Neela buried her head in her hands, trying not to cry. What had she done? She had betrayed her friends at their time of need, that's what. She had worked with the enemy, and now Sera was in the Abyss.
"I'm a monster," she cried, as Becca and Ling shouted from their prison cell.
"Neela? Neela! What's going on?" Ling demanded. "Let us out!"
"And... and Sera! What happened to her? What did you do to her?" What did she do? That's the real question going on inside her head.
"Oh... she can't tell you that." The voice chuckled, swimming over to them. As she passed by, Neela wrinkled her nose at the perfume and turned away.
"Who are you? Where are we?" Ling asked, "And how in the 7 regions did you turn Neela against her friends?" This made Neela's heart break, as she sat quietly on the coral chair beside the magic-damping bars.
"Enough questions!" The voice snarled. "Or at least don't expect someone to answer them, at least." She ended with a sweet, sickly tone. Neela wondered how long until her friends found out who she really was. But she didn't need to. Lucia melted out of the shadows, her face amused as ever.
"YOU!" Becca shouted, waterfire erupting out of her hands uncontrollably. She knew that the fire would never get past the iron bars that separated them, but she didn't care. She needed to express her rage. "When I get out..."
Lucia looked delighted. "Well, well, look who we have here."
Becca noticed that Lucia didn't look as she once did. Her hair had turned a strange gray, and her eyes no longer sparkled with her malice and greed. She no longer wore the flowing dresses of sea silk and pearls, instead wearing a simple dark gown. Now, she looked surprisingly experienced, and slightly humble. But most of all, there was the look with pure hatred.
Lucia's cold gaze flickered over the merls. "So you're mad at me? Try the merperson who betrayed you by sending me your location. Try . . . Neela."
"Neela would never do such a thing!" Becca cried. "Right, Neela?"
"Oh, but she already has," Lucia laughed as she swam over triumphantly.
Becca whirled around to look at her friend, who was now sobbing.
"I'm so sorry," Neela whispered. "They have my brother . . . I didn't know what to do. She said- she said she would kill him along with the rest of-" And then she broke down crying, no longer holding back her feelings. Lucia flipped her tail and sent the crying mermaid sprawling on the silt.
"Give Neela her brother back, you foul, lying, eel!" Becca was furious. No one could mess with her friends and get away with it.
Lucia smiled, her teeth showing like a shark. "I think not," she replied silkily. "Neela here hasn't finished her work for me."
"So not only are you a piece of sea slime, but you're lazy, too? Getting others to do your filthy work? You are a lot less powerful than I thought. No wonder you never had a real shot at the crown."
"You dare?" Lucia hissed. "I did have the crown! Do you have any idea what it's like to have everything you ever wanted, a region, a family, and then suddenly just got it all stripped away to nothing by a stupid merl who should've died?"
The two mer began tossing insults at each other.
"Don't talk about Sera that way!" Becca yelled.
"Why would you care? She's going to be dead soon anyway." Lucia said calmly.
"You think you can contain her? You're magic could hardly match a sea snail!"
Lucia snarled back. "My dark magic is stronger than you think! If I really wanted to kill you it would be in the most gruesome way possible!"
"That's enough!" Neela finally shouted, breaking the fight.
Lucia turned her murderous eyes on her. "And who do you think you are? I'll kill you and your brother faster than you can say --"
"What more do you want me to do?" Cried Neela desperately.
Lucia shrugged. "I don't have to share that." She sighed. "But enough bickering. It's time I took you two to see the ghost."
Becca and Ling exchanged worried looks. "What ghost?"