accepting their weapon from Kai.
“Whoa!” Ridalious lunges forward, almost shoving Bester out of the way to enter the cubicle.
“Little boys and their toys,” Jessica mutters under her breath.
“Ugh,” Issy mumbles.
One by one, all six of us, along with Kai and Maya Singh, are outfitted in the same gear, dressed to the nines for a raid on Atlantis.
“Wait a minute,” I say, examining the intricate pattern of scales on my suit. “What’s the purpose of these scales? There must be a reason for this, other than looking cool, right?”
Kai nods, and his silver mask, to my shock, magically flexes into a convincing replica of his trademark smile. “Impressive observation, Rosalie. You’re not only powerful, but observant, as well. They work like this…” On his last words, Kai disappears into thin air.
“Whoa!” Bester cries out. “That’s insane! Can we do that too?”
Kai reappears, chuckling beneath his mask. “Actually, you can’t. As you may have guessed, we Atlanteans possess undiluted manifestations of original magic. Mine is…” He snaps his fingers and vanishes again, only to reappear behind us. “This. It’s very handy for infiltrating the seat of government of the most paranoid republic on Earth.”
“Dude,” Ridalious steps toward Kai, his bulk all the more menacing sheathed in iridescent scales. “Quit messing with us. You’re invisible and we’re sitting ducks?”
“No, not at all! Your suits are marvels of the advanced Atlantean technology. You simply touch this panel,” he says, reaching for Ridalious’s wrist, “and voila! You’re practically invisible, too.” As soon as Kai’s finger touches Ridalious’ arm, the large boy flickers and disappears.
“Hot damn!” Bester exclaims.
I nod, touch the panel on my own wrist, and vanish as well. “They reflect light,” I say. “creating the illusion of invisibility. But you, Kai, truly vanish without a trace.” I press the location on my wrist, shimmering back into view.
Kai nods. “Just as I said. This will be quite useful when we try to slip past the motion detectors and biometric sensors that protect the Great Hall. Of course, only I can bypass and jam their circuits—as long as my true biometrics aren’t detected.”
My heart races, a mix of excitement for the upcoming mission, and fear that it might be my last.
“Have you guessed what my ability is?” asks Maya.
“Is it…tracking?” Issy offers timidly.
Maya nods. “Exactly. Even if you’re invisible, I will know your exact location at all times, as well as if we have been discovered, long before we’re intercepted.”
“Nice,” says Bester, clearly ready to roll. I glance at Jessica. Though her expression is unreadable behind the featureless mask, through the tether I sense her lust for battle awaken, that same hunger for blood I’d felt after we’d slaughtered the Hydra assailants.
And it chills me to my core.
“So, are we all set, crew?” Kai asks cheerily. Standing beside him, Maya lifts a silvery eyebrow. I gulp, almost longing for my days of abuse at the hands of our dearly departed tutor, Avelia, who most likely learned her tricks in the same academy as these guys.
“One more thing,” Maya says, her blank silver countenance fixed on me. “Under no circumstances should you activate the tether. That would be akin to setting off a bomb. Every sensor attuned to outsider magic will be set off. In the unlikely event this should happen, we will not extract you.”
I pulse a warning through the tether to Jessica, and hope like hell she heeds it—or we’ll both be fish food.
Beneath his mask, I hear Vlad mutter. “Such comforting words.”
“Oh, did I mention?” Kai adds. “We have a five-minute window when the shift changes, to slip through the Great Hall unnoticed. And that starts,” he glances at a blinking timekeeping device on his forearm, “in three minutes.”

Twenty-seven
Izel’s face glows in the light of his console. Looking up, he smiles. “Like I said, we’ve run this protocol multiple times, and in most instances our test decoy returned fully intact.”
“Hold up,” Vlad says. “In most instances? What happened in the other ones?”
Izel shrugs. “Hard to say since in most cases the decoy never returned. My guess is it disintegrated, its microscopic remains dispersed in the ocean. One time it came back looking like it had been chewed. But don’t worry, though, if you de-atomize, your own biomatter will be so minute it won’t harm the…”
“That’s quite enough, Izel,” Kai snaps. “It was only three times out of 100 instances. Besides, if we do experience de-atomization, we won’t know what hit us.”
“De-atomization,” I blurt. “As in we dissolve?”
“Great,” Ridalious says. “That makes me feel much better.”
“According to our calculations, our odds of successfully navigating the portal are 98.7 percent,” Kai interjects. “You’re more likely to trip in the loo and crack your skull open then dissolve into pure matter. Of course, what happens to us once we arrive in the Great Hall is another issue entirely. Now let’s quit dithering. Izel, activate!”
“Activating,” Izel echoes. The small whirling hole that had been hovering nearby during our briefing, expands like a wound, until a dark and silent space looms in in the middle of the control center. “I’m the advance team,” Kai says. “Maya will receive my signal and send the rest of us through.”
Then without another word, Kai steps into the gaping hole and disappears. Five seconds later, Maya barks out. “We’re clear! Now go!”
My heart pounds and my mind reels. As I watch the others step towards the portal, I can't help but think this must be what Alice felt like tumbling down the rabbit hole. Except instead of Wonderland, I'm heading to an underwater city that shouldn't exist, with people I barely know, risking molecular disintegration.
And then, I remember what I’m doing this for. Who I’m doing this for. This is the only chance there is to save Liam, and maybe civilization as we know it. Except, is it fair to ask my friends to take this risk along with me?
But there’s no time to ponder as one by one, my friends launch into the chasm. Jessica and I are last. As I lunge into the hole, sound, vision, and all sense of my body vanish, except for a viscous chill, as if I’ve just been dipped into a vat of cold Jello. I’ve barely got time to register, when, I’m coughed out on the other side, my body quickly reforming.
Eight of us are cramped into what appears to be a janitor’s closet. In the darkness, strange contraptions that may or may not be vacuum hoses hang from hooks. A monstrous creature with red blinking eyes stares at us.
“Relax,” says Kai. “It’s just a janitorbot. This is a vacuum closet. This thing is too primitive even to sense us. Now follow me.”
Cautiously, we shuffle out of the cramped quarters, following Kai’s lead. The majestic corridors of the Great Hall stretch before us, and despite my terror, I’m entranced by possibly the most wondrous sight I’ve ever seen. Lit by glowing sconces that emit a rich golden glow, streams of ocean blue light filter in through the occasional glass windows, illuminating high vaulted walls of white and pink coral, every surface intricately carved with historic tableaus and bizarre mythical creatures.
The halls are not filled with water, but breathable air.
My knees go wobbly at the realization.
I am standing inside the capitol city of the lost continent of Atlantis.
No, I think with a dry swallow, and remember how harshly it’s dealt with in less bloodthirsty regimes—I have broken into an important government building in the capitol of Atlantis.
But Kai has already advanced, moving with silent grace, his iridescent armor blending seamlessly with the shadows. We stick close, our own suits rendering us nearly invisible as we make our way through the complex. Every so often, Kai pauses, then vanishes, only to reappear a feet away, flashing the sign that means “proceed, all clear.” Based on our drill, I know he’s jamming and re-programming the security net as we go.
We venture deeper into the building, passing great doors guarded by strange human, half-amphibious creatures and my sense of wonder overpowers my dread. Snippets of voices drift from within. I want to ask Jessica about these iguana-like beings, but I remember Maya’s warning about the tether and hold back. My scientific curiosity can get us all in trouble here.
After what feels an eternity, we make it out of the building to the grand gateway, which is guarded by more of the fearsome sentries. But they’re not interested in people who are leaving, so we find ourselves standing in a vast open plaza, a bizarre combination of a European open-air market and a space-age aquarium.
The entire space is enclosed under a massive dome, with the ocean’s depth forming a sort of inverted sky. Surrounding the plaza are buildings that blend ancient Greco-Roman architecture with medieval gothic elements, occasionally punctuated by towering spires towers that extend into the ocean’s waters beyond the dome. Coral cobblestones provide the pavement for the oxygen-breathers who dress in outlandishly colorful costumes that remind me of a Mardi Gras parade. Above, the dome funnels the ocean water through pneumatic tubes, allowing the equally extragantly attired aquatic residents to swim by, apparently enjoying a day out on the town.
All of my fear, my trepidations, my anxiety, is eclipsed by the sheer wonder of what I’m seeing. If I die in my next breath, it still would be worth it to bear witness to the splendor that is Atlantea.
Our team continues on, unnoticed by the remarkable creatures passing by. It's a challenge not to gawk, so I school my posture into the rigid, erect bearing of a soldier, trying not to let my gaze follow them. I can practically hear Jessica scoff at my efforts.
When we reach the heart of the plaza, I'm spellbound by the spiral configuration of shop stalls rising ten stories high at its center. The stalls are artfully designed to accommodate both oxygen-breathers and aquatics, coexisting side-by-side. Some are tailored for surface-dwellers, others for underwater inhabitants. The dome's clear, elastic material bends and stretches, enabling aquatic citizens to reach into oxygen-breathers' space, and vice versa.
Captivated, Rosalie the science girl takes over, lost in a reality that obliterates almost every bit of knowledge I'd ever acquired. I can't help but wonder what my poor, ailing father would have thought in his glory days. Or, my heart sinking, what Tyler would think—the boy who had once strived to save the climate. Had his ghost found its way here, or is it earthbound?
Atlantea, a futuristic city embracing both human and aquatic life, redefines the concept of diversity.
Then, my gaze falls upon a bio-diverse couple—a young oxygen-breather boy, strolling beside a mermaid girl. The elastic enclosure surrounding the mermaid stretches like taffy, allowing her to freely navigate within the air-filled space.
It hits me suddenly. Water-breathers and oxygen-breathers living side-by-side.
Liam can live here. Does he? If the Council is aware of Atlantis, could my mother have helped him find him refuge here in this extraordinary place?
The urge to know becomes unbearable. But I don’t dare attempt to communicate with my team members, even though we’ve been given the all-clear. Clad in our cadet gear, our false biometrics undetected, we’re free to explore the market, inconspicuous to every-day Atlanteans, who see us as nothing more than Hydra cadets on a holiday break.
 Still, I can’t shake the idea of Liam living here. It takes every ounce of self-control to resist reaching through the tether to ask Jessica if Aurora is here, too, and if this is where the two of them had first crossed paths.
“Okay,” Kai says, startling me from my reverie. It’s the first time any of us has spoken since leaving Undercurrent headquarters. “It’s not far. We’ll have to hop on the Nautirail C line and ride it all the way Aetherwood.”
For the love of all things holy. Of course, Atlantea has a subway system called Nautirail.
“And by the way, welcome to Atlantea, my hometown.” Kai adds, his voice tinged with a mix of nostalgia and pride. “Yeah, I know. You’ve never seen anything like it. I have to admit, I kind of miss this place. Look here and you’ll get the idea how huge it is. Atlantea is roughly the size of Los Angeles, the human city, I’ve unfortunately visited once.”
Kai’s uniform sleeve morphs into shimmering holographic map of Atlantea, displaying our location, and pinpointing the residence of High Lord Diego Beaumont, esteemed leader of the Assembly of Lords. Even behind his silver mask, I can envision Bester’s big eyes bulging as he leans in to observe.  
None of us speak as we absorb the sights, trailing behind Kai as he leads us to the entrance to the Nautirail. Maya follows behind, guarding our flank. We descend an opulent spiral staircase, intertwined with a corkscrew-like chute filled with seawater for water-breathers. The stairs empty to a platform which bears a striking resemblance to the London Underground, except one side of the platform is submerged underwater.
The Nautirail car slides into the station and I’m fascinated by the ingenious design that features a flexible transparent partition in the center of the car, allowing the diverse residents of Atlantea—the humanoids, the enchanting mer-people with their glamorous fishtails and the intriguing hybrid-amphibious creatures—to mix and mingle.
My heart constricts, making it difficult to breathe the pure oxygen flowing around me. If only Liam and I could live in a society like this. But given our own society’s dismal failures, it’s no wonder Atlantis would want to keep humans like us, People of the hand or otherwise, the hell away from them.
The train, a sleek, transparent tube that seems to float on electromagnetic currents, jolts forward, whisking us through the vibrant sights of metropolitan Atlantea. Rows of city blocks, some above water, some submerged, zip by in a fantastical blur. We catch glimpses of storefronts with holographic displays, underwater malls teeming with aquatic life, and bizarre structures—buildings that twist like DNA helixes, or float in perfect spheres. There are parks where land and sea merge seamlessly, allowing different species to mingle in shared spaces.
Before we know it, we reach our stop at the end of the line, the deceleration causing a momentary shift in the water pressure around us that makes my ears pop.
Stepping out of the station, I’m taken aback as we exit into the middle of a towering pine forest under the sea. There’s no sign of the bustling city or any evidence of living individuals other than the occasional deer that crosses our path. Kai motions for us to follow as if he’s familiar with the place.
“Your brother seems to know his way around. Has he been here before?” I say to Jessica, careful not to poke the tether.
“Our father dragged us all over Greater Atlantis when we were little,” Jessica snips. “It’s not like we remember the exact directions.”
“Right,” I reply, following Kai as we make our way along the trail. Eventually, the forest gives way to Atlantea’s version of open sky and a massive hedge that stretches in either direction as far as the eye can see. Straight in front of us looms a tall, gilded gate. Drawing closer, I recognize it as a lovingly crafted replica of the gates at the palace of Versaille, a place I’d visited only a year ago with my mother.
“Welcome to Aerowood,” Kai declares with a flourish. “Beaumont is quite the Francofile. He’s obsessed with all things French, but he’s a recluse. Aerowood is heavily fortified to keep out uninvited guests. Luckily, Izel has connections in the private sector, including someone who designed the security system here. That’s how we found out about the map in the first place.”
I force myself to focus, to absorb all this new information without a foundation of prior knowledge to anchor it. Years of education, suddenly irrelevant. Unbidden, an image forms in my mind: Liam in his human skin, and me, studying together in an underwater lab at the Atlantean University.
A gentle prod of the tether snaps me back to reality. But I smile to myself, making a silent vow. If I'd lost the chance to change the world with Tyler, perhaps science is still my path—just down a different fork in the road.
I get a grip on my wandering thoughts and return to the moment, odd as it is. Kai pulls a glove from an unseen pocket in his uniform and slips it on. He presses his palm against a glowing square and the gates creak slowly open to reveal an unexpected sight. Instead of a path to the estate, we’re greeted by a narrow walkway that seems to vanish into the vast expanse of the sea.
“Where’s the house? Is this some kind of joke?” Ridalious grumbles.
“Trust me, it’s there,” Kai says. Beside me I hear Jessica snickering, but resist the urge to smack her through our tether.
“I think it’s time you tell us the real purpose of this wild goose chase you’ve led us on,” I say.
Kai turns to face us, the silver mask, concealing his actual expression. Yet, the seriousness in his voice is unmistakable. “I haven’t lied to you, though I, uh, might have omitted a few salient details. For one, the estate does exist, but it’s entirely underwater. And oxygen-breathers are not welcome here.”
“Last I checked, I’m one of those,” says Bester, “although I can hold my breath for a freakishly long time.”
Maya, who’s remained mostly silent for the duration of the mission, speaks. “Your uniforms are highly versatile and responsive to all environments.”
Kai nods and says, “As for Jessica and me, well, we share certain distinctive characteristics as you’ll see momentarily. Just don’t be afraid and trust me. We’re depending on you to carry out this mission.”
“But you lied,” says Vlad.
“He didn’t lie, you idiot,” snaps Jessica. “He just left out a few things. Like this.”
Without warning, Jessica dives headfirst into the water, and just seconds before she submerges, I catch a glimpse of silver scales and powerful fins.
It hits me like a shockwave—Jessica Trang is a mermaid.


 
Twenty-eight
“We’re an old family, with roots here…and South Korea,” Kai says, wistfully. “But we love our homeland and will do anything to protect it. A shame the Atlantean government is too shortsighted to understand the real risks of their aggressive policies.”
His words hang in the air, but my gaze remains fixed on the water’s surface where Jessica has just disappeared. All this time, I thought she was as disconnected from Aurora as I am from Liam, while she had a full access pass. I fight the urge to confront both Jessica and Kai, to let the tether voice my fury. Why can’t people ever tell the truth?
“And what about our roles?” I blurt.
“Your roles are incredibly important, as you’ll soon come to understand. But first, a bit more background,” Kai says. “My father and Lord Beaumont are long-time business associates, running an export company based in the human domain. However, Beaumont, being a Marinian, and unable to breathe oxygen, relied on my father for surface interactions. Though,” Kai pauses, a chuckle escaping him, “he once visited France in a giant tank, and was quite taken by it.”
I groan. “Seriously?”
“Skip the bullshit and get to the damn point,” Ridalious snarls.
Kai shakes his head. “You’re an irritable one, aren’t you? Well, to be blunt, as you already know, my father is not above using his children as bargaining chips. He sent Jessica to the Institute, me to the Hydra Academy, and our beautiful eldest sister, Daphne, to be Beaumont’s fifth wife. Did I mention his other four wives are still living in this palace?”
A collective gasp escapes us, and Issy’s voice quivers with sympathy. “Oh, how terrible!”
Kai fixates on the water, his voice barely audible above a murmur as Jessica resurfaces, whipping the wet hair from her face. “It is. But you don’t know the half of it. We haven’t been allowed to see Daphne for four years. So she’s the part of reason we’re here,” he says. “to release our sister.”
Fury and heat rushes to my cheeks. I’m about to lash out, but fear it will seep into the tether forces my silence. Instead, Vlad speaks for me.
“Whoa,” he says. “I think that’s what’s called a bait and switch.”
Kai’s shoulders sag, exhaustion evident in his demeanor. “It’s not. The map we’re searching for is encoded into the scales of my sister’s tail fin.”
The shock seems to reverberate between us as we exchange glances, our eyes eventually settling on the empty water.
“But, how?” Bester finally manages.
“We told you these suits are versatile. Mine,” Kai says, “retracts.”
My jaw drops as Kai's legs transform into a golden fishtail. He dives into the water, and quickly resurfaces, maskless. The scientist in me is fascinated by the seamless transition, while another part of me reels at the reality of merpeople. This isn't just a fairy tale anymore—it's biology I never imagined possible.
“Hydra recruits from all residents of Atlantis.” Maya says, grimly. “Some breathe air, others are aquatic and many, like the Trangs, are switch-hitters. Your masks allow a cadet to breathe in any environment, while obscuring their species. Like you, I’m strictly an oxygen-breather. Now go before I have to push you.”
My heart pounding wildly, I gauge the depth of the water. After a moment of hesitation, Bester takes the lead, followed by Vlad, while Ridalious does a cannonball dive. With a look of worry, then resolve, Issy and I hold hands and jump in together. Maya dives in last.
The water is surprisingly warm as we descend into the depths. With each stroke of the retractable fins that now extend from the wrists and ankles of my suit, I propel myself forward. My botanist’s heart swells with delight as we pass over formal gardens of vibrant sea anemones beds, swaying kelp, and lush seagrass, interspersed by columns of multi-hued coral, but there’s no time to linger as we approach the imposing edifice that looms before us.
Constructed of coral and limestone, Aerowood’s exterior is a faithful replica the palace of Versaille on a smaller scale. Kai signals for us to follow him to a broad veranda on the side of the palace. Extracting what looks to be a tiny spider from his uniform, he positions it near a set of huge French doors. A brief web of light dances through the glass, which then shimmers and dissolves, granting us entry before reforming behind us.
I marvel at Kai’s underwater cat-burglar skills, my mind racing with questions about the principles behind this technology. I’m beginning to realize how hard it is to discern where science ends and magic begins with the Atlanteans. I force myself to focus on our mission, but part of me yearns to study every piece of advanced tech we encounter.
Maya urges us to keep moving. We enter a massive ballroom where towering columns of limestone and coral reach to the vaulted ceiling. Chandeliers, like crystalline hot-air balloons, glimmer with bioluminescent light. Elaborate murals depict elegantly-dressed mermaids and merman in various stages of merriment, the floor below us a detailed geometric mosaic of jewels and shells.
Despite my new ability to breathe underwater, I hold in my breath as we glide past the unsuspecting staff of merpeople and amphibious beings dressed as either French maids or tuxedoed valets, our uniforms rendering us invisible, 
Kai leads us through winding corridors that spiral and twist upward, this place less a palace façade than simply a front for an undersea network of caverns and tunnels formed from coral and rock.
One such tunnel ends at a pair of grand golden doors. Kai activates his spider device, and the doors again vanish then solidify behind us as we enter an opulent suite, a marvel of interconnected chambers, featuring both underwater and oxygenated environments.
Gravity takes hold once again as our fins retract and moisture evaporates from the surface of our suits. Even more eye-popping is the sight of Kai’s and Jessica’s majestic fishtails splitting back into their human legs.
“This way,” Kai says, and signals for us to follow him through a lavishly furnished salon, then motions for us to stop. “Wait here. Jessica and I have been allowed to visit Daphne just once, since the wedding,” he says. “But I will go alone, first.”
Jessica tries to protest, but Maya, holds her back. The rest of us wait in silence until Kai returns moments later and proclaims, “Daphne’s been waiting a long time for this moment. She is ready for us.”
We exchange shrugs, then follow Kai to an open-air courtyard, mimicking the world above and my heart swells at the sight. Brimming with fragrant blooms, the deep crystalline pool at its center is surrounded by exquisitely landscaped tall grasses and fruit trees. At the far end pool, sits a small greenhouse.
Moments later, Daphne Trang Beaumont emerges from the greenhouse. Bedecked in a diaphanous gown, her shiny black hair adorned with a crown of white flowers she greets us with a radiant smile. Though her family resemblance to Jessica and Kai, is striking, Daphne has a magnetic beauty all her own—a delicate oval face, large obsidian eyes set in alabaster skin, and lips like tiny rosebuds. The siblings embrace, an intimate moment that makes me feel like we’re intruding.
Daphne's beauty is otherworldly, yet there's a sadness in her eyes that tugs at my heart. As I watch the siblings' reunion, a lump forms in my throat. Despite the opulence surrounding her, Daphne seems as trapped as I've often felt.
“I am ready, Kai-brother,” Daphne says, finally, pulling out of the embrace. “I have been too long a prisoner in this gilded cage.”
Puzzled, I glance at Jessica, then Maya. If we’re here to rescue Daphne, then why are they all so somber? Jessica avoids her sister’s gaze, and stares at her feet. Maya, her face hidden behind the silver mask, remains impassive as always. But Kai’s voice quivers as he takes Daphne’s hand. “I wish there were some other way. I’m sorry, Daphne-sister.”
“What’s going on here?” Issy hisses in my ear. “Aren’t we supposed to be rescuing her?”
I turn to Issy, anxiety building inside me. “I don’t know, but something doesn’t feel right.”
“Hush!” Maya says.
With a splash, Kai and Daphne dive into the pool, their magnificent tales breaking the surface.
Jessica watches at the pool’s edge, eyes red-rimmed. “You realize,” she says to me through gritted teeth, “this is all happening for our benefit.”
My alarm flares up. Here we are, trapped here in the middle of Atlantis in an undersea palace. I must be a complete idiot for trusting these people. “What the hell are you talking about.?” I blurt.
“You’ll see,” she says, her voice thick with emotion.
Maya whirls toward us. “You must hold yourselves in check. Might I remind you that you must avoid usage of the tether at all costs.”
Chastened, we return our attention to the two figures circling each other at the pool’s center, their glittering tails catching the light.
From his uniform, Kai extracts another device, a tiny spherical object that glistens like a pearl beneath the water’s surface. He rests it on his palm, and the ball unfurls, releasing filaments of light that spiral into the water like the tendrils of a vine with needle-sharp tips. Glowing threads pierce the delicate webbing of the sibling’s fragile tails, binding them together. Both Kai and Daphne cry out as silver liquid oozes from the countless tiny punctures, then swirls around them into a shimmering metallic whirlpool.
I watch, horrified, as the two writhe in the grip of the silver vortex, and consider diving into the pool to make them stop. As if anticipating my thoughts, Maya grabs my arm. “Don’t even think about it. Too dangerous.”
As whirlpool quickens, the ground quakes beneath us. Kai and Daphne’s forms are obscured by its brilliance until the entire pool radiates with blue light.
“What they hell are they doing?” Vlad bellows. “They’re going to blow us all up!”
“They’re transferring the damn map, stupid! Shut up!” Jessica cries.
A tingle of her fear trickles from Jessica to me through the tether. I try to tamp it down, but I’m worried her control may be cracking. The water of the pool boils with white-hot radiance.
Now upon me, eyes wild, Jessica is apparently losing it. I can’t say I blame her—I had no idea I’d be forced to witness the murder-suicide of her siblings unfolding before us.
“Stay back!” Maya screams as a white vortex of light shoots up, lifting the twisted forms of Kain and Daphne, their bodies lit from within. Then, the light fades from Daphne’s form, surging into Kai.
“Damn him!” Jessica shouts. “Damn that idiot for convincing me this would work!” Her eyes bulge, as I fight to control the wild heat building in our tether.
But it’s no use—the concussive force from the pool unites with the explosion in my chest, as the world turns white around us.
      

Twenty-nine
Dazed and disoriented, I stumble to my hands and knees, the tether’s searing heat burning in my chest like a hot iron. Jessica, undeterred by the chaos, tries to charge toward the still-rippling pool, but I manage to grab hold of her, and wrestle her into an armlock.
“Fuck off, you idiot!” Jessica snarls.
We grapple, but my chest pulses with pain as we near the water’s edge. My heart sinks when I spot Daphne’s lifeless form drifting, face down. Seizing the moment, Jessica manages to wrench free of my grip.  
“Stay out of the water!” Maya shouts. Then gesturing to Bester and Vlad, she demands. “Restrain her!”
I reach for Jessica again, but my attention snaps to far end of the pool, where Kai convulses and flails, struggling to keep himself afloat. I try to gesture for someone to help him, but my voice is trapped behind the smothering tether.
Vlad and Bester finally manage to restrain Jessica. Maya, with a flick of her wrist, sends a spray of liquid shooting toward Kai, encasing him in a clear membrane. Straining, she heaves Kai's struggling form out of the water.
Kai is splayed on the ground, his upper body bucking and writhing. Veins of blue light illuminate his torso from within, emanating from the device still in his grip. Despite the uncontrollable spasms, his tail, flickering with symbols and glyphs, remains motionless. Maya stands over him but makes no attempt to help.
“Everyone back,” she commands. “This is part of the plan.”
“To kill him, too?” Jessica cries out, trying to wrench free from Ridalious' and Bester's hold.
My voice fails me, but my mind races. As I edge closer to Kai, my heart pounds with worry. Yet, my attention remains fixed on Jessica, the tether burning hotter as her self-control falters. I can't let her unleash it, no matter the cost to me.
“He can't shift back!” Jessica shrieks. “Can't you see he's dying?”
I'm torn between helping Kai and maintaining my focus on Jessica. The sight of Kai's jerking torso, illuminated by electric blue veins, fills me with helpless dread. But I need every ounce of strength to hold Jessica back through our connection.
Jessica breaks loose from Ridalious and Bester, rushing to Kai. “Stop this! Stop him!”
“Stand down!” Maya shouts, grabbing Jessica's arm and plunging a needle into it. She drags her away. “Your brother knew what he was getting into. I'm in charge now, and you will obey my orders. We're returning to Headquarters to extract the map, as planned.”
From within the membrane, Kai chokes out, “L-listen to Maya.”
“How the hell are we supposed to move him like this?” Ridalious asks. “Rosalie, you don't look too good either. What kind of idiot plan is this, anyway?”
I want to respond, to assure him I'm okay, but my voice remains frustratingly absent. The effort of controlling the tether is sapping my strength.
“It's the best option we had,” Maya snaps. “Now do as I say, or we die right here.”
Though the tether's heat has eased, I spot Jessica teetering to her feet, disoriented as a sleepwalker. Alarm bells ring in my head. This is not good. Heat resurges into my chest as I attempt to push back on the tether, but Jessica is too far gone.
I'm losing my grip on both the tether and her. “Stop her,” I try to shout, but only a whisper escapes.
Vlad, crouching beside Kai, leaps to his feet. “We can point fingers later. We need to get the hell out of here! Look!”
Before Maya can respond, dozens of Hydra combatants drop from the false sky, surrounding us. A commanding voice booms, “Drop your weapons!”
“Fight!” Maya shouts, charging at our attackers.
Jessica staggers toward Kai. The pressure behind my ribcage becomes unbearable. An inferno rages in my throat as she unleashes a concussive force.
Multiple dragon tails shoot from our chests, lashing wildly at attackers and allies alike. The tether has gone berserk. Summoning all my strength, I manage to divert the writhing serpentine coils away from our team.
Suddenly, Jessica stumbles. The tether's tendrils retreat, then vaporize. She takes one final step and collapses. Is it Maya's injection or has the tether finally killed her? I gasp as the coils withdraw into my chest, leaving me feeling hollow and drained.
Hydra operatives swarm in through every entryway. Weakened but resolved, I join Vlad, Issy, Bester, Ridalious, and Maya in the fight. But it's futile. We're overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
It feels like game over as we're surrounded by an endless stream of Hydra operatives.
Then, a shrill whistle rents the air. The pool erupts with a massive splash as scores of seals leap from the water, forming a protective circle around our battered team. My jaw drops as I recognize their leader – Liam in seal form, commanding a battalion of seals and dolphins.
The seals launch into action. Like airborne torpedoes, they spring, knocking down and disarming our opponents. Slowly, we gain the advantage and our teams joins the counterattack while Liam and his seals engage the endless influx of new assailants.
The tether has cooled, but it’s damaged my voice. Yet, I fight on. Nearby, Jessica lies face down in a growing pool of red and silver blood.
The Hydra team continues to falter, as thanks to Liam and his seal platoon, our side gains momentum. My heart speeds up as I spot Liam signaling toward a narrow passage that leads from the corner of the garden. Bester drags me along, while Ridalious hauls Jessica over his shoulder. Maya, with a simple gesture, sends Kai, still struggling inside his protective bubble, to hover aloft.
As we run for the exit, Liam pauses to lock his inhuman eyes on mine.
A silent thought enters my mind, as if whispered in my ear.
“When you call, I come.”
Then with his seals providing cover, we escape the garden of horrors into a tunnel of water that leads to who the hell knows where.

Thirty
With Jessica and Kai as dead weight, our crew's escape through the labyrinthian tunnels is slow going, even with our enhanced uniforms. For now, I'm relieved from constantly monitoring Jessica and the tether, but I wonder how long my freedom will last.
And then we're propelled at great speed, like hurtling cannonballs, until we're expelled into the open sea. The heroic seals who saved us nod, then jet away like rockets, their propulsion clearly augmented by Atlantean magic.
My heart sags with the memory of my brief encounter with Liam. We'd been so close, and I'd almost forgotten that my new allies promised to break his curse. After all he's done for us, they owe him that much.
Our immediate concerns, however, are navigating the vast open sea and how long our suits will keep us breathing. It's unclear how far Atlantis is from the Undercurrents headquarters. Inside his protective bubble, Kai continues to writhe, semi-conscious and tormented with pain. Jessica, thankfully, is still out cold.
I scan our surroundings, half-expecting a unit of Hydra to emerge from the palace in hot pursuit. Despite having a map to buried treasure, I can't fathom how our bedraggled group stands a chance out here.
With no one to confide in, even if I could speak, my thoughts churn. I need to form a plan, to somehow wrest control of the tether from Jessica. Maybe what I need to do is follow where it leads, even if it takes me straight to Brody.
Suddenly, the water stirs, forming a swirling vortex that spits out a peculiar vessel—a cross between a bathysphere and a crab. Its metallic claws pluck each of us from the water, pulling us through the porthole into its hull. We're dropped onto a cold metal floor, dripping and breathless.
Maya removes her mask, shakes out her silver-gray hair, and sighs in relief. “Nice work, comrade,” she says, addressing the pilot's chair that swivels to reveal Izel.
“Piece of cake,” he replies with a grin. “Turns out interning with the Portal Service was a pretty sweet career move.”
Maya's smile is tight. “Very commendable, Izel, but we have a code red.” She nods towards Kai, now spasming violently inside his pod. “We have only moments left before the data degrades and our captain along with it.”
I try to speak, to ask about Kai's condition, but only a hoarse rasp escapes my throat. Issy shoots me a worried look. “What happened to you?”
I point to my throat and shrug, then nod to Kai. Understanding, she says, “I know. It'll be such a waste if he doesn't make it. He's so...”
Before she can finish, Izel activates a lever. A clear panel lowers from the vessel's roof, enveloping Kai's floating pod and fixing him to the ceiling as if he’s been vacuum-sealed. My heart clenches at the sight.
Issy cries out, “Is that hurting him?”
Maya snaps, her tone brittle. “There's no other way to save him.” She raises a rectangular black object toward Kai. “And do keep silent. I must maintain focus.”
I glare at Maya, wondering if she's responsible for my sudden muteness. Meanwhile, nestled inside his clear envelope, Kai's tail begins to glow, its contour outlined in pulsating lights.
“We can't jump through the portal until the procedure completes,” Izel interjects. “It'll be a while.”
Maya's jaw twitches. “We'd better hope those seals are keeping Hydra occupied.”
I want to protest, to ask if we're feeding Liam and his seals to our enemies. With Kai out of commission and my voice gone, Maya seems intent on keeping me sidelined. I'm not having it, but for now, all I can do is watch as lights dim and code sifts from Kai's tail like strands of stardust, vanishing into Maya's device.
The procedure feels endless. When it finally concludes, Kai hangs limply within a drooping sac, his once glorious fishtail now dull and lusterless.
“Oh my god,” Issy whispers to me. “Is he dead?”
I shake my head, desperately trying to force words from my blocked throat.
“Not yet,” Maya interjects. “Izel, enable the jump. We have precious little time.”
The vessel jolts with the familiar wet chill of portal passage. Soon after, we lurch to a halt inside what appears to be a massive hangar. The hatch swings open, and a team of medics swarms the vessel. They carefully detach Kai's sac from the ceiling and spirit him away.
Another team hoists Jessica onto a gurney, whisking her off as well. The rest of us sag with exhaustion as we're led to individual sleeping chambers.
As I'm guided away, my mind races. What's happened to Kai? Where’s Liam? And how long before I can speak again and demand some answers? Despite my exhaustion, I know sleep won't come easily with so many questions spinning in my head.
***
Lying on a soft bed, bathed in the calming blue glow from the glass wall that overlooks the sea, I’m comfortable as I marvel at the brilliant fish swimming by. The hum of the mattress soothes me, but my tranquility soon gives way as it transforms into a droning buzz that sends my heart racing. An agonizing pain shoots through my ribcage, as if I’ve been stabbed.
I cry out, but my voice is still gone. Thorny vines burst from my chest, black tendrils twisting to the ceiling. My fingers sprout roots, anchoring me to the bed. Terror seizes hold as familiar laughter fills my mind. Brody creeps down the vine, his grotesque face—one eye socket filled with rotting fruit, his red skin, flaking and repulsive— soon inches from mine. His foul breath chokes me as I try to free myself, but he grips my jaw, forcing me to face him.
“Did you really think you could hide from me, my sweet girl?” he taunts. “As long as this thing inside you draws me you, I will find you.”
I struggle to cry for help, but no sound leaves my throat. Brody laughs and shakes me by the shoulders. “Do you get what I’m saying, Rosalie? Do you?”
“Help,” I try to rasp out. But the vines ignite as Brody’s cackles echo around me.
“Rosalie!” a distant call reaches my ears, cutting through Brody’s laughter. “Rosalie! What’s wrong? Snap out of it!”
My eyes snap open. Brody’s gone. So are the flaming vines. Instead, a hooded figure is shaking my shoulders and shouting. “Rosalie! It’s me!”
As the hood falls back, I’m sure I’m still dreaming, because there, standing in front of me is Liam in his human skin. The scarred face, the one eye silver, the other a clouded white marble, is the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. I gesture to my throat, and he nods, taking my hands in his. “When you call, I come. Even if your voice is gone”
Tears stream down my cheeks. How can this be?
“You were having a nightmare,” he says softly. “I couldn’t wake you,”
Still shivering from the memory of Brody and his disgusting breath on my face, I mouth. How are you here?
Liam smile warms my heart as he leans in closer. His soft lips meet mine and I savor the moment. But he pulls back, gently wiping my tears with a finger. “I needed to see for myself,” he says, his gaze determined. “In my seal form, I can sense your thoughts. You must know the tether is killing you,” he says.
His words ring true. My encounter with Brody wasn’t a mere dream. It’s the tether growing stronger, consuming from within, pulling me ever closer to him. And Jessica’s increasing madness puts us all at risk.
Just like on Salttain Island, the stakes become clear. I can’t simply outsource my battles to others. In the end down, it all comes down to the same thing—a confrontation with another Lambert.
I open my eyes and gaze into Liam’s beautiful silver one. He sits on the edge of the bed, and taking my hand again, lifts it to his cheek. “I almost forgot how good this feels.”
My heart races as Liam opens his palm, revealing a tiny seahorse with a glowing with aqua tail. “These creatures are called Caeruleous…they’re incredibly rare. They hold the power to break curses, at least temporarily, among other miraculous qualities. We’re going to need more.”
I want to ask him how his skin is here in the Headquarters when last I knew it was back in the Institute. As if reading my mind, he says. “Aurora was at the Beaumont Palace raid. Before joining the brigade, she managed to smuggle both our skins out of the Institute.”
My heart kicks up as his long fingers stroke my hair, as if he’s committing the touch of each strand to memory. “My regimen are all cursed by the Council, but they voted to let me use one of the remaining Caeruleous so I could be here with you. They gave up the brief privilege of enjoying their human forms, if just for a bit, to make this possible.”
Liam closes his eyes, gathering the resolve to continue. “Rosalie, unless we can sever the tether, you’re either going to die, or Brody will use it to find you. And when he does, he will manipulate you for his own ends. We must capture the scepter and defeat him. Your survival is all that truly matters. I need you to understand and accept that.”
What is he really saying? Frustration overwhelms me as I try to respond. I manage to huff out only a few hoarse breaths, then pound my fists on the bed in frustration.
“Now, now,” Liam soothes, pulling me toward him. “Let’s not waste another minute.”
His touch calms me instantly and I melt against him. He smiles, placing the tiny creature on the table beside my bed. “Until this little guy runs out of juice, I get to be right here with you.”
He slips under the covers, sliding his body next to me, his bare skin warm against me. Liam is here, and whether he’s just a dream or not, we kiss, our mouths tasting and savoring each other, the heat of our bodies warming the space beneath the blankets. Suddenly, I don’t care about tethers, little sea creatures, twisted madmen or whether I live another day or die right here in his arms.

Thirty-one
I reach for the sheets beside me, but they’ve gone cold. The little seahorse is no longer on my bedside table, and for a moment, I question whether I had imagined everything—that Liam had spent those few glorious hours with me, moments we’d rarely enjoyed even before he was consigned to the sea.
Yet, sitting up, I catch sight of a sprig of bluish-green berries on a clear stalk. Beneath it, a hastily written note reads, “EAT THE SEA BERRIES.”
I shake my head and smile. He had been there. And left me a very Liam gift. I should have known that his talent for foraging would extend to the world under the sea.
I swallow down the berries, relishing their delicate flavor. My mind drifts back to the night he first offered me those vile nightberries, but these are much more palatable. I wash them down with the cold tea and thin biscuits I’d left untouched, feeling the warm sweetness trickle down my throat.
As I sit up on my cushions, I replay each detail of his touch, his lips against my neck, my collarbone, as if he’d wanted to explore every inch of me. But suddenly, the bliss leaves me. Why had he come? Why had his team let him use the last of a precious resource just to see me?
I spring out of the bed so fast I nearly topple my bed table.
“I can’t turn my back on you for a minute,” says a soft voice behind me. I whirl around to see Issy, carrying a tray piled with fruit, shrimp, and sea urchin. “Now get back in bed before I call Maya in here. She insists you rest. She’s called an emergency meeting tomorrow.”
“Screw Maya,” I say. I touch my throat, shocked at the sound of my own voice, a bit hoarse but loud enough
Issy’s eyebrows lift, then a smirk curls her lips. “Who would want to?”
Eyes wide, her hand shoots to her mouth and we both burst into laughter. Issy rushes to me and pulls me into a hug. “Oh my god. They said it could be weeks until you could…”
I nuzzle her shoulder. No. I won’t share the details of my nocturnal visitor, or the token of affection Liam left me. Those belong to me. Pulling away, I remark. “I guess the medics here have access to better stuff than azurianth.”
Issy’s smile fades. “They have Jessica restrained in a semi-conscious state. She’s—she’s too dangerous, Rosalie. They don’t know what she’ll do if they release her.”
“I know,” I murmur. The last shred of my contentment dissipates as a dull throb settles in my chest. Shadows creep through my mind, dark things that seek to cloud my thoughts. Liam’s dire words echo in my head—that the tether wants to destroy me. And there’s currently no safe way to sever it from Jessica, who’s mind may already have been snapped by its malevolence.
***
Issy leaves me to gaze out the clear wall into the mesmerizing blue depths. I find myself scanning for any sign of Liam, though the chance of him returning in seal form seems unlikely. But all I see is the continuous pageant of brightly colored fish darting by. Liam’s words echo in my mind. What had he really meant when he’d insisted that my survival was the only thing that matters? Brody is coming for me, and I refuse to let anyone else sacrifice their lives to protect me from another Lambert monster.
My thoughts swirl in a tangled mess, and despite my fear of what my dreams will bring, I eventually succumb to sleep.
The morning arrives like a bludgeon. Thirty minutes later, along with my friends, I’m ushered into a large chamber I’d never seen before, similar in its opulence to the dining hall, with rings of seats arranged around a floating circular platform. The mood is solemn as the entire population of Undercurrent files in and takes their seats. My stomach tightens into a knot, my teeth gritted. I’ve been in rooms like this before, and there’s rarely had a good outcome.
A hush settles over the space as all eyes lift to the ceiling. A panel slides open, and in a pool of brilliant light, a device resembling a giant glass lobster tail lowers to the platform. A collective gasp travels through the crowd as the light dims, revealing Kai, eyes bright and keen, his diseased tail nestled in its shell of crystalline armor, hovering a few inches from the floor. Maya takes the stage beside him, as Izel, and a cadre of other uniformed Undercurrent officers gather around her.
The room darkens, spotlighting Kai. “Greetings, comrades,” he says, his voice strong. “My apologies for my absence while I convalesced from my injuries on our last mission. I find myself in need of this assistive device to aid my mobility until my recovery is complete.”
Loud applause fills the chamber, and Kai bows. “However, I am happy to report that I did indeed survive, and our mission was a resounding success!”
A thunderous roar erupts from the crowd, drowning out Kai’s words. Maya scans the room with a steely gaze. My heart races with dread as I notice Jessica, strapped in a hovering chair on other side of the platform, her head lolling.
I’ve seen this rodeo before. First, the triumphs, then the challenges. And if Liam’s cryptic warning is any indication, this one will be a doozy.
Once the applause dies down, Kai continues, his ebullient nature in full force. “Our success is to be celebrated! We infiltrated Atlantea’s toughest defenses and secured the map that will guide us to the location of the scepter.”
The cheers erupt again, but this time Maya’s scowl quells them.
“This,” Kai continues. “was only Phase One. And though it came with a great cost, Phase Two’s toll on us could be greater. The map, long concealed by the corrupt Atlantean nobleman who stole it, has more safeguards in place to impede its usefulness. Which is likely the reason he never used it to locate the scepter himself.”
Boos and hisses fill the room. “Enough!” Maya shouts. “Show some respect for Comrade Trang. He has sacrificed his health for us. He may…” she chokes off. “never swim again without this device. Or walk again on human legs.”
The crowd falls silent as Kai bows and continues, his voice carrying across the space. “I do not regret my service, comrades, for I know you would do the same in my place. I wish to honor the memory of my sister, Daphne Trang, who willingly gave her life. And extend a special thanks to Liam O’Donnell and his Seaborne Brigade, whose valiant fighters made our success possible.”
As Kai speaks, a video loop of a team of seals stares back at the audience with intense, intelligent eyes. And then, Liam, in human form, walks out onto the stage, and takes his place beside Kai. I nearly fall out of my seat as the crowd goes wild. He stands, looking uncomfortable, his gaze not knowing where to land.
“Please show your gratitude to Commander Liam O’Donnell of the Seaborne Brigade. They will embark on Phase Two of this mission, perhaps the most dangerous of all.”
The room explodes with applause, and Liam bows. My heart races at the improbable sight of him, here, in a room with me and a cast of hundreds.
Kai continues, “The map that transferred from my sister to myself was encoded to destroy its container. It killed my sister, and nearly killed me. But thanks to Comrade Izel’s genius, Comrade Maya’s courage, and our team of Institute novices, we safely downloaded and stored it. However, it too will degrade if not utilized soon.”
The room buzzes with hushed murmurs, but Maya’s scathing glare silences them once more.  
“What we need is a creature known as a Caeruleous to activate the code and display the map that will guide us to the scepter. These tiny beings are guarded by vicious eels, said to be inhabited by sea spirits, who kill any human invaders. It is their power that allows Liam, a Council-cursed penitent, to stand before you in his human skin.”
A pedestal rises from the circular platform, bearing a glass canister glowing with aqua radiance. On the screen, the image of the seals morphs into a close-up view of the Caeruleous. “Only these rare little creatures can empower the map, and our dwindling reserves won’t last long. Thus, it falls to our intrepid Seaborne Brigade to retrieve enough Caeruleous to complete the mission. If they survive, they will earn more precious time in human form. If not, we will honor their sacrifice. We’re racing against deadly foes who covet the same scepter. And if they seize it first, the world we know will crumble into dust.”
I knew it! The boy who can’t die is going to embark on a suicide mission. Emotions overwhelm me and I can’t contain myself any longer. I jump up from my seat and shout. “No!”
Whispers ripple through the room as Undercurrent guards rush toward me with a chair that looks eerily similar to Jessica’s. “This is my battle!” I cry, tears streaming down my face. Liam’s alarmed gaze locks onto mine, but I continue, unable to stop myself. “No one else should be asked to die for me!”
At that precise moment, Jessica springs from her seat, her eyes bulging. A sharp pain wracks my chest as the lights flicker, and the screen crackles. The image of Liam’s brigade of seals is vanishes into static—replaced by the leering face of Brody Lambert.
The guards fall back as the tether between Jessica and me blazes with intensity. We let out a unified ear-piercing scream, and in that moment, we become one, two opposing forces intertwined. The Caeruleous emit a dazzling radiance, flinging sparks of light that shower Liam. He stands there, stunned and uncertain, as the shimmering specks land on his uniform.
My head gongs like tolling bell. Time seems to slow, the tether’s hue now mirroring the jar of Caerulous, as the image of Brody’s face shatters into a million fragments.
Through the haze, I glimpse Liam racing toward me, but my legs buckle from under me. As I sink into the seat the guards hastily slide under me, a blanket of black silence descends.
.

Thirty-two
As I slowly rouse, Liam’s terrified face looms over me. Dazed, I smile up at him, until I remember what just transpired. In the aftermath of our scream, a haze of smoke drifts across the meeting hall. People clutch their ears in pain, and moans fill the air. My heartrate spikes as I spot Jessica, sprawled on her back, her body convulsing, her chest glowing a bright blue.
Glancing down at my own chest, I’m met with the eerie sight of my own ribs and pulsing heart, outlined in the same radiant blue light, as if I’ve been turned into a living x-ray. “What did we just do?” I ask, bewildered.
Liam’s calm voice breaks through the chaos. “Don’t try to stand.”
I crane my neck towards the stage and see Kai on his back, too. The crystalline armor that once encased his injured tail has shattered, his tail flailing wildly, smacking against the platform. Then, astonishingly, his tail splits, and two human legs emerge. Kai goes limp, still unconscious, but returned to his human state. The jar of Caeruleous that sits on its pedestal glimmers with a soft blue glow.
“What on earth is happening?” I gasp.
Liam’s gaze darts around the meeting hall. “I’m not sure. But I’m guessing your scream and the energy it released re-charged the Caeruleous.” He runs a hand through his messy hair, and for a moment all I want is to let its softness slip through my fingers. It’s as though I can hear the clock ticking away on our remaining moments together. “I don’t know what any of this means,” he says, “but I think we need to get you to the infirmary.”
A cool pleasant thrum pulses in my chest, so different from the tether’s typical aching burn. “No,” I say. “I’m fine Let’s go help Kai.”
Liam eyes me skeptically but complies. As we approach the platform, I notice Izel fiddling around at his control console. Another panel rises from the floor, replacing the broken one. He powers it on, and the screen lights up, then, clearing his throat, he taps the microphone and addresses the crowd. “If I may have everyone’s attention, please. I know this may not be the ideal moment, but what we’ve, uh, just witnessed here is, in a way, a miracle.”
Maya stands over Kai, looking down at him, horrified.
“Get back!” she orders. Undercurrent guards block our path, pushing us up the aisle.
Maya strides over to Izel qnd grabs the mic away. “No one is leaving this hall until you’re all briefed on what you’ve seen,” she booms in her amplified voice. “Is that understood? Now what were you saying, Comrade?”
The new screen flickers with static. Again, Izel clears his throat and speaks. “Something intriguing has occurred here. It appears that the tethered pair, Comrades Rosalie and Jessica, have had an unexpected impact on the Caeruleous. Their emotions, it seems, may have supercharged the tiny creatures.”
A close-up of the jar of Caeruleous, now dim, fills the huge screen, The earlier scene replays, zooming in on the creatures, as Jessica and I scream in the background, their glow intensifying until they emit a radiant light. “It seems,” Izel continues, “that their tether created an energy resonance with the Caeruleous, causing a sort of feedback loop.”
The stunned audience’s murmurs echo through the hall as all eyes fix on Izel. “It’s remarkable, really,” he continues, seemingly lost in his own thought process, “this phenomenon has transformed our understanding of these creatures and how we can harness their extraordinary abilities. It’s a groundbreaking discovery.”
The crowd gasps, and I struggle to see what’s causing the commotion. A familiar voice resonates through the speakers. “Truly remarkable, indeed,” Kai says, standing next to Izel at the podium. “Get a hold of yourselves, folks! Take your seats.”
As the noise settles, I’m still disoriented, my chest glowing with cool blue light. Liam’s presence beside me in his human form is a reassurance against the chaos. “Rosalie,” he says, sounding dazed, “I think you are a goddamn human battery. Let’s get out of here, fast. We need to talk while I still can.”
In the midst of the uproar, we quickly slip away, unnoticed by the crowd. Liam guides me to the back of the hall, and we reach a set of metal doors tucked into an alcove. With a touch of his palm to a keypad, the doors slide open. “We’re safe in here. No one besides the Brigade has access.”
As we step inside, the dim cavern-like chamber surrounds us, its walls lined with hundreds of illuminated glass cabinets. My chest’s eerie blue light continues to glow as Liam leads me to a single cabinet where a thin gray cloth is suspended from clear line. A panel displays a countdown clock in red numbers.
Startled, I look at Liam. “Your seal skin?”
He nods solemnly. “300 seconds left. Here in Undercurrent the methods may be high-tech, but the curse is still the curse. Listen to me, Rosalie,” he says, gripping my arms. In the soft glow of the cabinet, his eyes, both the sighted silver eye and the blind white one, are now rimmed in black. “I have only minutes left. Whatever they ask of you, please, please do not come on this mission.”
My heart races as I take in the gravity of his words. He’s leaving me again, and this time it’s for a mission from which he may never return. The thought that they’re using him to fight their battles fills me with rage and fear.
“I’m no sure…” he says. “If I can actually die.”
But my determination kicks in, and I stand tall, my back erect. “And I am not going to stand idly by and watch you become a guinea pig for them. If I can help in any way, I’m doing it. And to be honest,” I say, my voice unwavering. “If these few minutes are all we have, do we want to waste them arguing?”
He closes his eyes, shaking his head, then pulls me toward him. I breathe in the scent of him, ocean brine and citrus, and wonder if I can come back to this space to visit his skin after he’s gone. My chest thrums softly, like the purr of a cat.
Liam pulls away, stealing a glance at the clock, which shows our time running down. A sudden impulse leads me to press both his hands to my chest. His eyes widen as the thrum grows stronger, the blue glow seeping into his fingers.
“What the--?” he stammers, as the glow spreads. I close my eyes and focus on the sensation, bathing him in a cool pulsing vibration. Guided by instinct and desperate to keep him with me, even for just a few seconds, I have no idea what I’m actually doing.
“Ohh…” he sighs, closing his eyes as the blue expands and reaches his chest.
“Am I hurting you?” I ask, suddenly alarmed.
“No,” he murmurs. “It’s…wonderful…but I’m so…tired.”
And then Liam sinks to his knees, curling up in a ball on the floor of the chamber, and falls asleep. I try unsuccessfully to rouse him, but I’m shocked as I glance up at the countdown clock, which now reads two hours and fifteen seconds.
I can feel it deep inside—maybe I am a human battery. My touch has somehow granted him two more hours of humanity. Selfishly, I hope, he won’t waste them by simply sleeping.
As the blue glow in my chest slowly fades, Liam blinks his eyes open. The countdown clock now reads two hours. There are, undoubtedly urgent matters at stake, but in this moment, I won’t give another minute of our precious time to Undercurrent.

Thirty-three
“I certainly can think of better ways to spend these two hours than arguing,” Liam says, his fingers gently brushing a wayward curl from my eyes. He hesitates, stumbling over his words. “You—I—I’m not sure how to say this, but, I—even as a seal,” he laughs, a tinge of embarrassment coloring his cheeks, “I have, er, thoughts about…”
“You’re on my mind every minute, Liam,” I say, salty tears running down my cheek and into my mouth. The thought of him, living trapped as a seal, yearning for me as I long for him, cuts me to the core. I pull him close, and as his lips brush mine, I realize he’s crying, too.
He wipes away a tear from my cheek, that one silver eye blazing with intensity. “Let’s not waste the time we have.”
“Liam,” I say, my voice low, “Whatever it takes, I’m going to free you from this curse.”
His smile fades. “If that means any harm comes to you, I won’t allow it. Do you understand?”
“Try and stop me.” I say, lifting a brow.
He shakes his head and lets out a sigh. “Please. Don’t add to my baggage. I just need to know that you’re safe. Not knowing, fearing the worst—you have no idea what that’s like for me.”
“I do,” I say, softly. “And if we want to stop living like this, we can’t just accept the status quo. I would rather die trying to help you, than stealing moments and worrying about you out there.”
He shivers, and I pull him closer. A glance at the clock tells me we have an hour and forty-five minutes.
“There’s a room, warmer than here,” Liam says. “It’s for when we—when we first put on our skins. I think you’ll like it.”
The small antechamber he leads me to feels like a hidden sanctuary. A circular couch, upholstered in iridescent blue fabric curves around a low table set up with bowls full of dry snacks. Glass lockers also surround this space, displaying neatly hung Undercurrent uniforms. Liam gestures to an empty one where another countdown clock now reads one hour and forty minutes. I swallow hard.
“That’s mine.”
I nod, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. I caress the fabric of the uniform he’s currently wearing, my fingers tracing the contour of the hard muscles beneath. Heat flushes my face. “That couch looks comfy.”
“Let’s try it out,” Liam says, pulling me gently toward it.
We sink into its plush cushions, his long dark hair falling free like a curtain over us. For a long while, time seems to slow, so at first, I choose to ignore the hollow sensation pulsing in my chest. But the dull pressure intensifies into an ache, until I pull away, sweat beading my brow.
“What’s wrong?” Liam says, his brow furrowed. “Your glow is…it’s gone.”
I glance at the countdown clock, struggling to catch my breath. “I-I want to see you change.”
“No,” he says. “Something’s not right with you. I can change on my own. We need to get you to the infirmary. Like I wanted to do in the first place.” He gets to his feet. “Come, or I’ll be forced to carry you.”
I’m about to protest when a spasm of agony rips through my chest cavity. Everything around me goes black, and as my body numbs, I feel myself falling. “Liam! Liam?” I try to call. My lips shape words, but no sound escapes. Then, standing in the void, pacing toward me is Brody Lambert. And though I find myself on solid ground, all that surrounds me is black nothingness.
“Well, hello there! We never finished our chat.”
I try to flee, but it’s as if my feet are glued in place.
“Fuck off!” I think I scream, as Brody advances, then stops, keeping a distance. “I’m just a projection, but you’re a damn radio transmitter. Every time you and that other vixen activate your bond, I can hear it. I don’t know where you are right now, but trust me, I’m going to find you. That is,” he says flashing that horrible smile. One eye crinkles, the empty socket a black hole in his pitted face. “if the Atlanteans or the Institute don’t find you first. They all have a bounty on your head, you know. But I would very much like to keep you for myself.”
Waves of horror shudder through me as I struggle to break free.
“Rosalie?” I think I hear a faint voice. “Rosalie! Come back!”
I fight with all my might, each movement sending a crack of pain lancing through my chest. With a final tug, I crash through the darkness and land on a hard surface. Liam leans over me, fear etched on his features. The pressure in my chest bears down on me, making it hard to speak. “What—happened?”
“I-I don’t know. You-your chest flared blue then faded. Then you passed out. I need to get you to the infirm—”
I glance at his clock, cutting him off. “No! You have just three minutes. I want to be with you when you leave.”
He trembles, his silver eye glistening with tears. “For god’s sake, Rosalie,” he whispers, then nods. “Just this once.”
He carries me out of the antechamber, to the locker where his seal skin is stored, and sets me down carefully. I have no idea what will become of either of us afterwards, but I know I need to be here for him when he makes his shift.
He flashes me a sad smile and presses his palm to the keypad. The glass door swings open, and to my shock, Liam steps inside. I prop myself up on my elbows, my chest still throbbing with pain, and watch as water fills the locker. In an almost imperceptible blink, the uniform disintegrates and Liam shifts into a seal.
With one last look from those dark, fathomless, inhuman eyes, he vanishes through a hatch at the bottom of the cabinet, leaving behind only a Liam-shaped skin suspended by a wire.
I lower myself to the damp tiles, devastated and utterly exhausted. Maybe seeing Liam and losing him, again and again, is worse than being apart.
But my vision of Brody has made one thing clear: If I don’t break this tether, either it, or Brody Lambert are going to kill me.
And if I don’t survive, Liam will either perish in a dangerous raid, or if he lives, remain cursed for the rest of eternity.
 
 
 

Thirty-four
Moments later, a team of Undercurrent guards, led by Kai and Maya find me, dazed and sobbing, on the Shift Chamber floor, staring at Liam’s empty cabinet.
“What in the hell are you doing in here?” Maya demands.
“Easy,” Kai says, kneeling beside me. “How did you get in here, Rosalie?” he asks gently. “This area is off-limits.”
“Liam’s gone,” I sob.
Maya gives Kai an angry look. “Get her out of here. Now.”
I’m taken to an infirmary pod—a sterile metallic room with no dazzling ocean views. My mood sours even further on finding a semi-conscious Jessica, thrashing and moaning, strapped to the bed right beside mine.
“What’s the reason for this? What did I do?” I complain, as I’m eased onto my own bed, my ankles restrained. “Am I a prisoner, too?”
“Quiet down,” Maya snaps, “or we’ll strap your arms. Let Kai explain,” she says, “he has more patience for your brand of…for your concerns.”
She strides out, and Kai, flanked by a contingent of grim-faced guards, approaches my bedside. “Nice to see you, too,” he says, beaming.
“You’re looking pretty good,” I say, bitterly. “Spa day?”
Kai’s smile quickly fades. “I’m really sorry about all this,” he says gesturing to my strapped ankles. “Of course, you’re not a prisoner. It’s just…”
He takes a moment to smooth Jessica’s sweat-damp hair from her brow, then pulls up a chair beside me. “I’m grateful for whatever part you played in healing me. But the issue is…we’re in uncharted territory. Do you have any idea exactly what you did?”
I try to muster some bravado, but my voice trembles. “N-not really.”
“I didn’t think so. We’re taking precautions as we figure out what happened with you and the Caeraleous. While the interaction between the tether and the creatures has definitely had its benefits, right now, we don’t understand the dangers it poses. So,” he says, glancing to the door as it swings open, “Izel’s been testing some mechanisms, and exploring safeguards. I’ll let you two to discuss.”
“Wait!” I say, but Kai is already gone, passing Izel as he enters, looking as disheveled and distracted as always.
“Hi,” he says, avoiding my gaze. Frustration rises to my cheeks as I kick my legs against the straps. “Uh, sorry.”
“I don’t need your sorry. Just unstrap me.”
“I—uh. I can’t,” Izel says, his kind eyes surprising me as they meet my own. “We just don’t understand. Your tether is unstable—yet it has the ability to channel unimaginable power. It’s like—it reminds me of the race to develop the atomic bomb, an event Atlantis monitored with great interest.”
“So, in this movie, you’re Oppenheimer?” I say, managing a grim smile, “trying to figure out how to use me without blowing us all out of the ocean?”
He returns a sheepish grin. “We do study human history alongside Atlantean history. But yes. That’s the dilemma. We want…we need to harness that power of yours…without destroying you,” he glances at Jessica, “or Kai’s sister.”
I glance at Jessica, who doesn’t seem to be the least bit aware of our presence. “What are you doing to her? Is she drugged?”
Izel nods sadly. “She’s a danger, both to herself, and to us—but mostly to you. Your tether…it’s like a parasite feeding off of you both. It can be, the uh, key to our salvation, or,” he clears his throat, “our destruction.”
I breathe in and note that the pain in my chest has all but vanished. “Regardless, I feel fine. So, can I get out of here? I don’t see what use I am to anyone stuck in here…with her.”
Izel looks pained. “I-I uh, that’s the basic problem here. The further you two are apart, the more unstable the tether becomes. But she—we can’t wake her. You saw what happened, right?”
Bile rises to my throat as I struggle against my straps. “So, I’m locked up in here with her because she’s a raging psycho?”
Izel, backs away, mortified. “N-no—I’m working on a solution. That’s what Kai wanted me to explain. There’s going to be an, a demonstration later. To test it out. I’ve already created a prototype for other uses. It’s almost done.”
I sit straighter, my ankles chafing from my struggles. “What the hell is it?”
“Err,” Izel says, rising, backing closer toward the door. “Your friends are here. Maya and Kai will explain everything.”
He hurries out as my friends Ridalious, Bester, Vlad and Issy charge in.
“You gave us a wicked scare!” Ridalous booms, the first to my bedside.
Bester bows and hands me a bouquet of colorful kelp interspersed with a few sprigs of bright blue. “For you,” they say. “to match your blue radiance.”
“Tactless,” Ridalious grunts.
Issy climbs nimbly over our larger friends, her lovely, sweet face creased with concern. “We were so scared! First you exploded and then…you, and Liam..were just gone.”
Vlad dangles from the ceiling, arms crossed over his chest. “My money’s on you finding the Shift Chamber. Seal boy once mentioned it to me once as a sweet place to…”
Issy joins Vlad on the ceiling and kicks him in the shins. I feel my cheeks go hot. “You and Liam talked about…” I say, “oh, never mind. Yes. He got me out of there. Neither of us knew what was happening.”
Vlad winks and Issy elbows him in the ribs. “You are rude. And also pathologically clueless.”
Unfazed Vlad preemptively dodges her next jab as he says, “Maybe you can ask Kai to show you.”
Issy is about to follow her brother across the curved metal ceiling, when Ridalious yanks her down by the collar of her uniform. “Will you two quit your squabbling? Don’t you want to know what the fuck is going on?”
And then, all eyes are on me. “Right,” Vlad says, landing silently on the floor. “What happened out there?”
I sigh and settle back on my pillow. “Best I can tell is that…Jessica exploded our tether, and that did something to those little blue creatures. Then,” I say, starting to shake uncontrollably. “my touch extended Liam’s time as a human. So—yeah—we were together.”
Ridalious eyes practically bulge out of his large head. “You turbo-charged those little buggers and then converted that to time for Liam?”
“In a nutshell,” I say. “yes. But she,” I say, nodding toward Jessica, “—is like, a dynamite vest. I’m stuck with her, and no one knows how to separate us.”
The door to my room glides open, and Maya, escorted by a trio of impassive medics, maneuvers a pair of sleek, molded chairs into the room. Their design is instantly recognizable as the same type of device that had restrained Jessica in the meeting hall.
“You’ve had your visit. Now, everybody out,” she announces, “We’re on a tight schedule. Rosalie, take a seat. We’re going on a little outing.” She gestures to one of the chairs while the medics carefully load a limp Jessica into the other, soft braces secured over her torso and limbs for safe transport.
Ushered out the door by one of the medics, my friends leave, their expressions concerned.
“In you go,” Maya says, as another medic helps me from the bed into the other chair.
Settling onto the cushions, I sigh. “I guess this is no joy ride.”
Maya shoots me a sour look. “These chairs are programmed to deliver you directly to Izel’s lab. He’s waiting there for you. He tried to explain, but as you may have noticed, he’s easily flustered. Unfortunately, it’s not safe for you to be apart so everywhere you go, so Jessica will be by your side. I do believe you’ll find that Izel has an innovative solution to your dilemma.”
I groan at the prospect of being permanently attached to Jessica, even if she’s unconscious. But once we’re both secured in our chairs, the sight of her lolling braced head, her eyes fluttering open and closed, makes me shudder. If I’d been as volatile as her, would that have been me? I can’t help but wonder how enraged she’ll be when they finally let her wake up.
With a tap on her wrist controller, Maya activates the chairs. They lift silently off the ground and she leads our hovering entourage into the corridor.
“Good luck. These will get you safely to your destination and back again,” she says, then pivots and strides off in the opposite direction down the hall, her lackeys scurrying after her.
Strapped into my floating throne, riding shotgun beside my zoned-out companion, I’m totally unnerved. Our chairs glide through the network of corridors and ramps on a pre-programmed path, like we’re in a depraved amusement park ride, until finally, we reach a set of double steel doors, which slide open automatically and allow us entry.
At the far end of the cluttered funhouse crammed with blinking equipment, machine parts, giant-sized robotic limbs, and bafflingly intricate contraptions, Izel waits, shuffling his feet as restless as a little kid in a toy store. Behind him, lit by a spotlight, is a large, draped, object. Our chairs approach, somehow navigating the chaos, and come to a stop, softly settling to the floor.
“Welcome,” Izel says, rubbing his hands. “Are you ready?”
I roll my eyes. “As I’ll ever be. Whatever you’ve concocted, I hope it’s better than this stupid chair.”
“It’s still in the development phase, but with some tweaks, it will be revolutionary,” Izel says, scurrying behind the draped object. With a yank of a lever, the curtain lifts, and my jaw drops at the sight of a nondescript mannequin figure wearing a contraption that looks like a cross between the jaws of life and a baby harness.
“Are you serious?” I say, attempting to unbuckle my restraints and get up from the chair. “I’m supposed to wear that?”
“Please!” Izel says. Hurrying over to me, he helps me back into my seat. “This is for safety purposes only. But the suit will change everything! Behold!”
Izel unlatches the back of the odd contraption to reveal the dense padding and straps inside. “This is the Gravity Harness. It’s meant to allow you to carry a much heavier individual without strain.” He looks at me, and a bright grin spreads across his features. It’s hard to dislike this man-child, even if he is demonstrating a hideous torture suit I’m expected to wear. “It has a lightweight underwater propulsion system for maneuverability,” he continues, excitedly. “The key feature is the anti-gravity plates that will make your passenger feel nearly weightless on your back.”
“My passenger,” I mutter. “that’s a nice spin on this arrangement.”
Izel’s brow furrows, apparently perplexed by my sarcasm. “I’d been working to develop this as a battlefield rescue device,” he continues, no less enthusiastically. “We’ve only had a few opportunities to test it. But I’ve adapted it for your particular needs. Shall I demonstrate?”
I nod. “Be my guest.”
Another quizzical look. “Pardon?”
“By all means, give me a demo.”
He smiles in understanding, and I marvel at how someone so brilliant can have the social acumen of a five-year-old. It makes me feel a little sorry for him since he works for, Kai, undisputed zen master of deception and intrigue.
“Okay!” Izel rotates the mannequin on its pedestal, displaying the back of the harness with its extra straps and handles. “Jessica can be secured on here while completely unconscious. The harness redistributes her weight so you can carry her with minimal strain.”
Izel unstraps the device from the mannequin’s back and still beaming, fastens it to his own back, then strides over to Jessica, who, slumped in her hover seat, is completely unresponsive. Unstrapping her, he smiles as a pair of mechanical arms lift and secure Jessica into the harness where she dangles from his back like a super-sized newborn. “See? She’s perfectly comfortable,” he says as and begins to literally skip around the room as if she weighs no more than a regular backpack. “And so am I! You’ll forget she’s even there.”
I watch, dumbfounded, horrified, and nauseous. “And you expect me to wear this? For real?”
He stops and frowns. “That’s what it’s made for. Don’t you want to try?”
I roll my eyes and sigh, unsure why hurting his feelings matters so much. Probably because, despite everything, while he’s fueled by curiosity, I’m still operating on guilt.
Izel unstraps me, allowing me to rise from the chair. After gently lowering the still unconscious Jessica back into her own seat, he proceeds to detach the harness from himself and secure it around me. Its weight is astonishingly light, a fact that takes me by surprise.
What's even more startling is when he permits the mechanical arms to hoist him into the carrier. Once he's secured, all I feel is a gentle pressure from the straps on my shoulders, leaving me in a state of stunned disbelief.
“Move around,” he says. And I do, at first walking fast, then jogging. My own steps, it seems are also lighter.
Finally, the latch releases, and Izel hops off to face me. “Pretty impressive, right?” he says, his face illuminated with sheer joy.
I return his smile. “I’m duly impressed. But can I take it off now?”
At that moment, the lab doors slide open and Kai and Maya, followed by a larger than usual contingent of guards stride in. I try unsuccessfully to shrug out of the harness.
Kai claps while Maya scowls as if the room has a bad smell.
“Congratulations for another job well done, Izel. You are a natural wonder. Now,” he says, his gaze fixing on me, “Is the next test. And that is to see if the Grav Harness can not only carry Jessica effortlessly, but safely channel her power without blowing us all up. Ready?”
I still writhe in the harness as Maya pushes Jessica’s chair over to me. I try to protest as the mechanical arms lift Jessica and fasten her to my back.
“What the hell?”
Kai’s eyes are no longer filled with warmth. “I’m very sorry, but one of the safeguards we asked Izel to install is a lock. You won’t be able to detach Jessica unless when we give you clearance.”

Thirty-five
“Let me get this straight,” I say, barely containing my urge to scream, “you expect me to sleep attached to Jessica in this suit?”
Kai laughs so hard tears leak from his eyes. “Of course not! There's a quick release and an actual tether connecting you. The harness is only while we keep Jessica sedated. We hope,” he says, glancing at his slumped sister, “it will help you manage her. Izel, will you do the honors?”
Izel flashes Kai a bewildered look. “The honors?”
Maya sneers and rolls her eyes, as Kai chuckles. “Izel, can you please activate the Neural Sync Link?”
Izel’s eyes widen and then he smiles. Before I can protest, a mosquito-like sting pricks my neck. Izel rambles on, “It's a neurotransmitter patch transmitting brainwaves between you and Jessica. Cutting edge technology, really fascinating stuff.”
The buzzing spreads inside my head. I try yanking off the patch but my arms lock tightly at my sides. “Make it stop! It's like my skull is full of mosquitoes!”
Izel nods and the buzzing ceases.
“That was freaking awful,” I say, clenching my jaw. “Do that again I will do something unmentionable in this suit.”
Kai just chuckles while Maya scowls, looking ready to decapitate me. “No more of that, I promise,” Kai says. He fixes a control cuff to my wrist. “This operates the harness and sync. You must keep the harness on but can detach from Jessica any time.”
He presses a button and Jessica's weight slides off. The guards catch her limp body.
“Probably best to have soft surfaces around during detachment,” Kai says with a smirk.
I notice the thin cord stretching between us. “Terrific, now literal tethering. So, when do I learn to rein her in so you'll cut me loose?”
“All in good time,” Kai assures me. “We'll gradually wake Sleeping Beauty. You must use the sync to soothe and take command of her volatility. Succeed, and we can explore your abilities further. But first, learn to control my dear sister.”
I narrow my eyes at Izel. “So, I'm shackled to a human atomic bomb, and I’m supposed to defuse it with my mind?”
“In basic terms, yes,” Izel confirms. “Failure could be...most unfortunate. But we have faith in you!”
My heart hammers. “You're using me like a hostage negotiator with no way out.”
Kai just grins wider. “You've grasped the situation perfectly. I know you won't let us down.”
I shake my head bitterly. “The second you free me, I'll wring your scrawny neck. And pray I don't figure out how to do it with my brain.”
Kai laughs nervously. Izel smiles, the A student reciting his lessons. “While that’s not technically designed into the interface, with some practice it could…”
“Enough,” Maya interrupts. “You'll be returned to the infirmary under constant monitoring. We'll periodically activate the neural sync to gauge your control.”
I sigh, resigned to my guinea pig fate. “And if I somehow obliterate Kai with my 'murder waves,' what's my reward? Do I join Liam on this dangerous mission you insist on sending him on? Because if you get him killed, I swear I'll resist your every effort to control me.” I lean forward, matching Maya's cold sneer. “Understand?”
She lifts her chin without flinching. “Your threats do not scare me, Little Handsider. Just remember the fate of everyone you hold precious—your people, your mother, your boyfriend, are all at risk, and your actions will determine whether they live—or suffer a terrible and violent demise.”
“Like, we’re on the same side, Rosalie,” Kai says, casting Maya a skittish smile.
“Handsider? What the hell does that mean?” I ask.
Izel smiles. “It’s a derogatory term used by Atlanteans, and some Undercurrent members to denote the People of the Hand, who are viewed by some as inferior to…”
Maya bites out her words. “That. Is. Enough! Izel, I’m sure there are more machines that need your attention. Everyone! Be on your way!”
“Excuse me!” I shout over the din of confusion. “You didn’t answer me, Maya. If I learn to control this gizmo and tame Miss Crackpot over there, will I get to accompany Liam on that mission? Because I want to remind you again. The reason, in fact, the only reason, I’ve ever cooperated with you is to save him.”
After Jessica and I exit Izel's lab in our gliding chariots, Kai lingers, stroking his unresponsive sister's hair with a sheepish expression. There’s no trace of his winning smile.
“I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry, Rosalie. If there was some other way, you know I’d take it. Jessica is,” he chokes out, “we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but she’s the only family—that I still speak to. And it’s a little hard for that right now, if you get my drift.”
I huff out a breath. “I get it. I have people I care about, too. Like my mother, who’s currently locked up in some Institute jail, and Liam, who you guys seem to throw around like a chew toy. And my father who’s mind is shot and who’s whereabouts are unkown. So, it begs the question, though. What is your actual plan? Maya thinks my little Handsider brain is too primitive to understand. And damn, you guys are seriously unimaginative with your ethnic slurs.”
Kai leans over and fiddles with the controls on my chair. “I reprogrammed it so you can move around freely. You can walk with my sister in the harness, but I figured this chair would be more comfortable.”
I sigh, shaking my head at my forced bondage with Jessica. “I'll keep the seat for now. So where are we heading?”
“This way,” Kai motions. He guides our floating chairs through twisting corridors until we reach short set of coral stairs, imposing double wood doors at the top.
“Welcome to my humble abode,” Kai says, with an irritating little bow and flourish.
“Umm, is this part of Maya’s plan?” I ask as our chairs float up behind him.
“Of course not,” he says, turning to face us at the top. “I’m the boss, not her.”
The wood doors slide open unexpectedly, revealing a spacious, airy chamber. We step inside, and our breath catches at the sight of sweeping ocean views framed by curved, floor-to-ceiling windows that dominate the walls. Stone floors are inlaid with geometric patterns that give off a soft blue glow. There’s a comfortable sectional arranged around a fire pit. The overall mood is sea cave meets bachelor pad. In the corner of the large space, Kai's desk, a sleek glass affair, sits beside a bubbling tide pool where tiny, colorful fish dart around rocks and coral.
“Nice digs,” I say, nodding appreciatively.
“A little bit of home away from home,” Kai says.
As I rise from the chair and stretch, Jessica stirs and moans, her eyes fluttering. “I doubt you brought me up here just for the ocean view,” I say, noticing I can move about ten feet from her before the tether pulls taut. “What's the real reason we're here?”
Kai settles into a chair woven from flexible kelp fibers. With the press of a button, it reclines as he gestures for me to sit in a similar chair facing him.
“Sometimes Maya oversteps. But make no mistake, I lead this operation— whether she accepts that or not. Jessica is my sister. You both will be staying here with me during your training.”
He glances over at Jessica who still moans and shifts in her seat. “These peaceful surroundings, so much like our home in Atlantis, may help reach her. The familiarity could comfort her.”
Kai presses a button, and a compartment slides out from the wall, revealing a container filled with hundreds of spent Caeruleous creatures.
I narrow my gaze. “Is this authorized?”
He laughs. “You ask too many questions. Absolutely not. But I figured it would provide an incentive. The Brigade has a special Shift-enabled room that connects to my personal situation room. There will be a need for...meetings.”
My eyes widen as I realize the implication. “Are you saying Liam can come here?”
“Yes, conditionally,” Kai says. “If you can figure out how to recharge these little monsters without blowing up my sister, yourself, or me, the energy you generate can enable Liam’s visits.”
My heart pounds at the prospect of seeing Liam whenever I like. But I'm wary of Kai's offer. “That sounds like a tempting bribe. But as much as I want to be with Liam, having a threesome isn't particularly appealing, especially with her.” I gesture to Jessica who continues to writhe and murmur. “Plus you still haven't agreed to let me join Liam on his mission.”
At that moment we're interrupted by the sound of laughter and slapping sounds against the wet rock floor.
I'm shocked when Issy, wearing a silk kimono, her dark hair loose, skips happily into the room. She’s trail by a sleek, whiskered animal that flops alongside her before leaping into Kai's lap and licking his face.
“Good boy, Bartholomew,” Kai says, stroking the otter’s slick fur.
Issy gapes at me, eyes wide. I gape back in surprise.
“Got a problem?” Kai asks wryly. “We're all grown-ups here...more or less.”
“I should be going,” Issy stammers, face reddening.
“Issy, no! I'm here on Undercurrent business, that's all,” I explain. “You can absolutely stay.”
Kai roars with laughter. “Really, you thought she’s with me? With my sister right here? Don't you know that Rosalie's threatened to kill me over her boyfriend the seal at least five times already?”
I roll my eyes but smile. “It's true, I have violent thoughts for anyone who messes with Liam. But Kai and I are just working together.” I pat the spare seat, hoping to put Issy at ease. Bartholomew gazes up happily at Kai, whiskers twitching.
“Okay,” Issy says, still looking embarrassed. “I just came out to ask which flavored tuna Bartholomew likes best.” She glances at me sheepishly. “It's not what you think. Kai's still recovering, so I volunteered to help out around here.”
“And I readily obliged,” Kai adds, giving Issy an affectionate smile.
I shrug. “Hey, what happens in Undercurrent stays in Undercurrent. I think it's great you're helping take care of Kai and little Bartholomew.”
Issy relaxes and pets the otter in Kai's lap. “So, tuna - should I get the fresh sashimi-grade or the canned albacore?”
“Oh, the sashimi, for sure,” Kai says. “This guy has luxurious tastes. But I appreciate you looking after us both. It's been a big help during my convalescence.”
We’re interrupted by the sound of boots stomping up the entryway staircase. The apartment doors slide open and Maya storms into the room, eyes blazing. “Why were these two not returned directly to their infirmary dormitory? You can’t have them here without proper security!”
Kai rises calmly. “I have it under control, Maya. You need to trust me.”
“Control?” Maya barks, face flushed. “What were you thinking having them here unsecured?”
Kai approaches Maya and gently grasps her arm. “You're under enormous strain, Maya. Take the night off and go unwind in the canteen.”
Maya looks aghast. “Shirk my duties? Have you lost your mind?”
Kai smiles as the little otter, Bartholomew, scampers around his feet. “On the contrary. You can’t thread silk with an axe. As her brother, I know Jessica best. Her soul has been ravaged by this tether and my apartment is the closest thing here to our home in Atlantis. With Rosalie's careful efforts and my brotherly affection, I believe we'll get through to her.”
I strain to join them but only get as far as the ten-foot cord leashing me to Jessica will allow. “If you don’t mind,” I say. “I’m standing right here and can speak for myself. Kai is right. That awful infirmary room frays my nerves. I can’t imagine what it does to Jessica, even in her current state as a human zucchini.”
Maya's glare darts my way. “And her medication regimen? She will need to be sufficiently dosed, but gradually weaned.”
Kai meets Issy's timid gaze as the otter crawls into her lap. “I believe the medic assigned to me can handle it.”
Issy looks horrified, but I pounce on the opening. “Issy's care is just what Jessica needs. In fact,” I say, the wheels in my mind spinning, “I think it was the Institute’s brutal training that snapped Jessica in the first place, and Issy took care of us both. Maybe with a brother’s love and Issy’s soft touch, it’ll be easier to manage Jessica.”
Suddenly, I wonder if Kai is a Siren too, his persuasive powers of the undiluted Atlantean variety. I consider Jessica's lack of charm which is more like Aurora than Liam’s. But then I remember their sister Daphne—the quintessential Siren.
Kai's warm smile appears to soften Maya until she shakes it off. “Your silver tongue won't sway me, though I am exhausted. However, your slippery charms and outlandish apartment may not suffice if your sister lashes out.”
“She could blow any part of Headquarters to smithereens,” I counter. “At least here it’s contained.”
Maya's nostrils flare as she takes in Kai’s cozy lair, assessing and judging its extravagance. I imagine hers to be as starkly utilitarian as my infirmary room. She turns to Kai and says sharply, “Then allow guards to be posted here.”
“Jessica's unpredictable,” I say. “The presence of guards could set her off.”
Kai nods, stroking the otter’s head as it paws at his pant leg and scurries up to his shoulder. “As long as they don't disrupt the training, they can do shifts in the corridor outside my quarters. But the guards will keep their distance.”
Maya's brows knot. “Very well. I will assign a rotation of guards. But I do not think our young Handsider medic has the proper training to wean your sister of her sedatives.”
Kai grins, scratching Bartholomew’s head. “Won't your team be tending my war wounds? I nearly died, if you recall.”
Maya's face pinches. “I did set up a rotation for monitoring your vitals. I suppose Jessica's care can be added to that.”
“Then I believe we have a deal,” Kai says, returning to his reclining chair, as the otter jumps into his lap.
Maya nods reluctantly, whirls around and strides out of the room. I breathe out in relief as the doors slide closed behind her.
Kai nudges his dozing otter and tugs Issy closer. “Well, Nurse Issy, can you help our guests settle in? After that, I think I will require a thorough physical.”

Thirty-six
True to his word about keeping us comfortable, Kai has Issy set us up in his plush guest suite. I get the fancy canopied bed, which is a spitting image of the shell from The Birth of Venus in that Botticelli painting. Jessica is tucked into a cot beside me, close enough to let me sleep and use the facilities without any hassle.
He and Issy bring me a feast of jellied clams and seaweed stew, a weird mix that I've learned to appreciate at the Undercurrent headquarters. No one can accuse Kai of being a poor host. But his lavish ways bring painful reminders of my mother, and just the thought of her twists my chest. I've lost track of the days since we were yanked away from Snag Island.
I've been so caught up in my own survival, I've barely spared a thought for her, locked up at the Institute. “Kai, any news from the Institute?” I ask, conversationally. “Before you, uh, whisked us away, my mother was arrested.”
Issy blushes a deep pink as Kai stares into his bowl. “I thought you'd ask eventually,” he says, finally looking at me. “We didn't think it was wise to trouble you with the news we've been getting, as none of it is confirmed.”
“What?” I say, my heart thumping. “What did you hear?”
“It's not what we've heard, Rosalie,” he says. “It's what we're not hearing. While Jessica was playing double agent for Atlantis, we had our own people stationed there. We knew about your mother’s imminent arrest, that the Fist had somehow infiltrated the Institute, which is why we had to act quickly and get all of you out. But,” he says, again looking into his stew, “our operatives have gone silent.”
Issy looks uncomfortable and avoids my gaze. I stare at her. “Issy? Is there something else you want to share?”
She chews her food slowly, and swallows. “Vlad and I—we actually grew up with a foster family in Atlantis. I was—I was working as a liaison with—with Sirae, my, uh, foster sister.”
I frown. “Sirae?”
Issy looks down. “You didn't really know her. She—she was one of your attendants when you—during the training.”
I stand, nearly knocking over my bowl. “You were all spying on me?”
Issy shakes her head, looking like she’s about to cry. Kai cuts in, “She wasn't spying, Rosalie. She and Sirae were there to protect you. And here you are.”
Trembling, I grip my bowl, resisting the urge to throw it at them. Behind us, Jessica lets out a yowl.
“Easy, Rosalie,” Kai says softly, and I can tell he’s trying to soothe me with his words. “Please understand. The situation is complex. We had suspicions that the Institute had been compromised by the Fist and we didn't exactly trust Atlantis with their heavy-handed tactics.”
Issy sniffles and wipes her eyes. “I'm sorry, Rosalie. I—I—we haven't heard a thing from Sirae since we left the Institute.”
“So,” Kai adds, “we have no news about your mother. No way of knowing if Brody and the Fist are working together or against each other. Hence, the urgency to get the Scepter before they do.”
I pull in a deep breath and set my bowl down, suddenly not hungry at all. “And that’s why you're pushing the Caeruleous mission on Liam—because you need more of them to track down the Scepter.”
Kai nods. “To put it bluntly, yes.”
“So, his life is expendable, but you won’t risk mine.”
“Uhh, no,” Kai says. “That’s not what I said. You and Jessica are not ready for that mission. Your presence can actually put Liam and his team in more danger. And Liam, by all accounts, can’t die.”
I push the bowl away and stand. “But he can be mortally wounded. Have you seen the condition his human skin is in? He’s already lost one eye. His missing parts won’t grow back, no matter how advanced you believe your Atlantean medicine is. So guess what? There's no way I'm letting Liam go on your wild mission without me—or Jessica. So, I suggest you two—lovebirds, love-fishes, whatever you are— let me get some sleep so I can start work first thing in the morning.”
Issy’s mouth forms a perfect O. Kai stands and gives a slight bow. He looks down at his legs. “As I recall, you, with the help of the Caeruleous, healed me.”
“We’re not going to get your precious little blue monsters if Liam is sacrificed in the process. We don’t know the extent of my healing power as amplified by these creatures.”
Kai nods gravely. “Point taken. You have one week. If you can convince my comrades you’re both mission ready, that you and Jessica can work as a team and not a doomsday mechanism, then we have a deal.”
I tense and glance at Jessica, who still writhes and mutters as if in the throes of a nightmare. The reality hits home. Jessica is a bomb I need to defuse. I meet Kai’s gaze, my voice sounding steadier than I feel inside. “Challenge accepted.”
 Kai flashes his Siren smile, and reluctantly I find myself wanting to please him. “Let's clear the dishes, Issy,” he says. “Good night and sleep well, Rosalie Gatell. Your training begins at dawn.”

 
Thirty-seven
After Kai and Issy leave, I retreat to the sanctuary of the enormous bed, gratefully sinking into the plush softness of its mattress. The room seems to attune to my exhaustion, its glow dimming to a gentle, soothing blue. A low hum resonates from beneath me, adding to the restful ambiance. Beside me on her cot, even Jessica stops stirring and seems to fall into an actual state of rest.
But morning comes too soon. I wake up to find a tall woman, draped in a shimmering silk caftan, standing at the foot of my bed, a tray of breakfast pastries in her hands. “I am your trainer, Zephyryne. Here is your breakfast,” she announces.
Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I examine Zephyryne. She towers over six feet with a cascade of white hair that gleams like spun sugar, her pale skin subtly iridescent. Her large, golden eyes are reminiscent of a frog's, captivating and slightly unnerving.
“Uh, hello. Good morning,” I manage to utter, struggling to suppress a yawn.
 
Zephyryne sets the tray beside me. “I will return in an hour and we will commence your training.” Her gaze is steady, her demeanor almost robotic. I feel exposed, which makes me pull my covers to my chin. Despite this, a comforting warmth radiates from her. 
“Before we begin, I must disclose something to you,” she says, barely blinking those oversized eyes. “I was once wed to your former trainer, Avelia. However, I bear no ill will towards you.”
With that, she glides out of the room, leaving me in stunned silence. My mind whirls, drawn back to memories of Avelia's harsh training methods. I can only hope that Zephyryne’s connection to her was merely matrimonial.
An hour later, Zephyryne returns, her golden eyes gleaming with a purpose that sends a chill down my spine. I sit up, bracing myself for the brutal regimen Avelia had subjected me to.
“We will commence with aetheria,” Zephyryne says, her voice a resonant cadence that somehow stills my thumping heart. “It is the sacred Atlantean practice of healing, empowering the practitioner to harness the universal energy enveloping us all and channeling it to invoke balance and equilibrium within oneself or others. However, I cannot proceed without your consent.”
Zephyryne drops to her knees, her head reverently bowed, and places my hands onto hers. “Do you, Rosalie Gatell, grant me permission to guide your energy and emotions through the aetherial channels?” she intones.
My heart thrashes in my chest, perspiration prickling my forehead. The connection with Jessica is already intrusive enough, but here I am, about to let someone else inside my brain. But I'm out of better options. If I want to get the upper hand with Jessica and join Liam on his mission, I have no choice but to agree to this latest mind fuckery.
“I consent,” I murmur.
“Good,” she says, rising to her full height and treating me to a surprisingly warm golden smile. “Now that you have granted me access, first I must share the shadows within my own soul with you. Aethera is a two-way connection, and one must learn to receive as well as project.”
I’m baffled and not a little bit terrified as she extracts a small device that looks like a glass scallop shell from the folds of her flowing robe.
“This object,” Zephyryne says, “is a chaitanya which amplifies my aethera. I will use it on myself first to both demonstrate its functions and…” she hesitates for a minute, those implacable gold eyes fixed on mine. “to share some of my own trauma. It may be jarring, but it is the only way in which you will learn to open the darkest corners of your own soul with your tether-mate, so that she will allow you entry into hers.”
Her words horrify me. Open. Sharing. Two-way. There are so many things I don’t want to face in myself. So much guilt, pain, loss. But those eyes will not release me from their hold, so reluctantly, I rest my palms beside Zephyryne’s on the device.
At first there’s a slight buzzing in the marks on my palms, and then, without warning, I’m whooshed through a spiraling pool of light and color. It's like swimming through a nebula, a sensory overload of emotions and memories. As we synchronize, I sense amorphous emotions swirling inside me.
The buzzing in my palm intensifies, pulling me deeper into the vortex of Zephyryne’s experiences. Suddenly, an overpowering wave of love washes over me—a love as deep and vast as the ocean. I’m shocked to see Avelia through Zephyryne's eyes, their opal eyes gleaming in a radiant smile, their infectious laughter. The shared moments of joy and intimacy are so vivid, they feel like my own.
But then the warmth recedes, replaced by an icy wave of sorrow. I'm catapulted into Zephyryne's memories of their escalating disputes, the deafening silence, the growing chasm between them, the betrayals. Avelia's vibrant hues drain into grayscale; their harmony disrupted.
Next, guilt engulfs me, suffocating and unyielding. Avelia's death is an unhealed wound, a burden of guilt that Zephyryne shoulders like a heavy shroud. I witness her tears, her restless nights, her futile pleas to rewind time.
Just as abruptly, the turmoil recedes, leaving me shaking and gasping for breath. Zephyryne's voice lingers in the silence, a gentle whisper caressing my thoughts. “We're not so different, Rosalie,” she quietly shares. “We've both loved profoundly, suffered tragic losses, and bear our guilt.”
She kneels again, this time locking her gaze with mine. “I regret the need to expose the wounds on my soul to you, Rosalie. But it was necessary for you to understand that despite our burdens, we can lighten our loads by allowing energy to flow around them, like water bypassing stones in a stream. My sorrow and loss are the boulders in my soul, but I've learned to navigate around them, allowing my spirit to continue its journey. You must master this technique before you can attempt to reach Jessica.”
“When I begin to peel away your layers, you will at first, naturally resist. It is an automatic response. But you'll feel my calming influence, and that will enable you to lower your guard, allowing me deeper access. This is the method in which you’ll learn to reach Jessica.”
Her words drift softly, yet while her journey into my psyche will only result in unleashing repressed feelings, navigating Jessica’s will be like tiptoeing through a minefield. I can only hope Zephyryne knows what she’s doing.
Once we start, I’m surprised at how readily I adapt. Zephyryne’s touch is gentle and skillful as we navigate the twisted tangle of my emotions. Occasionally, we pause for her to comment on how some of my memories were altered or removed. My mother’s handiwork, I imagine.
“Can we fix them?” I ask. “Like repairing a corrupted hard drive?”
Her smile, bright and warm, catches me off guard, and I realize I like her much more than her insufferable ex-spouse. No wonder they were broke up.
“I appreciate your faith in me, Rosalie,” she says, her ability to read my thoughts as if they're words on a page, scarily accurate. “Avelia swept me off my feet when we were training at the Psyche Academy. Given her unique abilities, she’d managed to conceal her darker tendencies from me. That's a lesson I've never forgotten. However,” she continues, “your erased memories don't belong in the current landscape of your psyche. They would be too unsettling, too invasive. Your mind has adapted to their absence, and that adaptation has molded your identity. We need to work around them.”
The therapy stretches on for hours, broken only by meals delivered by Issy or visits from the medical team overseeing Jessica. Throughout this regimen, especially after her most recent dosage, Jessica remains in a semi-conscious state—her eyes open and roving, but completely oblivious to her surroundings. Until, late into our afternoon session, she suddenly cries out, “Where are you? The snow is too thick!”
Even Zephyryne appears temporarily taken aback, then her expression turns thoughtful. “I believe, that although we’ve yet to walk the tether, some of our work is reaching her. It seems that while she appears unconscious to us, she's journeying elsewhere, and that, if I may be candid, concerns me. We need to redouble our efforts to connect with her.”
I also learn that Zephyryne has been staying in another guest room in Kai’s apartment, and is also, apparently, and old friend of his dead sister Daphne. I hear them talking long into the night and have to wonder if Zephyryne has done some healing on Kai, too. And if her knowing Jessica from before is either a help or a hindrance.
Our therapy continues for two more days. On the third day, Zephyryne informs me that we will be attempting to reach Jessica and that all necessary precautions have been taken. Zephyryne senses my terror and spends the entire morning preparing me, until I finally feel ready.
Kai and Issy help us ready Jessica for the aetheria work. She barely stirs as we transfer her from her cot to the hovering chair, then to a room dubbed the 'Sanctuary” which, Kai informs me is located right next to the Shift Chamber that Liam and his cohort use to come and go,
We enter the hushed space, which has the overall vibe of a planetarium. The small room is circular, the ceiling arching overhead like a dome, embedded with tiny crystals that create the illusion of a starlit night sky. At its center, a molded chair sits like a futuristic throne, its metallic sheen softened under the chamber's gentle light. 
Izel emerges from out of the shadows, greeting us with an awkward smile. We meet him beside the chair where I notice the network of wire prongs that extend from its neck support.
“Um, hello, and welcome to the, er, Sanctuary. These here are the biometric nodes which we’ll be attaching to Jessica,” Izel says, his enthusiasm loosening his tongue as he explains. “They’re engineered to detect and report the minutest changes in physiological conditions—brain activity, heart rate, respiration, and other vital signs. If there are the slightest signs of distress, the medical and guards team will be alerted and the room will, uh, switch to containment mode. Any, uh, questions?”
“Containment mode?” I say. “Why?”
“It’s okay, Rosalie,” Zerphyryne says beside me. “I will be here with you.”
Kai and Izel share a look. Izel shifts his gaze to mine, rubbing his hands together like he’s kindling a campfire in the open air. “In case of, well, uh, it's worth noting that this room was once an interrogation chamber for prisoners of Undercurrent. Hence, the extra safety reinforcements that er…keep threats contained. It's somewhat ironic, isn't it—that we're using it to heal, not --”
Kai interjects, “Well, it's repurposed now, right? Look at how beautiful we’ve made it.”
Suppressing a cough, I scan the room for exits, a futile gesture since my harness will only allow a ten-foot radius from Jessica, should she go ballistic. “It is, uh, pretty nice.”
In the meantime, Zephyryne has begun to circle the small space, her hands gently brushing the walls. “I am checking for residual negative energies,” she calls out to me. “It does seem clear of them.”
Izel pouts, “Of course it is.”
Shaking his head and smiling, Kai says. “How about we focus on getting Jess settled?”
I grit my teeth, searching for a way out of this. But I know if I'm serious about protecting Liam, fixing Jessica this is the only path forward. As Kai and Izel exit, I groan as Izel casually mentions that we’re basically locked in and will need to be let out.
After everyone leaves, the lights dim into a soft glow while a deep hum reverberates from the floor, causing my teeth to chatter. A wave of unease washes over me, but Zephyryne's comforting smile and her gentle hand on my arm soothe my nerves. Given a choice, I’d rather be tethered to her over the lunatic I’m currently crazy-glued to.
“Are you ready, Rosalie?” Zephyryne's voice is calm. “We will go at your pace. If you feel the slightest discomfort or pain through the tether, we will stop.”
Drawing a deep breath, I glance over at Jessica. She seems more peaceful than I've seen her in a while, her body relaxed and still.
Zephyryne takes the chaitanya, guiding Jessica’s limp hands onto it. Following the familiar routine, I place my hands on it too. As soon as I do, I find myself diving into the aetheria, journeying into the depths of my psyche. There, I uncover a hidden pathway through the tether, a route that bypasses the obstruction formed by Jessica’s unconsciousness. Beyond the sluggish murk of her dulled mind, there's an inferno of emotions, waiting to be unleashed. It's terrifying, but Zephyryne's occasional reassuring pulses of aetheria keep me grounded in reality. The process is slow and meticulous, as bit by bit, I dismantle the blockage and send exploratory tendrils towards the fire of Jessica’s fury.
After several days of this, Zephyryne praises my progress but suggests a day off for recharging. However, we're back in the thick of it the following day.
“Time to delve deeper, Rosalie,” Zephyryne announces.
As we push deeper into Jessica's consciousness, she begins to twitch. Her hands clench and unclench sporadically. Her eyes, wide and unseeing, dart rapidly beneath her eyelids as if tracking some high-speed spectacle only she can see. Occasionally, she lets out a soft whimper or a sharp gasp, each sound slicing through the silent room, a chilling reminder of the internal turmoil she's navigating.
Each tremor and gasp sends a ripple of emotion cascading through me. I feel a shadow of her fear, a whisper of her confusion, and it's like walking barefoot on a path strewn with shards of glass. It's raw and uncomfortable, and there are moments when I want to pull back, to sever the link.
But Zephyryne's calming presence anchors me. “Hold on, Rosalie,” she urges, her voice a soothing balm against the storm of emotions.
During one particularly intense session, Jessica's body stiffens and her eyes snap open, staring wide-eyed into nothingness. Her lips part, and she lets out a scream that echoes through our tether like a shockwave.
The shock jolts through me. It's overwhelming, like being drowned in a tidal wave of raw emotion. Panic wells up within me, my breaths turn short and sharp, and my hands shake.
Just as I am on the brink of pulling away, Zephyryne's grip on my hands tightens. Her voice slices through my panic, steady and reassuring. “Stay with me, Rosalie,” she says. “Remember, this is her fear, not yours.”
She guides me through a series of grounding exercises, urging me to focus on my breath, to feel the solid earth beneath my feet, to anchor myself in the present. Gradually, the tidal wave ebbs, replaced by the familiar hum of our tether.
Once I resurface, I find Zephyryne beaming at me. “This is a major breakthrough, Rosalie. From here on, it should become easier.”
I’m surprised when both Kai, Maya, and Izel enter the chamber. “Well done, Rosalie,” Kai says. We’ve been tracking your progress, and this is a pleasant and unexpected surprise.”
Wiping the sweat off my brow, I ask, “So, if Jessica can be fully conscious without causing a catastrophe, I won’t need this stupid harness?”
Kai nods. “If she can stand on her own, you won’t need to carry her. But the harness can neutralize her if things spiral out of control.”
I bite my lip, studying their faces. “Great, so if we can get all the way there, you’ll let Jessica and me join Liam on the mission?”
Maya scowls, Izel looks away, but Kai meets my gaze head-on. “You haven’t demonstrated your readiness yet. In your current state, you would jeopardize the entire mission.”
I feel another twitch from Jessica through the tether, almost like a nudge, but she remains still, caught somewhere between consciousness and oblivion.
Suddenly, an alarm pierces the air, a high-pitched wail that sets my teeth on edge. The lights flash a violent red, bathing everyone in a garish glow.
Zephyryne's eyes widen as she looks up, her grip on my hands involuntarily tightening.
“It's an attack,” she says. The calm in her voice seems at odds with the chaos the alarm foretells. “The Undercurrent headquarters is under siege.”

Thirty-eight
Kai's orders slices through the tense silence. “Maya, with me. Izel, you're on guard here.” His gaze is as sharp as his command. “Everyone else stays put. Is that clear?” Without pausing for confirmation, he and Maya vanish through the chamber's threshold.
The alarm continues to wail, its high-pitched screech a jarring echo of the turmoil brewing beyond our shelter. Izel paces like a caged animal, every line in his face etched with worry. Jessica, bound to me, stirs restlessly in her semi-conscious state. Her anxious energy thrums against my own—a cornered panther, ready to pounce.
“Can you wake her?” I ask, turning to Zephyryne.
Her eyes flash a warning. “I don’t advise that, Rosalie. Your control over the tether is still unpredictable.”
I rise to my feet, fists balled at my sides. “So, we just sit here while the Headquarters crumbles around us?”
Zephyryne's gaze is intense. “You might just finish the destruction our attackers have started.”
“It could be Brody Lambert,” Izel blurts out, his eyes wide with fear.
“And if it is, who better to take him down than us?” I challenge.
“I-I,” Izel stammers, his gaze darting nervously towards the chamber door as the sounds of battle grow louder. “I...I don't know if this is a good idea.”
Zephyryne, her hands serenely folded, finally speaks. “It’s a horrendous idea, but Rosalie has a point. We should let them try.”
Swallowing hard, I appeal to Izel. “We can help. Jessica and I, together, we're strong. We can defend the Headquarters. Revive her!”
After a moment's hesitation, Izel nods curtly. He moves to Jessica, takes a deep breath, and administers a shot from a long syringe.
At first, Jessica only stirs, her eyes fluttering open. But then, the tether between us ignites—a surge of power that steals my breath away. Jessica's gaze meets mine, a spark in her eyes mirroring the blaze within our tether.
“What the hell is happening?” she blurts.
Zephyryne and I exchange glances, and she gives a slight nod. Cautiously, I attempt to communicate through the tether to Jessica, skirting around the hazards I've learnt to avoid. I explain the harness, the aetheria, the risk of waking her up fully, bracing myself for the potential explosion.
Instead, Jessica narrows her eyes, her lids falling closed as if tuning into a frequency only she can hear. My heart hammers in my chest as her eyes snap open again. “Alright. So, what are we waiting for?”
I breathe a sigh of relief and notice Zephyryne had been holding hers as well. “I’d feel safer if you two stayed put,” I say.
“I can access the control room via the Shift Chamber,” Izel says. “Zephyryne and I can monitor you from there.”
“And, if necessary, disable Jessica,” Zephyryne adds. “Like Avelia, I have battlefield training. The two of you will be in good hands with me, Rosalie.”
I nod and meet Jessica’s gaze. “I believe that we are,” Jessica says, shocking me.
Izel checks our harness, his hands shaking. Once we're secured, he steps back. “Stay safe,” he murmurs, his voice barely rising above the alarm.
I nod, reaching out to clasp Jessica's hand. We stride forward as one, the tether between us an unspoken bond. As the chamber door parts, we step into the eye of the storm.
***
The corridors outside of Kai’s apartment are deserted. The alarm continues to blare and the emergency lights flash as we creep along side by side. With every step I’m sure I’ve made the worst mistake of my life. Am I crazy to entrust the entire fate of the Headquarters—and our lives—to this mess of a girl?
Yet when Jessica reaches out through the tether, I feel her energy—steady and potent. Her gratitude pulses through to me, a wordless message that I've somehow saved her from herself. It’s warm, easy, and comforting, and suddenly I wonder if I’ll grow too used to it, if this shared energy will become a part of me that I'll miss when we’re eventually separated.
Our eyes meet, and I'm struck by how radically our relationship has shifted. The moment is shattered by a sudden, jarring noise. Silently, we exchange information and in our unspoken dialogue, a plan forms. Like the sprouting of a tree, a thin, branch-like network of filaments blossoms from our chests, radiating outward like a sensory web to feed us information about our surroundings.
The silence of the Headquarters is unsettling, but our sensory net picks up the lockdown protocols. Members of the Undercurrent, sequestered in secure locations, stand ready to defend critical areas. The feedback guides us towards the meeting hall—the site of the initial Caeruleous activation—and the location of an external breach.
Without needing to speak, we sprint towards the meeting hall. The filaments of our tether steal under the locked doors and become our remote eyes and ears.
The clear dome ceiling has a chute punched through it that drops to the floor, plugged with a seal to hold back the crushing sea. We close our eyes, drawing in the information. Kai and Maya are encircled by a ring of six Hydra operatives, their strange harpoon guns gleaming with menace. A terrified crowd huddles against the hall's curved walls, held at bay by another team of assassins.
“We've been ordered to take you alive,” one operative announces. “Resist, and we'll have no choice but to annihilate you all, leaving this structure to crumble in our wake. Surrender, and it will be repaired. Our mission is your capture, not the demolition of your illicit hideout. If you're found guilty of treason, then we will return to arrest your accomplices, and this will be dismantled.”
“You’re a pack of liars,” Kai says, his voice smooth. ““There's no such thing as a fair trial in Atlantea. You just want to make a spectacle of us.”
Her chin held high, Maya says. “You won't get that chance.” With swift grace she reaches for a hidden weapon—a compact, high-frequency stunner—tucked into her belt. But even as Maya's hand closes around her weapon, in a blur of motion too fast to track, the nearest Hydra lunges towards her with his luminescent trident.
Maya's stunner is a heartbeat too late. The Hydra operative's trident strikes first, releasing a paralyzing surge of energy that ripples through her. Maya collapses to the ground, her body spasming uncontrollably as her stunner skitters uselessly away.
“We won't kill you,” the operative announces, his voice cold. He pivots, aiming his weapon at a figure in the crowd. A beam of icy blue light slices the air, and a body crumples to the ground, reduced to a smoldering shell.
Kai's face contorts with rage, but he remains rooted in place as Maya convulses beside him. Then, in a baffling move, he touches his ear, turning towards the meeting hall doors as if sensing our presence. With a barely perceptible nod in our direction, he lunges across the stage and yanks a lever. The massive canister of spent Caeruleous rises from the floor.
Jessica and I don’t need to communicate to plot our next move. The tether itself seems to know instinctively what to do as its tendrils contract then span the meeting room. The distraction is enough for Kai to scramble away, the operatives shooting wildly amid the crowd's terrified screams.
As we advance, the tether, now a single thick trunk sprouting from our chests, arcs over the chaos and coils around the canister of Caeruleous. The tiny creatures within start to glow, their soft radiance intensifying into a blinding blue blaze. The Hydra operatives blink in disorientation as the canister quakes and vibrates, the brilliant light pulsing like a beacon in the heart of the chaos.
The sensation of our connection, our bond to the power of the Caeruleous, is an exhilarating mix of ecstasy and bloodthirst as the energy surges between us. The tether branches out, each limb encircling a Hydra operative, hoisting them up towards a chute in the ceiling and then propelling them outside. After the final one is removed, the tether ejects the plug and, with a swift motion I can barely follow, fuses the fractured dome back to its original form.
Next, we harness the power of the Caeruleous to weave a protective shield so that when the Hydra ship, now floating in the water beyond the dome, tries to collide with it, it's repelled.
As the uproar dies down, Jessica and I make our way onto the stage to help Maya and steady Kai. We're both startled by the applause that welcomes us as Kai springs to his feet, his eyes wet with tears, and pulls his sister into a hug. Without hesitation, he draws me into the warm embrace.
Before we can fully register the moment, a hatch on the stage floor swings open. Liam, accompanied by a small squad of Shifted brigade members, climbs out and circles the canister of Caeruleous, each one placing their palm against its surface.
As the glow from the canister dims, Liam steps forward to face me, then dips his head in a small bow.
“Rosalie,” he says, a grin stretching wide across his face, “I was wrong to doubt you. I think Kai will finally agree to let you and Jessica join us on our mission. In fact, the Brigade refuses to go without you.”

Thirty-nine
Kai's comm link crackles, his face hardening as he listens, then turns to us. “Half the facility's compromised. Another hit like that and we're finished. And now...” His voice drops. “They know where to find us.”
The words hang heavy in the air until Liam’s voice cuts through the tension. “Then what are we waiting for?” In the dim blue light, his silver eye gleams against his scarred face and my chest constricts as I observe how those imperfections make him even more beautiful. How they mark our battle against Randy Lambert's corruption, a fight we barely survived. How he still bears the brunt of that treachery, trapped under a curse I've yet to break."
I catch Jessica's gaze, feeling a surge of warmth through our tether. Pride? Understanding? Whatever it is, it's unexpectedly reassuring.
Kai's sharp tone snaps me back. “You two aren't going anywhere without a full medical scan. I need to know this wasn't a fluke.”
Rage bubbles up inside me, mirrored in Jessica's clenched fists. “You can't control us, Kai,” I spit out, struggling to keep my voice level. “What we do is our decision. The Caeruleous mission is critical. You have more than enough combatants to defend Headquarters and you know it.”
Kai does not smile. “I am the head of Undercurrents, and you are under our protection. I can’t let your stubborn pride, now amplified by my reckless sister, put this mission at risk. Besides,” he says, “if there is another attack to Headquarters who better to defend us?”
The words hit us simultaneously, like a slap. I feel Jessica’s outrage buzzing through the tether as she turns to her brother. “You’re not the boss of me, brother.”
Gathering a head of steam, Jessica is about to protest further, but I cut her off with a quick zap of the tether, my face heated. I work hard to control my rage, to cool myself down so I don’t inflame her any further. But Liam steps back, his expression guarded. The distance between us feels like a chasm. "Rosalie," he says softly, "if something goes wrong out there..."
My stomach drops. "Don't you get to decide?" I whisper, my voice cracking. "Or don’t you want me with you?"
Liam closes the gap, his touch electric as he lifts my chin. “Of course, I want you with me. But I can't lose you. We could recover, but you...” His voice breaks, raw with emotion. “If I lost you, knowing I let it happen...”
I wrench away, anger and hurt warring inside me. “After everything, you still don't have faith in me? I swore to free you from your curse. I'm not walking away now.”
Liam's fierce expression melts into a sad smile, then turns to Kai, shoulders set. “Still as stubborn as ever. As Brigade commander, I request to have Rosalie and Jessica join our mission. Without them, our chances are less than optimal."
“Kai,” Jessica interjects, her voice sharp as ice, eyes flinty. “When has ordering me around ever worked?”
Kai levels us both a cold glare then shakes his head. Jessica smirks, pulsing what feels like a giggle through our tether. I push back a return pulse, which is the tether equivalent of a smile. Maybe, I muse, just maybe, we can work together as a team. If anything, I’m beginning to hate her a whole lot less.
Kai heaves a long sigh, his shoulders drooping. “I should have known better than to get between you and what you want, Jessica-sister. You always did have Father wrapped around your finger. I'll prep the medical team.”
Jessica huffs, looking like she’s about to spit fire, but Kai lifts a finger to silence her. I back him up by sending a gentle nudge through the tether. It seems to diffuse the sibling rivalry, for the moment, at least. Jessica’s mouth snaps shut, but her angry glare, still pinned on her brother, could cut glass.
“And you two,” he says, whirling to face Liam and me. “Get a move on to ready yourselves. Don’t expect too much privacy from my she-devil of a sister, here. I'm going to go have a drink and pray I don't live to regret this.”
***
The words barely leave Kai's mouth before Liam's hand finds mine. He dismisses his Brigade with a curt nod, and together, we bolt from the still smoldering meeting hall.
Acrid smoke and ozone assault our senses as we navigate the debris-strewn corridor. Lights blink and sputter. The Hydra attack has ravaged Undercurrent's once-pristine headquarters, leaving a landscape of destruction in its wake.
As we reach a relatively intact area, Liam suddenly pulls me close, his single eye raking over me, searching for hidden injuries as we stop to take stock of each other. I don’t want to tell him how we won’t be alone for long. How my tether is at the end of its reach.  
“Rosalie, I... I thought I'd lost you back there. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I told you, I’m fine. But one more minute with those two, I think my head might have exploded.”
Liam runs his hands through my hair, as if still combing for unseen injuries. “I couldn't stand another second of their bickering,” he adds with a smile. “It’s too much like Aurora and me.”
I smile back, but a pang hits me. I can’t I remember when I last saw Aurora. “H-how is she?”
Liam smooths an errant curl from my eyes. “She's doing just fine. I've assigned her to patrol the waters around Salttain while Lila helps Brody's victims recover. But your dad, he's...”
“I know, Liam," I say, my voice barely above a whisper. “As long as he isn't suffering, it's the best I can hope for. It's my mother I'm really worried about. Any news at all?”
“There’s been little word. I’m sorry.” Liam strokes my cheek with a finger, directing my gaze back at him. His forehead is creased with concern, his single eye blazing like polished steel. “But I asked about you, Rosalie. That was an insane display with Kai’s sister. What the hell is going on with you two?”
I gaze into that sparkling eye, losing myself in its depths and mourning its lost twin, basking in his warmth, but  already grieving the moment he'll have to leave me again. I don’t know which is worse, not seeing him at all, or these stolen moments.
“You have to believe me, Liam, I'm fine. Let's not waste another second of the time we have. Jessica and Kai will be bursting around the corridor any minute. Remember, I can't be more than—"
Liam's worried frown melts away, softening his scars. He pulls me close, drinking me in like a man dying of thirst, before capturing my lips in a desperate, hungry kiss.
“Well, well,” a voice booms, shattering the sweetness of being in Liam’s arms. “I see you're deep in discussion.”
We spring apart, and I finish my sentence, “...ten feet away.” Liam's face flushes as Kai strides over, looking less than amused, trailed by a vexed-looking Jessica.
“Kai,” I start, “really. Can you just give us one more minute to—"
Suddenly, the air seems to shift. “What was that?” I blurt.
But Liam and Kai stare at me, baffled. “What was what?” Kai asks. The floor beneath me turns spongy. I glance at Jessica, her eyes wide and unfocused, but before I can call out to her, I’m sinking, down, down. Liam's grip on my arms feels distant, his calls coming as if from far away. “Rosalie! What's wrong?”
My limbs go limp as a flood of disjointed scenes crash over me—Hydra training sessions, clandestine meetings, the weight of unfamiliar missions. I gasp, my vision swimming.
I reach for Liam, but he's gone, replaced by a tall, ethereal boy. Snow-pale, with long hair so white it's tinged blue. His full lips part, large opaline eyes moist with distress. Iridescent scales snake up his graceful neck, covering part of his alabaster cheek. He’s beautiful, yet terrifying. Other-worldly.
Also, familiar.

Forty
A distant voice calls, "Rosalie, Rosalie." I wonder vaguely why she doesn't answer.
I focus on the boy. Yes, I know him—his gait, the silken blue hair slipping from under his helmet. Of course, they would send him to retrieve me. He was the first member of the Hydra advance team to breach Headquarters. I pull in a shocked breath, wondering if I’d killed him.
Rosalie! Rosalie? It’s Liam's voice, tinged with fear, but she’s elsewhere.
In my past.
"Samso," I murmur, heart pounding. I almost loved him once, didn't I? Or wanted to, but couldn't.
"Tell me why, Jessica," he pleads, voice laced with hurt. "Was it something I said? Did? I didn't let you win the other day. I swear..."
I gaze at him, this boy with jeweled eyes like opals. The other girls at the academy fawned over him. Sanso Aperienz, son of my father's top Hydra commander, his heir apparent. My destined mate.
Revulsion closes my throat. Those soft lips, while pretty, make nausea well inside me. I can tolerate a half-male, but even his scent sickens me. Yet, seeing him hurt, I grasp for another lie. I’m leaving soon; surely he'll forget me in my absence.
“Rosalie!” Someone has me by the shoulders, shaking me. I'm boneless, slack—my surroundings whirling like a deranged carousel. I spot a face I know—it's Liam. Then, it's Sanso.
Who the hell am I, anyway?
Gears grind inside my head. The tether roars from my chest, coiling like a serpent until it wraps around my throat, constricting my airways. The shouting around me intensifies, but I can't see past the spinning lights. In the maelstrom, I catch glimpses of Jessica, eyes blind and wide, her mouth a rictus of silent terror. I gag and choke as the tether tightens, strangling me.
A shriek splits the air, the world around me plunging into darkness. Then, the darkness shatters.
From under a harsh spotlight, a ravaged, limping Brody Lambert hobbles towards me, supported by a makeshift crutch. One eye socket is empty, a gaping black hole, the once-perfect white teeth now chipped and broken. As he stumps toward me, I try to scream, but my lungs are on fire, starved for air.
“No one can protect you now, Rosalie,” he says, his voice a rasping croak. “Your Institute stooges, who sought to use you against me as their perfect weapon, are on their knees, begging for mercy. Soon, you'll beg, too.”
“No, no, no,” I mouth silently, my lips forming voiceless words. Pain explodes in my head as if a thousand nails are being driven into my skull. Give me oblivion. Anything is better than this.
The agony intensifies as my body flails and spasms. I go numb, my eyes bulging against the inky darkness. But something warm presses against my ribs, its heat searing into my chest. My back arches as I feel myself lifted, the image of Brody fading away.
I cough and sob as the tight coil around my neck releases, allowing a trickle of air into my struggling lungs. My body jerks as I grasp for anything solid in the black void. Please, please, I repeat like a mantra.
The heat in my chest spreads, and my spasms slow.
“It's okay, Rosalie,” a voice murmurs beside my ear. “I have you. It's okay.”
The warmth envelops me until I'm flowing in an ocean of tropical waters, drifting. Calm.
Liam. I feel him beside me. We are swimming together on the open sea. I reach for him, but I'm restrained, my movements restricted.
My eyes blink open to darkness.
“Shhh,” says a voice. I recognize it. Kai. I try to bolt upright, but I'm pinned in place, still unable to see my surroundings.
“Liam! Where's Liam?” I cry out but my voice is barely a croak. “Why can't I see? Why can't I move?”
“Rosalie,” says sweet reassuring voice. Issy.
“What's happened, Issy? Where's Liam? We were talking about the mission. Kai—you agreed Jessica and I could go.”
There's a faint pressure in my chest, a buzzing, and I know that somewhere nearby, Jessica lies pinned in a similar state. “Where is she? Did you do this to us?” I call out, panicked. What have they done to her?
A hand presses into my shoulder. “You need rest,” Zephyryne says, her voice soft.
“I'm sorry, Rosalie,” Issy murmurs.
There's sharp prick, and the world goes still as I sink into the oblivion I'd only recently begged for.
***
The next time I become aware, my eyes open to a painfully bright space, my body sluggish, slow to respond, as if I’m covered by a weighted blanket. My chest pulses gently in a comforting rhythm, so I turn to my side to see Jessica in the next bed, resting peacefully. I breathe out in relief, trying to piece together what landed me in the infirmary—and failing.
My gaze drifts to the figure sitting in a chair at my bedside. Zephyryne, absorbed in a book, looks up. I stifle a snicker at the dainty half-glasses perched on her nose. But my smile fades at her grave expression.
“At last,” she says, the frown lines creasing her forehead softening. She rests a gentle hand on my shoulder. “How are you, Rosalie?”
I gaze up at her, confused. “I'm fine. Just tired. But I need to get up and get ready for the mission.”
Zephyryne blinks slowly then pulls in a breath. When her gold eyes reopen, they fix on mine. “Rosalie,” she says. “I'm sorry, but they've already left. We couldn't rouse you for two days.”
I jerk to a sitting position, my hand grabbing her wrist. “That can't be. I was just with Liam. We were talking and...then...” My heart plummets, a cold dread spreading through my chest. “No,” I breathe, tears pricking at my eyes. “He can't be gone. He wouldn't leave without...” My voice breaks, and I swallow hard against the lump in my throat.
“And then, what, Rosalie?,” Zephyryne presses. “Do you have any recollection of what happened next? We still monitor your vitals, and from the control room I saw your heart rate spike, and your blood pressure go through the roof. And your alpha waves were...strange. You lost consciousness...but then, you didn't.”
I close my eyes and remember. I'd told myself that I'd dreamt of a strange Atlantean boy.
“Jessica has been awake on and off, Rosalie. Her vitals were also erratic. And she reports dreaming about Liam. Watching him rise from the water, unscarred and fully healed. Then, when she saw him crouching beside you, she tried to...uh...kiss him.”
For a moment, I'm furious. Until it dawns on me.
I wasn't dreaming. Jessica and I visited each other's past. Because we switched bodies.
And in the confusion Brody was able to pick up our frequency through the tether.
I sit up abruptly, my head spinning with the implications. The room seems to tilt as nausea rises in my throat. “Oh god,” I whisper, my voice trembling. We... we switched places. How is that even possible?” My hands shake as I run them through my hair, trying to ground myself in my own body.
My heart plummets, a cold dread spreading through my chest. "No," I breathe, tears pricking at my eyes. "He can't be gone. He wouldn't leave without..." My voice breaks, and I swallow hard against the lump in my throat.
Anger rages through my blood. Beside me, I hear Jessica moan softly. “So, Kai let Liam and his Brigade go on a high-risk mission without the help he'd asked for,” I bite out. “Let me out of this bed. I need to have a word with him.”
“I'm not permitted to let you leave,” Zephyryne says, bluntly.
By now, Jessica is awake, her thoughts coursing through the tether in a way I've never experienced before. Now that you can see my secrets, don't judge me too harshly, Rosalie.
I glance at her and nod. They prevented us from going with the Brigade.
I know, Jessica replies, her face lit by the kind of smile I never believed her facial muscles could attain. I know now, how deep your love goes. “We lost it, Rosalie. Our tether is breaking down the barriers between us,”. she says, her tone low and solemn, preternaturally matter of fact. “It craves freedom to do what it wants,” she adds, “And that is to kill, unfettered. Anyone and everyone.”
The weight of Jessica's words crashes over me like a tidal wave. I feel the blood drain from my face as I turn to look at her, searching for any sign that she's exaggerating. But the grim set of her jaw tells me everything. “To kill... anyone?” I repeat. The enormity of what we've become threatens to overwhelm me.
“Which is why,” Zephyryne interjects, “Brody Lambert will move heaven and earth to capture you both again. You have become an unstable doomsday weapon. And if we can't separate you soon, you will lose yourselves and no one will be able to control the monster you become.”
Her words hang in the air, thick and ominous. I feel my breath coming in short, panicked gasps as the full horror of our situation sinks in. “A monster,” I echo, my voice hollow. I look down at my hands, half expecting to see them covered in scales. “How... how do we stop this?”

Forty-one
I pace the infirmary like a caged animal, my frustration growing with each step. The sterile scent of antiseptic stings my nostrils as I tread barefoot, the rhythmic beeping of medical equipment a constant reminder of our confinement. 
Zephyryne's words echo in my mind: Unstable doomsday weapon. Monster. I clench my fists, willing the tether to be still.
They’ve installed a partition between us, in hopes the separation will help us control the tether. But Jessica's voice filters through our connection. You should try to relax. You’re making me jumpy.
We can't just sit here. I snap.
I feel her laugh. We’re getting pretty good at this, aren’t we? But what happened before was terrifying. Other than Liam’s kiss. He and Aurora have more in common than their black hair.
I grit my teeth. Ugh. Shut up. I can’t believe I have to spend my life attached to a. troll.
A jolt of electricity jets through the tether, making me gasp, reaching into areas it shouldn’t have access to. It’s much more a tickle…or even a… Hey! What was that?
Jessica's snicker is quick and cutting, like the flash of a blade. “I’m just exploring our range, Rosalie. You really need to expand your imagination.”
I send a cold rush of icy outrage back at her. Consider this a cold shower. If you think you’re distracting me, you’re not. “This is no time for jokes,” I say out loud. “Liam could be in danger. I’m useless, trapped in here.
The wheeled screen between us suddenly moves. Jessica sits on the edge of her bed, grinning.
“You’re such an innocent little princess, my sweet Hand-sider friend. But I guess you didn’t grow up learning how to ease through barriers. You remember Kai’s little spider?”
I glare at her, the tether still crackling with current. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Jessica shakes her head. We really do better like this. It seems to penetrate your thick skull more effectively. She reaches under her infirmary gown and produces a replica of a device that Kai used to break into the Atlantean estate.
“I have quite the toolkit in my secret stash. Oh, I guess you didn’t know that another feature of our breed, like the sacs our seal friends store their human skins, are skin pockets, charmed by a glamor.”
Open-mouthed, I stare as Jessica lifts her gown to reveal the bare skin of her toned abdomen. I blink as the human skin takes on a purple-green iridescence. Slits, similar to a gills, appear on both sides of her torso. She grins as she reaches into one and retrieves a small, retractable dagger made from what appears to be bone and steel.
“I never leave home, or anywhere else, without it. But we don’t need this. Yet.”
I’m still gaping at her when my chest begins to burn. Jessica frowns, and letting her hospital gown fall back in place, stares down at her own chest.
“Rosalie,” she says, sounding dazed. “Lift your gown.”
“What? Why?” I retort. The burning in my chest is growing stronger, my thoughts fragmenting.
Just do it. With her insistent message, I feel a disturbing sensation. Compulsion. Shit—is she learning how to control me?
I’m not controlling you. I’m convincing you. Are you really that modest?
Fuck you. So much for sisterly comradery. The sooner I can get myself unshackled from the Queen of the Sea, the better. Huffing. I lift my gown, there, in the space below my sternum, a bright blue patch pulses. What on earth?
What, under the sea is more like it. Jessica lifts a brow. “Your sweet Liam must have inserted a C-patch under your skin during our last unfortunate episode. It’s made from Caerelius skin. I think that’s what pulled us back from the brink.”
The patch pulses beneath my skin, hot and urgent as it begins to burn. The realization that Liam had placed this within me without my knowledge sends a confusing mix of warmth and unease through my body.
I flash a look at Jessica, whose eyes have gone wide. “I think,” she says, “that’s a distress call. Your seal boy is not just a good kisser. He may be an unintentional genius who just wanted to save you, but also may have equipped you with a tracking device. With Undercurrent training, The Brigade has picked up quite a few of our tricks.”
“It’s a transmitter?” I stare at my glowing chest, dumbfounded. Then I meet her gaze with terror. If we can track him, what if Brody tracks us?
“That’s an excellent question. The only way we’ll find out is to try and deal with it afterwards.”
She winces as the shared pain grips us, then flashes me a smile as she tosses the little spider device in the air and catches. I’d say it’s time to blow this joint, don’t you?
Momentarily dazed, I nod finally, determination replacing fear. “Let's do it. How does that thing work?”
Jessica grins, already moving towards the door. “Watch and learn, princess.”
She presses the spider against the electronic lock. It whirs to life, its legs twitching as it works its magic. In seconds, the door swings open.
We dash through the empty corridors, our bare feet slapping against the cold floor. As we round a corner, we almost collide with Zephyryne. Her eyes widen in shock, then narrow with suspicion.
“What are you two doing out of the infirmary?” she demands, reaching for her communicator.
Time seems to freeze as Zephyryne's hand moves, the distance between her fingers and the device stretching like an eternity.
Jessica moves faster than I thought possible. In a blur of motion, she's behind Zephyryne, one hand clamped over her mouth, the other applying pressure to a point on her neck.
“Sorry about this,” Jessica murmurs as Zephyryne's eyes roll back and she slumps to the floor.
I gape at Jessica. “Did you just—“
"Pressure point," she explains, already dragging Zephyryne's unconscious form into a nearby storage closet. “A useful skill. Not quite as extreme as the brain wave re-routing I employed on Salttain. She'll wake up with a headache, but she'll be fine.”
I stare in puzzlement at Zephyryne’s unconscious body, the questions swirling through my mind.
You can study me later, science girl. But first you’re going to have to throw away everything you believe you know.
Soundlessly, we close the closet door and resume our dash through the corridors, the burning in my chest growing more insistent with each step. No one tries to stop us. Together, our tether senses alert, we track the strengthening vibration of the C-patch.
“There,” I gasp, pointing at a set of double steel doors at the end of the hallway. “The control room.”
We hesitate. No one stands guard outside, but even from the hall, I can feel the tension within. I close my eyes, and realize the tether is picking up signals. Heartbeats. Blood pressure. Even brainwaves. I meet Jessica’s calm gaze.
Yep, she says. Now you can do it, too, thanks to our little leash.
Adjacent to the control room, I spot another door with a slit for a window. Maybe we should slip in through a side door? Catch them off guard so we can see what’s going on before they start freaking out?
Jessica nods. Can you hear that double snare drum? That’s Maya’s heartrate. Bitch is riding an adrenaline racehorse on her way to a heart attack. Good thing she’s got two hearts.
I send a surprised thrum through the tether. You Atlanteans are just full of surprises.
Aren’t we? Just so you know, I have only one. But it’s as strong as reinforced steel.
I cringe. Nothing, it seems, can tone down Jessica Trang’s need to be the best at everything. Forcing myself to turn my attention to the matter at hand, I press my ear to the door to the adjacent room, my newly heightened hearing detecting no living beings within. Then I peer through the glass and gasp.
Inside is a dimly lit corridor lined with glass cases filled with the same uniforms that we had worn on our mission to Atlantea.
Pay dirt, I say.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Jessica smirks.
How good is your breaststroke? I reply.
Sweet Landsider. I learned to swim before I could walk. I don’t need one of those to breathe, except for the invisibility.
“Then what are we waiting for?” I ask out loud.
“How about where we’re swimming to? You think you have the stamina to doggy paddle across the Atlantic? Your seal boy could be anywhere in the world.”
I frown. She’s right, of course. The enhanced suits will give me endurance, but I’m still human. Unlike her.
The C-patch in my chest gives me a sharp jolt. Jessica flashes me a concerned look. We both feel it. Liam and his team are in distress.
“Let's grab what we need and get moving,” I say, my voice tight with barely contained panic. “I guess we'll build this submarine as we sail it.”
 

Forty-two
The emergency lights flash dimly as Jessica and I creep through the corridor, our bare feet silent against the cold metal floor, our shared nerves crackling through the tether. The control room door looms ahead, slightly ajar.
We slip into the room, noiselessly. Banks of monitors line the walls, their blue light painting the faces of Kai, Maya, and Izel in ethereal hues as they hunch over a central console. None of them looks up as we crouch behind a row of server racks.
Still, I hold my breath, certain our pounding hearts will give us away. But the trio remains focused on the screens, voices low and urgent. It's hard to make out what they're so fixated on, but my sense that Liam is in danger escalates.
Jessica's thought ripples through our connection. We need to get closer.
A throat clears behind us.
“Enjoying the show?” Zephyryne's cool voice cuts through the silence.
We whirl around to see find our healer’s golden eyes gleaming in the scant light. “Caught red-handed,” she says, her steady tone belying her words.
"We—I…" I stammer, expecting immediate repercussions. “I didn't mean to…”
Jessica's mental nudge is sharp. Rosalie, stop talking.
And then Zephyryne bursts out laughing. Kai, Maya and Izel turn and peer into the dark perimeter of the control room. “Worked like a charm,” she calls as Kai strides toward our lame hiding space.
“Quit playing head games, Kai,” Jessica snipes, irritation slashing through the tether. “What was that bullshit all about?”
Maya steps forward, practically shoving Kai out of her way. “This is no game, Trang. Your comrades are trapped, and we had no recourse but to make sure the two of you were battle-ready after your earlier episode.”
Zephyryne steps between Maya and us. “Have some tact,” she says, her voice velvet, eyes flashing at Maya. Then she faces us. “I’m sorry for the subterfuge. We weren’t sure of the integrity of the tether, or its effects on your minds. My equipment measured a serious brain misfunction, which somehow, miraculously corrected itself after Liam intervened.”
Kai's voice is solemn. “He wanted you both on the mission, but I—I refused. And for that, I apologize, because now…”
Anger rises in me, hot and insistent, coursing through the tether like electricity. Jessica and I instinctively suppress it, forcing our vital signs to steady. Zephyryne glances at her wrist monitor, eyebrows lifting. “Impressive,” she murmurs. “Your control is better than we anticipated.”
“Which,” Maya interjects, her words sharp as broken glass, “needs to be flawless. The Guardian eels won't hesitate to make a meal of your boyfriend and his Brigade.”
“A scenario,” Kai adds grimly, “that's unfolding as we speak. We never should have green-lit this mission.”
“What?” My mouth goes dry, a pit forming in my stomach. The tether vibrates and rumbles as I see Jessica's irises dilate. I feel our shared rage building to a crescendo. No, I say to her, we need to harness this. Stay focused, sister.
That’s when I look down and see my entire torso radiating blue light.

“What the hell?” Jessica says. “Why is she lit up like a lava lamp?”
The glow is so bright that my torso looks like an x-ray, my ribs and heart shadows against the brilliant blue light. A tingling sensation spreads across my chest, as if tiny electric currents are dancing just beneath the surface. I stand frozen, too shocked to speak.
“You’re a human battery,” Zephyryne says. “If I weren’t seeing it with my own eyes, I would not believe it.”
Finally, I find my voice. “Will someone please explain what the fuck is happening here?”
“Come,” Zephyryne says gently, taking me by the elbow, her touch is cool against my hot skin. “Let’s talk someplace comfortable.”
Maya glances at the screen, her mouth twisting into a scowl. “Five minutes is all you get.”
Zephyryne nods gravely and leads Jessica and me to the shifting room where Liam and I took refuge with the clock ticking down on our limited time together. With my chest pulsating, constricting my breaths, it’s hard to know what I’m feeling beyond the paralyzing dread that Liam can actually meet his end. Or has already met it.
How had I let myself lose control like that? If we’d held ourselves together, we’d be there protecting him and his comrades right now.
Beating yourself up over it isn’t going to help anyone, Jessica’s voice hisses into my mind.
I know, I admit, as Zephyryne steers us both to the sprawling couch at the center of the dank space, its only illumination provided by the spotlighted glass cases that display the forlorn human skins of the cursed platoon. My gaze wanders towards Liam’s case. Instead, I tear my gaze away to study my half-bitten nails.
“Sisters,” Zephyrine begins softly, her large gold eyes oozing empathy. “Please know that none of us fully understand your tether and how it works. I have studied bonded pairs before, but in my experience, they’ve always been two Atlanteans with moderate capabilities.” She pauses and looks from me to Jessica, before continuing, “rather than two individuals as extraordinary as yourselves. This is the first instance of involuntary tethering I’ve ever seen, and therefore possess little information for referral.”
Get to the point, bitch, Jessica snarks across our bond.
I respond with a firm shove. Where are your manners?
Zephyryne shoots us a quizzical expression, then smiles and claps her hands together. “Ahh, it seems you have achieved the smooth transfer of thoughts. How wonderful!”
“So wonderful,” Jessica grouses out loud. “You have no idea how much fun I’m having.
This time I jab my elbow into her side.
“Ouch!” Jessica cries.
Zephyryne looks at me with knowing eyes, reaches for Jessica’s hand and presses it between her own. “You’ve come a long way, sister, and suffered much to get to this point. I understand the loss of privacy is not easy to bear. But trust that I am working day and night alongside Izel to unravel the mysteries of your connection to find a way to help you both.”
Jessica rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “In the meantime, you may as well help yourselves to the side benefits, because who in their right mind would let some perfectly good superpowers go to waste.”
I frown and send a sharp shock through the tether. Don’t be so rude!
Jessica jumps out of her seat with a loud, “Oww!”
Zephyryne sighs and shakes her head. “We are in a dire situation, sisters. The Headquarters has suffered serious damage. We aren’t sure how Hydra deactivated our cloaking mechanism and located us, but now that they know our general whereabouts we expect another attack imminently. We have barely enough Caerelious left to power the cloaking mechanism as it is. Without assistance from the two of you, not only will we run through our current supply, but, your brave friend Liam and his company will perish.”
Jessica narrows her gaze. “Liam and Aurora are immortal. As in nothing can kill them.”
Zephyryne, her voice strained says, “if only that were true in this case. Now that the Guardian eels sense the human scent on Liam and his company, they’ll inject their prey with tiny venom-filled needles that will paralyze them, leaving them helpless for days. And then,” she stops to close her eyes.
I let out a sob and Jessica, grasping her meaning, claps a hand to her mouth.
Zephyryne continues, “they slowly digest them. It would be…a slow and horrible death for an immortal being. There is no such thing for true immortality for any living thing, only a slower death.”
“What about Liam…is he…?”
“Your five minutes are up,” Maya barks, striding into the shifting room. “And no, to answer your question. Liam and a few of his surviving comrades are holed up in a sea cave, safe for the time being. But the eels know their scent are on the hunt to find them.”
I leap to my feet. My chest pulses a violent blue. “What are we waiting for? Suit us up and let’s go!”
Meanwhile, Kai and Izel enter the room and stand beside Maya, who, looking as if she’s biting back on every curse in the Atlantean language, holds her tongue.
“The situation is desperate,” Kai frets, his brows knitting together. “For them. And for us. Give them the details, Izel.”
“Well,” Izel says, dark eyes eager as if relishing the privilege, “amazingly, you’ve apparently integrated the bio-profile of the Caeruleous creatures into your own genetic code.”
"We what?" I exclaim. My mind reels, the blue glow in my chest pulsing more intensely, as if responding to my shock. I look down at my hands, half-expecting to see scales or fins sprouting from my skin. "How is that even possible? Are we... are we still human?"
Jessica's anger echoes through our bond, her heart racing in tandem with mine. I’m not human, Rosalie, in case you hadn’t noticed I occasionally sprout tails and a fin.
I shake my head, trying to clear the fog of confusion. “Then we're part sea horse now? Part... whatever Caeruleous are? This is insane.”
“Long term?” Kai says with a shrug. “No idea. But presently? Our salvation. See, the Guardian eels will accept you as harmless and allow you entry into their lair. You’ll be able to keep them occupied long enough for Liam and his team to escape, while you harvest the creatures.”
Hold up. Jessica zaps me hard, and glares at me. “What ever happened to consent?” At that moment, she looks down at her own chest, which glows in an identical lurid cobalt. “Oh shit.”
I whirl on Jessica, heat flashing through the tether. The blue radiance in my own chest seems to fuel me, magnifying the force of my jolt. “Without us, they’ll die. And so will we. We can’t power this Headquarters indefinitely.”
“It’ll deplete you,” says Izel. “But er, there’s the other thing. You have to release the energy you’re storing, safely, away from Headquarters. If you don’t…”
“You’ll explode and take all of us with you,” says Maya, completing the sentence.
The blue burn in my chest reaches my throat. “How long do we have?” I ask.
“You should have left three minutes ago.” .

Forty-three
“The, uh, craft is already outfitted.” Izel's eyes dart between Jessica and me, his words coming out in a rapid-fire recitation. “Kai's map isn't just a map. It's a complex data matrix encoded with Atlantean algorithms. Your Caeruleous integration serves as the decryption key.”
I stare mesmerized at the holographic image that hovered midair over Izel’s console, the pressure in my chest, seeming to confirm the truth of his explanation.
“Thank you, Izel,” Kai interrupts. “The physics lesson can resume once we’re on our way. Everyone, time to suit up. You know the drill.”
“Put a move on!” Maya shouts. “Go! Go!”
Maya hustles us to the main area of the control room where out biometrical suits first grafted to our bodies. I’m surprised, but also irritated to find, Issy, Vlad, Bester and Ridalious, already on stand by, fully outfitted in their gear.
“Ahoy, mate,” says Ridalious with an exaggerated salute, his ruddy face obscured by the quicksilver mask we all wore on our mission to Atlantea.
My heart sinks, outrage rising up inside me. “Why are they coming? There’s no need for them to go on such a risky mission.”
“Staying behind is just as risky, Rosalie,” Issy says, stepping forward. Even in her sleek uniform, I recognize her diminutive frame. Vlad steps to her side. “There’s no way you’re going alone. So done try to argue.”
“They are soldiers, Rosalie,” Maya says. “Our survival is their sworn duty.”
***
With head-splitting speed, we pass through the uniform chamber and emerge into the same model of craft Izel had used to rescue us on our escape from out last mission.
“You may commence with your lecture, Izel,” Kai says, once we are all strapped and seated. “There are a few top-secret aspects of this mission we had not briefed you on. If you will, Izel.”
Without missing a beat, Izel nods and continues. He pulls up a holographic image from the craft's control panel, his fingers moving swiftly over the controls. His gaze remains fixed on the display, avoiding direct eye contact with anyone in the room.
He pulls up a holographic image from the craft’s control panel, his fingers dancing over the display. “Observe,” he says, his words spilling out in a torrent. “The map we downloaded from Kai’s tail isn't just a map. It's a complex data matrix encoded with Atlantean algorithms. Your Caeruleous integration serves as the decryption key.”
Jessica, her features obscured behind the silver mask, cocks her head, but the pulsing blue glow that radiates through the material of her uniform is unmistakable. I feel her negative reaction, and share it.
“Hold up,” I say, turning to face Kai. The craft's sleek interior suddenly feels claustrophobic, the control panels and screens closing in around us. “So, this suicide mission you sent Liam and his team on was not only to harvest more Caerelious, but to plug in the map we stole? You risked the Brigade's lives again for this?”
“It’s for both purposes,” Kai states, his tone inscrutable. “We hope the retrieval of more Caerulous would trigger the map reaction as well as power our depleted energy stores. But we didn’t account for mission failure.”
“Oh,” I say, my tone acerbic. “You didn’t account for necessary sacrifice, did you? You didn’t account for the fact that even cursed immortals make delicious hors d’oervres for carnivorous sea eels.”
Jessica’s chest throbs in rhythm with my anger. “Let me guess. We’re the main course?”
“It’s not like that. And I would caution you not to my sister up,” Kai cautions, glancing worriedly at Jessica, who wears a vicious scowl. “Your tether is unstable at best. A detonation out here is not survivable.”
“I’m going to detonate your retractable…” Jessica snipes.
“Whoa!” Kai cuts in, “leave my personal anatomy out of this. And do your deep breathing exercises like we learned in grade school when daddy didn’t give you your…”
Kai is interrupted by a blur of motion as Jessica lunges for him. It takes all of Bester and Ridalious’ strength to pry her off, and my repeated thrusts of pressure through the tether to hold her back.
Finally, she backs off, her snarl visible through the malleable silver of the mask. Kai dusts himself off and stands, his own expression inscrutable. “You see? Jessica-sister has always has a hair trigger temper. Treat her like the nuclear codes your Landsider presidents have. We can’t afford any unforced errors. Now please allow Izel to continue with his extremely thorough briefing.”
Izel, who had been fidgeting with a small glass cube during the commotion, merely nods and continues as if he's a program that's been switched back on. “Your Caeruleous energy signatures will trigger a cascading activation of dormant data points as you traverse the caverns.”
“English, if you please,” Ridalious jibes.
“Don’t mock him,” Kai instructs. “he’s come a very long way. He’s usually one neurocube away from a meltdown. If we had a spare, I’d loan you one, but this one is almost depleted.”
With a puzzled frown, Izel pauses briefly, as if recalibrating his delivery. He sets down the cube and takes a deep breath before continuing, "These data points, once activated, will coalesce into an Atlantean glyph. This glyph is, in essence, a set of coordinates indicating the scepter's location. It's an elegant security measure implemented by our ancestors to ensure only compatible energy signatures could access this information."
"In other more simpler terms," Izel says, his gaze now fixed on a point just above everyone's heads, "We believe that not only do your physiological changes make you not only a non-threatening distraction to the Guardian eels, but the bioorganic key that will decode this ancient cryptographic system. Your navigation of the caverns will simultaneously serve as a creature harvest and decryption process."
The silver of my mask feels suddenly suffocating. I pull in deep breaths, but the heat behind my ribs does not cool. “So essentially,” I say, “is we are not dinner, but bait.”
“Your heartrate is significantly elevated, Comrade,” Maya interjects, “Which illustrates my skepticism of this entire endeavor. You must settle or you will jeopardize the mission.”
“And that’s helping loads,” I say, pulling in long breaths. The tether responds with a quickening throb. Still restrained by Ridalious and Bester, Jessica heaves a frustrated sigh.
Meanwhile, Izel has not looked up as he fiddles with the craft's control panel, his fingers moving with precise, almost robotic movements. "There!" he says, and we are surrounded by lilting strains of an orchestra, familiar, yet like nothing I've ever heard.
I frown, as the throbbing in my chest eases. "This sounds like Mozart. He wasn't from Atlantis, was he?"
Kai chuckles. "No, of course not. But Erasmus Platt, the Atlantean, and Mozart did once meet at the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. It was during the summer of 1782, at one of Emperor Joseph II's famous musical soirées. Mozart was just 26, already making waves in the musical world. Platt, posing as a visiting dignitary, was there to gather intelligence on surface dwellers' advancements. No one can say what knowledge was exchanged, but it's said that Mozart's compositions took on a new depth, so to speak, after that encounter. Some claim they could hear the ocean in his later works.”
“New depths. Very funny.” I soak in the swells of the glorious music, the heat in my chest cooling to mere warmth. I sit back, finally comfortable as silky contentment streams through the tether. Jessica appears to have dozed off.
“Let that serve as a metaphor for our journey. As wise ones say,” Kai remarks, “music soothes the savage beast. Now, everyone, hold onto your straps. The caves are located a depth yet to be explored by humans and rarely visited by Atlanteans. We’re about to drop …”
His words cut off as my stomach lurches and we plunge at a sickening speed, the pressure change making my ears pop painfully. The sleek interior blurs as we spiral, alarms blaring and red warning lights flashing across the control panels. Through the viewing port, the ocean's surface rushes away, replaced by an ever-darkening abyss.
Just as I'm certain we're about to be crushed by the pressure, Izel's fingers fly over the controls, and we level out with a bone-jarring thud. The alarms cut off abruptly, leaving us in an eerie silence broken only by our ragged breathing.
As my eyes adjust to the dark expanse of the deep sea beyond the viewing port, a school of what looks like crystalline fish catch the scant light, refracting it into mesmerizing patterns. In the distance, something massive and serpentine moves, its colossal form barely visible in the murky depths. The sheer alienness of this world hits me – we're venturing into a realm as unexplored and dangerous as any distant planet.

Forty-four
Lulled by the rise and fall of Erasmus Platt's 'Astral Requiem for the Seventh Dimension,' I watch an array of strange, glowing creatures glide past the window. The Caeruleous' warmth in my chest is oddly comforting, like liquid starlight flowing through my veins. Jessica snores softly beside me, and for a moment, I can almost imagine we're on some elaborate undersea tour at the Aquarium of the Pacific.
I think suddenly of Tyler. He would have loved all of this. I can almost hear his excited voice, explaining each creature's unique adaptations, his eyes alight with wonder. The thought leaves me with a bittersweet pang of regret, mixing with that pit of dread in my stomach. This is one expedition I never imagined, especially without Tyler—his absence a constant, aching void—and with the lives of Liam, and possibly everyone I know, hanging in the balance.
We fall silent as the craft, the cabin lights dimmed, slips smoothly through dark waters. It's impossible to forget the dire mission we're on, but still, I'm grateful for the respite.
Then the craft halts its progress with a jarring thud, all of us slammed against our harnesses. The cabin lights blaze back on.
"No cause for panic," Kai says, still strapped into his seat. "We are at maximum depth, in the vicinity of the Caverns. It's best we approach carefully, in cloaking mode, lest we are swarmed."
Jessica stretches and groans. "Swarmed?"
The symphony is still piping through the speakers, but my chest constricts as gusts of irritation flow from her through the tether. I'm guessing the Astral Requiem has its limits.
With the slowed motion of the craft, Kai unstraps and joins Izel at the console. "We'll be activating ambulation mode," Izel says, hurriedly, the neuro-cube rolling in his fingers, sweat beading on his brow.
"English!" Ridalious barks.
"Uh, uh," Izel stammers, his eyes darting, his fingers dancing wildly. "We are going to be crawling across the ocean floor like a crab to, uh.."
"That's enough!" snaps Maya. "Read the damn room, Novice. Izel is being pushed to his limits. And without him, you can all kiss your pitiful lives goodbye."
"Great," I hear Vlad mutter from down the row of seats. "I'd venture the threads we're hanging by are pretty frayed."
"As I said," Maya warns, "we cannot afford doubts, complaints, or anything to disrupt Izel's focus."
The tension in the cabin is a suffocating mix of fear, anticipation, and barely contained hostility. I can feel Jessica's anger simmering through our tether, matching the frustration evident in Ridalious' clenched jaw and Vlad's sardonic muttering.
The neuro-cube continues to whirl furiously between Izel's fingers as his other hand skims across the console. "I see it! The cave entrance!" he shouts.
I gasp at the sight through the porthole, my chest thrumming in recognition. A vast underwater mountain range looms before us, its jagged peaks shrouded in the ocean's inky depths. A network of caverns punctuates the rock face, each opening emitting a soft blue glow that spills into the surrounding waters like ghostly beacons. Bioluminescent organisms cling to the rocky outcroppings, creating constellations of eerie light that dance and shimmer with the ocean currents.
Jessica stands and walks to the porthole, palms pressed to the glass.
You feel it? I ask through the tether.
She doesn't turn to look at me, instead simply pulsing her response. Don't you?
In moments our companions crowd the viewing screen, jostling for a better position.
"Amazing," Bester says.
"We're going in there?" Issy squeaks.
Izel hasn't moved from his console. "It's a vast network of caves housing the population of Caerelius, each pocket of them patrolled by Guardian eels."
My heart speeds up, dread stealing my initial wonder at the majestic sight. I hadn't imagined the Caerelious' lair to be so huge. "How do we find Liam in there?"
Not looking up, Izel's both fingers fly across his display, the neurocube put away. Excitement tinges his voice as the sweat drenches his wavy hair to his brow. "The brigade has sensors imbedded in their seal skins which should help us locate them. Currently, I am detecting a few areas of signal, but since it will work in either a living or non-living being, it's difficult to discern where the survivors are located. However, there's reason to believe the eel's digestive juices would dissolve the sensor, so it may mean that…"
"Thank you, Izel," Kai interrupts, shepherding all of us back to our seats. "Show's over. I regret to inform you that we will be tracking down needles in a very scary haystack. No one said this was going to be a joyride."
My chest pulls taut, as I sit beside Jessica, whose smooth silver mask belies the heat building inside of her. How long should we wait until we tell them, she asks.
The truth of the situation is evident to both of us. There's no technology for this rescue mission and they've known it all along. It's always been up to Jessica and me.
"Why not cut to the chase," I blurt. "Your gadgets won't be able to find and rescue Liam and you've known it all along. So quit pretending." I glance at Jessica who nods. "You need to send us in. Alone."
Izel looks up, frowning in consternation as if he's translating the words into bits of data. “That's not precisely true. This vessel's Autonomous Bathymetric Exploration Module that will allow us to track you, and provide you with guidance on your progress...” At the touch of a button, a small metallic spiderlike device, like the cousin of the one Kai used in Atlantea to break into the estate, drops from the ceiling of the craft.
The ABEM is a sleek, compact device no larger than a dinner plate. Its eight articulated spider legs end in what appear to be suction pads, and a central “eye” glows with a soft blue light. Despite its small size, there's something unsettling about its silent, efficient movements.
Kai waits a beat after Izel drifts off, his attention returned to his screens. “Yes,” he says firmly. "Of course we knew. And I believe you did as well. We will remain behind while ABE, as we lovingly call this contraption, will accompany you both. One of us would gladly join you, if we believed our survival was likely.”
Izel perks up, the neurocube back between his fingers. “My calculations predict a 2.17 percent survival rate if an additional team member joins you, while if it’s just the two of you, the percentage is significantly higher at 53%.”
“That’s comforting,” Jessica quips, her voice sour.
“In other words," Maya says, rising to stand beside Kai. "Abe is the bait. It will get you through the first level of the caverns until the eels detect it. They will attack, and that's your cue to continue the mission.”
"But," Izel interrupts, his delivery staccato and hurried. "y-you will have these. Which accounts for about 25% of your improved survival rate. I'm sorry if we can’t wait for you consent. We couldn't risk…” He presses another button and two tiny darts zip from the spider and embed mine and Jessica's chest.
"Oww!" she cries. "What the fuck was that?"
“Son of ABE,” Kai says, calmly. "Or COA, children of Abe we fondly call them. We determined sharing the details of our full plan, given your volatility, was not advisable. Now, however, since there's no turning back, we activated.”
“They’re nanobots,” Izel adds, helpfully. “The-the eels won't detect them in your bodies. But if the ABE is destroyed, we’ll be able to track and communicate with you.”
“And determine the precise moment we become the appetizer d’jour for the creatures.”
I feel Jessica's reaction building a head of steam, her anger and fear pulsing through our tether like a gathering storm. I detect a note of revulsion and realize with a start that she is flat out terrified of snakes and anything serpentine. She’s even scared of our tether.
I'm tempted to let it loose, to match her outrage with my own. But instead, I send a cool rush of energy to diffuse it and comfort her. I’m shocked when she relents, accepting my support, her shoulders sagging slightly. Still, I feel the need to stand up for us. To maintain what little control we still possess.
“You could have told us,” I say, my voice tight with indignation. “We're not children, and we're certainly not new to danger.”
Kai's silver mask retains is smooth exterior. “And would that have changed anything? You're here because you're our best hope. The plan remains the same.”
I nod, swallowing another comment. Despite my outward protest, I'm actually relieved there will be some connection to the base camp instead of us snorkeling alone in a labyrinth of caves while being pursued by carnivorous eels. Not that I'd ever admit that to them.
***
The soft hiss of the airlock sealing behind us feels unnervingly final. The cramped antechamber fills with a faint, phosphorescent glow from out chests.
They're not technically snakes, I counter, acknowledging her phobia.
Duh. There are no snakes in Atlantis. But I once had a run-in with an eel-hybrid jock...who thought his fancy bioelectric limbs made him untouchable. Cornered me after a meet, clearly missed the lesson on personal space.
I sense Jessica's trauma through the tether, knowing that if she ever unleashed all of it, I would probably drown in it.
Don't worry, she continues. I left him more shocked than I was. A lesson we'd better remember down here, where every shadow might hide teeth – or worse, another entitled asshole.
And for a moment, my fear releases and I actually laugh, the chuckle tingling through the tether. Is this actually happening? Are we finally learning to trust each other?
Don't count on it, she snipes. I just hate you a little bit less.
I smirk behind my mask. Progress is progress.
The black water beyond us shifts, faint bioluminescent currents swirling like liquid constellations. I gasp, feeling Jessica's awe mirror my own through our tether.
Even Atlantis can't top this, huh? I say, afraid to break the spell.
Jessica's response is gentle, almost reverent. Never seen anything like it.
For a moment, we're not rivals, our fragile connection an anchor in this alien sea. Then our conversation is interrupted by Kai's voice booming through the COAs in our bloodstream. I flinch. It's actually painful, like tiny needles swimming under my skin, each one carrying a syllable of his words. I feel Jessica tense beside me.
“Commence release,” Kai's voice says, the command reverberating through our very cells.
 
The ABEM hovers between us, its spindly legs tucked against its body. With a soft whir, it unfolds, and as the outer door of the airlock slides open, I feel the Caeruleous in my chest come to life. My heart pounds, but I can’t tell if its fear, or the creature’s delight in a reunion with others like it.
Water rushes in, surprisingly warm, enveloping us. For a moment, panic claws at my throat – we're leaving the safety of the vessel, venturing into the unknown depths where Liam waits for us to save him.
We push off from the airlock, propelled by some hidden mechanism in our suits. The ABEM glides ahead, its central 'eye' casting a pale blue light that barely penetrates the murky water. Behind us, the main vessel recedes into the gloom, until it's nothing more than a faint silhouette against the abyss.

Forty-six
As we approach the cavern entrance, the bioluminescent organisms that cling to the rocky outcroppings create a tapestry of living light that shifts and shimmers with every movement of the current. It's breathtakingly beautiful, but the wonder is smothered by my growing dread.
Liam is in there. And there’s currently no way to know if he’s alive, or digesting in the belly of some monstrous organism. Right now, I wish that I’d asked for a visual of these Guardians--
Poseidon’s sake. Stay alert, Jessica chides, fear ripping through our connection. Does it matter what they look like?
I’m about to snipe back at her when my thoughts are cut short as something massive and sinuous moves in the periphery of our vision. The ABEM's light flickers, and for a heart-stopping moment, I catch a glimpse of rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth.
That’s what they fucking look like! Jessica's fear rips through my mind, hot with terror.
“Look out,” Kai’s voice reverberates through my blood. “They’re all around you.”
“Thanks for the heads up!” I shout, wondering if the little bugs in my veins can broadcast in the other direction.
But there’s no time for further discussion as we are set upon, what appears to be an army of the things, all slithering bodies and maws full of death. I feel Jessica freeze beside, me, paralyzed with terror. We have no weapons to defend ourselves.
Except little ABE. It zips off in the other direction, shooting red lasers which disintegrate the creatures on contact. But more and more flow out of the caves entrance clustering around the little robot until its red glow vanishes and all that’s left is a ball of infuriated serpents.
Jessica is still floating beside me, and the thought s that reach me are jumbled, stunned and shocked. I struggle to keep a grip on my panic. How long do we have before the things finish their unsatisfactory meal and turn on our more delectable flesh.
There is a loud explosion as ABE detonates, sending shredded eel flesh in every direction and slamming us with concussive force as we’re propelled toward the cavern entrance.
“Proceed!” Kai yells. “This is all part of the plan!”
Shaken, I grab Jessica by the arm, but her thoughts are still scrambled. Just great. Now instead of a partner, she’s an anchor. Get with it! But the only response is panicked nonsense.
Something is wrong, I realize, but I can neither leave her floating at the bottom of the sea of turn back. So I swim forward, into the cavern’s mouth, towing her like a barge.

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