Five mermaids stood as sentries, each armed with a harpoon or trident. I squinted, searching for any sign of a respiratory organ on the mermaids besides their nose. Nope, no gills.

The thought that Fabe and Keenan could possibly be drowning was too hard to bear. It took all my self-control to plant my feet on the grass and huddle behind the bush instead of bursting into a battle cry and storming the lake.

"I wish I could shape a bazooka," said Marylea. "But I can't shape anything outside Aragonia."

"A bazooka?"

"A huge weapon that could obliterate the lake. Oh, wait. That'd kill the boys, too." She looked crushed.

"Why don't you try shaping something else?" I asked. "A sword, maybe. Perhaps there's magic in the air. We're looking at mermaids with harpoons." We hadn't given Marylea a weapon because we hadn't thought we'd need to be armed. It was a naive, optimistic decision I felt like punching myself for.

"Okay." Marylea raised her palms, frog-walked away from me to make room, and closed her eyes. I held my breath and watched for the slightest sign of gold dust.

The air didn't stir. After a minute, Marylea reopened her eyes. "Nothing."

I let out the breath I was holding and shrugged, as if my heart wasn't breaking. "It was worth a shot. We'll wait for an opening, then we sneak in and get our boys back." I reached under my Caval and pulled my sword a third-ways out of its hilt. "I've got us covered."

She gave me a weak smile.

We waited in tense silence until finally the sentries dove underwater at dawn. The lake calmed to a still mirror; the lake reflected the fading stars and soft glow of the awaking sun.

"They're probably switching shifts," I said to Marylea, who was stooped next to me. They left no one on guard, so confident were they that we weren't crazy enough to attack them. "We have a tiny window to sneak in."

"Now?" she whispered.

I nodded. "Now." I checked for my sword then crept from the bushes. We snuck across the grass, quiet as a stalking cat. I peeked over the rocks surrounding the lake. The water was so clear we could see all the way to the bottom.

"A cave," said Marylea, pointing at a cave mouth about thirty feet underwater.

I hoped to Stars there was an air lock in there. "On three, we dive towards the cave."

Marylea nodded, her eyes full of steely determination, and another thing: love. Love for a boy who had lied to her, cheated her, broken her heart, and yet she still had it in her to love him. I didn't know if I should feel sympathy or respect.

"All right. Stars watch over us. One, two -" We climbed onto the rocks, and the cool jagged edges dug into my fingertips. "Three."

We plunged into icy cold water. My senses numbed from the cold, my lungs cried for mercy. I wrenched my eyelids open, and all I saw was tiny bubbles jerking to the surface. I willed my limbs to swim, but they felt like heavy ice blocks, useless and a hindrance.

I'm going to die, I'm going to die.

The jittery bubbles danced to the surface, and a small part of me thought they looked like the swirling gold dust that Tem had dissipated into. And gold dust he would remain if you let your fear overcome you.

I resurfaced for a gulp of air, and tread water for a bit. Marylea joined me at the surface, looking confused.

"Sorry," I gasped. "Let's try again."

I dove below the surface, keeping the vision of swirling gold dust in my head. It was terrifying, yet it gave me strength. The water felt warmer, my lungs felt soothed. My limbs came alive, and we swam down, down. Every kick gave me strength. The tiny bubbles dissipated from around us, and morning rays filtered through the clear lake. Ahead of us, the cave opening yawned like a lion.

I looked to my left to see Marylea emerging from the froth, her fiery hair blazing around her pale face. I gave her a thumbs-up, and she gave one back.

The lake was deeper than it appeared from the surface, and it took about half a minute to arrive at the cave opening. My lungs pleaded for air. Once at the cave mouth, instead of an air lock, we found a tunnel that went deeper into the lake. It would've been pitch black if not lit by small pearls embedded into its walls. I told my lungs to suck it up and pushed into the tunnel. Just as my chest was close to exploding, the tunnel curved upwards and I saw a shimmer of light.

We kicked to the surface. Our heads burst into cool, joyous air. We sucked in as much air as we could, gasping like drowning fish on the shore.

You did it, Ash. You conquered your fear.

I almost laughed. That fear seemed so trivial compared to what awaited us ahead, to the thought that Tem might be gone forever.

I would never fear anything else again.

It was a minute before my lungs stopped threatening to blow, and I finally started to scan our environment for a way to get up to shore while treading water with burning limbs. There it was – a stone staircase leading up to a stone platform. Our bodies sagged from oxygen starvation, but we managed to pull ourselves up somehow. Marylea flopped to the stone floor next to me, and we lay there catching our breaths. It seemed ages before our lungs and limbs stopped burning, and when they did, we stood.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

We were in a damp cave lit by head-sized glowing pearls. Up ahead, a small tunnel snaked upwards, looking like a railroad on which a train would come barreling towards us at any time.

"That's our path," I said, failing to keep the shiver out of my voice.

Next to me, Marylea's dripping body was taut with fear. She nodded.

Wordlessly, we made our way up the tunnel, which was also dimly lit by little pearls. Stone gave way to polished marble, and the tunnel widened. We struggled to find purchase on the slippery surface with our soaked sandals - it was like walking on a kitchen floor drenched with oil - and we were forced to tread slowly.

Finally, the tunnel widened into a cavernous opening so large I had to crane my neck to see the ceiling. What lay ahead left us speechless for a moment.

Marylea muttered, "It's a frickin' palace down here."

"Kind of reminds you of Ellis, doesn't it?" I said. I did not mean it like it was a good thing.

Marylea said nothing, just wrinkled her nose as if disturbed by a bad smell.

We were in a marble hallway with a high, arched ceiling. Numerous pillars were strewn about the hall, each glowing a bright blue that cast eerie light across the hall. Glowing pearls on gold stands filled in the shadows. I squinted so my eyes, accustomed to the dim tunnel, would adjust quicker. When they did, I noticed something floating inside the pillars. Then it clicked in my brain. I gasped.

"Holy trout," I said. "We have to hurry."

Marylea saw the same thing, and she hurried after me without question.

For what was floating in the pillars were bodies of dead men. Their clothes were intact, ranging from a peasants' smock to a Knight's armor. All were young and handsome. But their eyes were shut, their heads lolling downwards or sideways. I didn't know if they were still alive, and I had no time to find out.

What surprised me was how empty the palace seemed. There were no sounds of movement, no whispers of conversation. The air was still. It was like the whole population had gone into hibernation.

This seemed too easy. The only challenge was figuring out where Fabe and Keenan were.

I squinted at the archways circling the hall. Each had a small marked plaque hanging above it. Perhaps if we could decipher those symbols...

Something stirred the still air. A rumbling, coming from the largest archway, the one that reached to the ceiling.

"Did you hear that?" I whispered.

Marylea nodded, her eyes wide. "Sounds like... snoring."

There was no one around. The snoring came in bursts.

Then I noticed something snaking across the polished floor from the center pillar into the large archway.

A chain.

My body stiffened.

I pressed a finger to my lips for Marylea to be quiet. Fear flashed in her eyes.

Then we heard something else. Male voices.

"- stuck here. You're a heartless brute, using Marylea for -"

"Listen, I had no choice."

Clinking of chains. "Trout crap. Everyone has a choice."

"I did it to protect Aragonia. Wouldn't you have done the same?"

Brief silence. More clanking of chains.

I cast a bewildered look at Marylea. Were they serious right now?

Marylea's face was ashen, and my heart pained for her. Her heartbreak was still fresh, I was sure. She was just very good at hiding it.

I made a gesture towards the archway the voices were coming from, and Marylea nodded, her lips a grim line. We snuck around the glowing blue pillars, trying to ignore the male bodies floating within them. Perhaps later, after we'd rescued Fabe and Keenan, we would break one of these pillars to check if they were still alive.

Through the archway was a flight of marble stairs that transitioned into damp stone blocks as we descended into what looked like a dungeon. Fabe and Keenan's voices grew louder.

"What were you thinking, confessing to Dimitri? You know you don't hold a candle to Tem."

Keenan's voice was subdued. "I was confused. And a terrible liar."

"Oh yeah? Marylea doesn't think so."

I snuck a glance at Marylea, whose face was hidden in the shadows.

"Stop bringing her into this. Shouldn't we be working together to escape?"

"These are chains, trouthead. What'd you suggest, break them open with your lies, huh? Like you do with hearts?"

I made a mental note to never offend Fabe. We came to the end of the stairs and found ourselves in a long corridor lined with jail cells. Each cell was divided by brick wall and lined with iron bars from floor to ceiling. I checked to see that there were no guards. I couldn't believe the mermaids were so complacent about security; I guess no one had been crazy enough to invade them.

We walked by the cells. The first few were empty; then we arrived at the middle cell, which contained our squabbling boys, damp hair snaking across their faces, their wrists dangling from chains vaulted to the ceiling.

"We could at least think of a plan -" Keenan's eyes widened as he saw me. "Ash!"

Fabe, who had his back facing us, shook his head. "The girls had better not risk their lives to save us. Did you see the teeth on those mer –"

"No, look." Keenan cocked his head towards us. Fabe turned around. The eyes on his dirt-smudged face widened, and a wide grin broke across his face. "You came for us," he said, a touch of awe in his voice.

I put a finger to my lip and pointed at the ceiling. The boys went quiet.

"Where are the keys?" I whispered.

"End of the corridor," Fabe whispered back.

Indeed, we found a ring of keys hanging from a hook at the end of the dungeon corridor. Along the way, we glanced at remnants of previous prisoners littering the cells: a dried apple core, shreds of cloth, rusty meal trays. I shivered to think of what had happened to previous inhabitants.

"I'm so glad you came," whispered Fabe. "Did you see what was in the pillars?"

"It was hard not to notice," I said grimly.

"They said they were going to worship us," said Keenan, his face ashen. "And then embalm us so they can admire us, forever."

Ah. That answered the question of whether the boys in the pillars were alive or not.

"They also said something about how the world would be a safer place then," added Fabe.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

Fabe shrugged. "I dunno, Ash. They're hooting mad."

The cell door grated the frame as we pulled it open, so Marylea and I were forced to open it at snail's pace. Finally, we got it open far enough for Marylea and me to slip through and use the ring of keys to free them. Once free, the boys rubbed their red and puffy wrists. The sight ignited a flame of rage inside me, which I swallowed. This was no time to let emotions cloud my thoughts.

"How did you get past the beast?" asked Keenan.

I felt a flicker of fear. I had already suspected there was a beast, but had conveniently locked that away in the dark vestiges of my mind. "Beast?"

"The guard demon," said Fabe. "The huge lumpy blob that guards this place."

"We didn't see any beast," said Marylea, who reflected my fear in her eyes.

"We heard snoring," I said. "It must be asleep like the mermaids."

"They're not asleep," Fabe said. "They said they were going to be in prayer."

I looked at him blankly. "In prayer?"

"Yeah. To prepare for our worship," he said grimly.

It sounded so ridiculous; I would have laughed if we weren't in a palace full of crazy man-embalming mermaids.

I tightened my fingers around my sword hilt. "Let's hope they're not finishing anytime soon."