Blood On The Altar

Chapter 15

My nightmares are filled with ghosts. Mermaids and mermen alike, they swarm around me, faces grim and sorrowful. No matter how many times I close my eyes, when I open them, the ghosts remain. My heart is pounding, my eyes wide as I stare at them. "What do you want?" I cry, wincing as a headache begins to stab at my temples.

Now, let me give you a little backstory. I'd been dealing with ghosts for quite a while, so you'd think I'd know all there is to know about them. Wrong.

To my horror, one of them—a mermaid—speaks, her voice filled with scorn. "Your mother did this, you know. She killed us. I had a husband and a daughter who had just turned three. And now? She's growing up without a mom and my husband without a wife. All because of your mother." Her brown eyes are hard, her face tight with anger.

Before I even have a chance to open my mouth to apologize, multiple voices rise in the water, all talking over one another. They're like rocks being pelted at me, but I just float in place, shame written all over my face. "Believe me, if I could take it back, I would."

Another ghost, this one a merman, scoffs. "But you can't. You don't deserve to be a princess. Just as your mother doesn't deserve to be a queen." His voice is dripping with hatred, his hazel eyes filled with anger.

I freeze, taken aback by his words. They're identical to what a mermaid said to me in an earlier nightmare. When the hand lands on my shoulder, I don't register it. Only when the grip tightens on my shoulder do I turn around. Familiar eyes stare back at me, filled with a rage that sends chills down my spine.

Ronan. "Why are you doing this?" I cry, my voice shaking. "It won't bring your sister back." The instant the words leave my mouth, I wish I could take them back. His hands clench into fists, his body taut with anger.

"I know. I'll never get her back. But now I can live with the fact that soon, you'll have lost everyone you love. Your father was only the first. Who should be next, do you think? Your mother, the queen? Or what about your husband? That's a loss I don't think you could ever come back from." Despite the anger in his voice, a cruel smile is on his face.

"I won't let you hurt my family!" My own voice is filled with so much hatred, I hardly recognize it.

He swims up to me, gripping my chin in a hand. "Good luck trying to save them all."

A scream shattered the silence as I opened my eyes. Apparently, Kai had moved me to our room sometime last night. The windows were open, the sun's rays illuminating the water. When the door burst open, I flinched, immediately going for my daggers. Kai swam in, worry and concern in his gaze. "Are you okay? I heard a scream."

I was breathing heavily, my chest heaving as I stared at him. A few minutes passed before I felt my breathing slow, my heartbeat calm. "Any update on Dad?"

He scanned my face, the worry never ceasing. "Luckily, the dagger didn't puncture any vital organs, though it missed his heart by a scale's breadth. They managed to safely remove it, but he lost a substantial amount of blood. He..." Kai trailed off, his chest rising and falling as he took a deep breath.

My heart stopped dead in my chest at the pause. "What?" I didn't know if I could take any more bad news.

"He's in a medically-induced coma. The doctors think that's the best thing for him right now as his body heals itself. Don't worry," he said, reading the emotions on my face. "They'll do everything they can. He'll be okay."

A lump rose in my throat, although I wasn't sure if it was from stress or anxiety. "How long have I been sleeping?" I could see the sun's reflection outside, but couldn't tell what time of the day it was.

"You've been asleep since yesterday." Kai smoothed a curl off my forehead as he gazed at me. "What's really going on?" I shouldn't have been surprised that he could read me so well.

Images from my nightmares surfaced in my head, causing my hands to shake. The ghosts swarming me, faces filled with agony and sadness. The anger on Ronan's own when I mentioned his sister. The words one of the ghosts had spoken, swirling around my head like a whirlpool. "You don't deserve to be a princess. Just as your mother doesn't deserve to be a queen."

I had just looked up at him, preparing myself to open my mouth and explain, when two familiar faces appeared in my doorway. Their dark skin was pale, eyes wide as they stared at me. "Are you okay? We heard there'd been an accident. Where's Nerissa?"

Aunt Bella swam to me while Uncle David stopped a few feet away from my bed. They merely nodded at Kai before focusing on me. I ran a shaky hand through my curls, swallowing past the lump in my throat. "Dad..." I trailed off, the image of his limp body frozen in my mind.

Aunt Bella squeezed my hand, her grey eyes calm as they stared at me. "Take a deep breath and tell me what happened."

I opened my mouth and the words poured out. I stumbled slightly over Dad's injury, my voice wavering. I didn't miss the glance Aunt Bella and Uncle David exchanged, the pain in their gazes. I had no doubt what memory had surfaced in their minds.

When Uncle David spoke, I flinched. I hadn't realized we'd all fallen silent. "He'll be okay, Izzy. He's strong. Just like your mother." I could see the desperation in his eyes, however, the fear that his words may prove to be false.

I opened my mouth to respond—not that I had any idea of what to say—when I saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye. All the color drained from my face, eyes widening. A heartbeat later, a mermaid appeared in front of me, brown eyes filled with scorn. "Aunt Meri?" I said weakly, my voice small.

She shook her head in disgust, her red-gold hair swaying with the movement. "Such a disappointment. You never deserved to be a princess."

I had tears rolling down my face before I even realized I was crying. A soft hand on my arm jerked me back to the present, eyes filled with concern. "I'm sorry," I sobbed. "Go away, please. I'm so sorry."

Kai, Aunt Bella, and Uncle David exchanged glances before the former turned back to me. He gathered me in a hug, stroking my curls as I sobbed into his chest. Those two words repeatedly poured from my mouth, soon becoming unintelligible thanks to my tears. I'm sorry.

All the while, Kai held me, one hand stroking my curls. One thought was stuck on repeat, playing over and over: How am I able to still see ghosts without the Lost Soul Pendant?

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