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“T he cure is being guarded by that thing?” I panted once we’d all sprinted back to the coral forest. We could still see the cave, but we weren’t as dangerously close as we were before. Though we would’ve run farther had Adriana not insisted on staying to fight the beast.

“Well currently it’s asleep so it’s not really guarding anything,” Adriana pointed out.

A low growl rumbled through the coral forest, shaking the eels from the trees.

“I think it’s woken up,” Raena squeaked as the colour drained from her cheeks.

My limbs turned to jelly. “Are you certain this is the only place we can find the cure?”

Adriana grimaced. “Afraid so.”

“Why didn’t you mention the beast until now?” Arenn’s features had darkened with fury, but there was fear there too. Just like the rest of us.

“As if you would’ve still come.” She threw her hands down, exasperated.

“But why would you care?” I narrowed my eyes. “You said it yourself, you don’t care for the Ryntook royal family.”

Adriana laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her neck. “I may have my own reasons for finding this cure.”

“What reasons?” My jaw tensed.

She shot a glance towards her shark who had drawn back further into the corals. “It was Sweetie he…” She shook her head, swallowing the words. “But he didn’t mean to! He was provoked. I’m sure of it.”

“What did he do?” I pressed.

The mermaid shrunk back like a sea creature retreating to its shell. “He… umm… ate someone.”

“He what ?” both Raena and Arenn blurted in unison.

“Or at least he tried too, but he didn’t mean it!” She ran a hand through her ruby hair. “It was the first time I brought him to the palace. I’d been training him for months and I thought he’d finally be fine around merfolk, but then one of mother’s husbands spotted him and the silly man just overreacted .” Sighing, she threw her hands up. “If he hadn’t gotten so scared when Sweetie came over to sniff him, Sweetie would’ve never panicked and opened his mouth so wide. I don’t even think he meant to bite him. The foolish human probably just impaled himself on my shark’s teeth before my innocent Sweetie even realised what was going on. It all happened so quickly.”

Raena and I shared an unconvinced look as the mermaid let out a sob.

“Right…” Arenn said, eyes narrowed. “But what’s this got to do with that beast in the cave?”

“Oh, yes.” Adriana composed herself, smoothing the scales of her tail. “Well, fortunately Sweetie didn’t actually kill the foolish man, only scratched him up a little. The palace healers have managed to keep him stable, but he’s been bedbound ever since.”

My brows lowered. It would take an awful lot of scratches to confine a patient to their bed, but I let her continue.

“And I just know that if I return to the palace with the magic algae from that cave and use it to heal my mother’s injured husband, all will be forgiven, and she may even welcome me permanently back into the family!” Adriana’s face lit up, her gaze bouncing around the three of us.

“So this is why you were banished from your mother’s court?” I tilted my head as she nodded.

“Unfortunately yes.” She tucked a floating curl behind her ear. “Bringing Lukas to her birthday party won me back some favour, but it’s clear I’m still not welcome there.” Determination flashed in her eyes when she turned back towards the cave. “So that’s why we need to get that cure.” She nodded. “For Prince Raphael and for Petrov – my mother’s most muscular sailor.”

Arenn huffed out a frustrated laugh. But before he could demand we return home, I pushed past him and marched towards the mermaid.

“Let’s do this.” I held out my hand. I didn’t care for her ‘story’, but bringing up the prince reminded me of the real reason we were here – the reason we couldn’t leave without that cure.

Hesitantly, Adriana took my hand before giving it a firm squeeze. “You’re actually going to try?”

“We don’t have a choice if we want to save Raphael,” I said plainly. “And it sounds like you don’t either.”

“But what’s the plan?” Raena hurried forwards, grasping my arm.

Arenn scoffed. “We all hold hands and run to our death apparently. Did any of you even see the size of that beast? We don’t stand a chance against fighting that thing.”

Of course we didn’t. My shoulders sagged, but inside my mind, thoughts and ideas swirled together like a growing wave.

And then that wave hit the shore.

“Arenn’s right,” I muttered, but instead of a scowl, a growing smile pulled at my cheeks.

“What?” The faery prince stared, confused.

“I think I have a plan.”

The growling was loud enough to fill th e entire ocean by the time we returned to the murky cave. Just like we’d planned, Adriana, Arenn, and I kept our pearl necklaces dim and our voices low as we took our first steps inside. Raena had been left behind with Sweetie in the coral forest to stand guard. Though I’m sure she knew as well as the rest of us that she’d been left there more for her own benefit than any of ours.

I could almost feel the sharp edge of Erik’s sword if anything were to happen to her down here.

“You’re still certain about doing this?” Arenn whispered. His pearl’s dim glow caught on the whites of his eyes.

Taking Adriana’s arm, I nodded. “Yes. As long as we follow the plan, we’ll be back in Ryntook in no time. Just try your best to keep him distracted.” The beast’s steady growls were making my skin crawl. “And, Arenn?”

His nervous gaze flicked to mine. “Yes, human?”

“You don’t have to be here, but you’re helping anyway, and for that, I will be forever grateful.” I resisted the urge to place my hand on his arm. Mixed signals would be the last thing he needed right now. “Just try not to get yourself hurt, alright?”

A slight smile brushed his lips. “So you do love me, after all?”

Rolling my eyes, I turned my focus back to the darkness.

“I jest, human,” he laughed before pushing up from the floor and swimming higher in the cave. My chest couldn’t help but seize as he rubbed his pearl light to make it shine brighter, turning himself into a faery-shaped, glowing beacon. Then, cupping his hands around his lips, he bellowed into the darkness, “Come and get me you foul, slimy thing! I’m up here!”

A huge orange tentacle whipped up from the gloom.

“Now!” Adriana hauled me deeper into the cave before I could tell if the beast had met its mark. Either way, it didn’t matter. Arenn had magic so he’d survive if he’d been caught. We, on the other hand, would be in more trouble.

“Where’s the cure?” I hissed, struggling to see my hands flapping about in front of me.

“I don’t know. I was just told it swims around the plants in the cave. And that I’d know it when I saw it.” I caught the occasional flicker of a blue fishtail as Adriana fumbled around in the dark with me.

We needed more light! Reaching for my pearl, I glanced up to see Arenn throwing spears of seaweed as he battled against half a dozen tentacles.

“Anytime today, ladies!” he cried down to us. Despite his yelps, he seemed to be distracting the beast well enough. So, after sending up a silent prayer to the Ancients, I gently rubbed my pearl.

White light spilled out in front of me. It bounced off swaying reeds, jagged rocks, and a huge looming tentacle!

I clamped a hand over my mouth to stifle a scream.

“Watch out!” Adriana yelled, slamming into my side and sending us both flying – seconds before the tentacle crashed into the sand behind us. Our combined screams echoed through the cave.

So much for being stealthy.

“Find the cure!” I panicked. My head whipped around in every direction. She’d said the cure would glow, but the only thing surrounding our pearls was ominous darkness and now several furious tentacles.

Arenn growled as he sent a thorny vine barrelling into the closest tentacle. The beast hissed at the impact, withdrawing some of its arms to focus on the faery.

“Hurry!” he cried, shielding himself from another angry slash by summoning a wall of seaweed. “If we can’t find it, we need to get out while we still can!”

“We can find it.” My breath came out in short pants as I pushed through the swaying plants. “Where are you?” I hissed, scrambling along the floor.

I winced as my hand brushed against something orange and squishy. Stumbling back, I braced myself to be attacked by another tentacle. But when the violent swing never came, I crawled forward – only to stumble back again at the sight ahead of me.

A few feet away, hidden by a dense patch of seagrass was some kind of odd, writhing creature. Crawling closer, I peeked through the grass to see a much smaller, orange bulbous head – similar to the other beast – along with eight identical tentacles, although these were also much smaller. The entire thing couldn’t have been larger than Sweetie, and yet, while my first instinct was to run, I found myself rooted to the sandy floor.

“Are you its baby?” My words tumbled out while I watched it curiously.

The little beast flinched. Its head spun to face me. But when our eyes met, the fear in its gaze seemed to soften. Cautiously, it raised a tentacle to stroke my face. When it touched my skin, I shuddered, and the beast tilted its head as if curious. But any curiosity vanished as its narrow eyes scrunched shut and the beast writhed again, sending a low growl rumbling through the grass.

“What is it?” I muttered, brushing its orange skin. Was it in pain? Confused? Scared?

Before I could reach its suckers, the beast’s arm wrapped around my wrist and its eyes wrenched open. Help me , it seemed to say. And for some odd reason, I had the overwhelming urge to do so.

“Naria, what are you doing?” Adriana screeched, dodging a swinging tentacle.

“I found something!” I yelled back.

“The cure?”

“No, it’s…” Letting the beast clasp my wrist, I scanned the rest of its body before shouting over my shoulder, “Do you know if this cave has always been guarded by a monster?”

“What? Why would that matter?” Adriana panted. “No? I don’t think so.” She yelped as a tentacle narrowly avoided crushing her tail. “Before it was just a place merfolk visited to heal their sick, until this thing arrived.”

“Heal their sick…” I repeated, my eyes widening. I glanced from the baby to the roaring parent, then back to the baby again.

Perhaps these creatures were not so beast-like after all.

“Adriana!” I pulled myself closer to the child, checking his tentacles for some kind of wound or bleeding. Anything. “Forget about the cure. Help Arenn distract the monster.”

“What? Why?”

“Just trust me!” The look I shot her must’ve been convincing enough as she darted up to Arenn and began swimming in rapid circles above the beast.

“Up here, you big brute!” she taunted, while Arenn joined in with jibes of his own. In return, the beast let out a guttural snarl and hurled all eight of its tentacles in their direction.

A relieved sigh whooshed out of me. Either it hadn’t noticed me yet or this wasn’t even its baby. Ancients, I really hoped this was its baby.

“Where are you hurt, little one?” I spoke in a soothing voice. “Show me.”

The small beast winced, but after a few hesitant glances, it flopped over to reveal a swollen tentacle with an awful-looking jagged wound. But there was something else, too. Something that made my heart soar.

Thousands of tiny green creatures had gathered around the wound. Over and over, they threw themselves at the gash, letting the split skin twist and stitch itself together only for the wound to reopen seconds later. And immediately I could see why. There was a huge metal spear tip embedded deep into the child’s skin.

“That has to come out,” I said, reaching for it.

With a hiss, the child jerked backwards.

“Please.” I tried again, my voice desperate. “It’s the only way I can help you.”

The little beast whined, but eventually edged the swollen tentacle closer to my fingers.

“That’s it,” I said gently. “I’ll try to make this as quick as I can…” Gripping the rusty spear tip, I tugged like my life depended on it while my patient let out a piercing shriek. “Just a little more!” I growled, heaving with all my strength.

The spear tip shifted a little, but then my fingers slipped, and I tumbled backwards. With the tip still lodged in his arm, the child screamed, writhing and screeching in pain.

“No, no, no, hush!” I panicked, scrambling back over to the baby in a desperate attempt to calm him before—

Too late. Another growl echoed through the cave loud enough to make me slam my hands over my ears. In the corner of my vision, I caught two giant slit-like eyes glaring at me.

“Naria!” Arenn warned. “Get away from there!”

My chest heaved. The parent was charging towards me now, but the spear tip was so close to coming out, if I could just…

Without thinking, I dove towards the child’s injured arm, but the baby jerked back. My palm smacked against the empty sand.

“No, please, let me help you!” I pleaded, just as a huge tentacle swung down upon me.