My heart kept on pounding as we took our steps towards the last lair! The rest of the pirates were prepared to retaliate against any form of attack that we might experience. They covered their ears with rubber plugs that Gondro quickly constructed. Qara made it clear that she will only protect me and not them because of the agreement.

"We do not need your protection," Lowen muttered as he put the rubber earplugs in.

Qara kept on taunting how useless the pirates were but the latter were adamant in just ignoring her, plus the earplugs helped. They could not hear her so they just followed her quietly. I turned to them worriedly but they gave me an approving smile. Still, I could tell that they were anxious about what would happen next. Jacob is with the queen. If he is under her control then that means he will be a dangerous enemy.

The time that we all dreaded for came. We arrived at the opening of Arella's territory. As we stepped in Arella's lair, we were immediately attacked by mermen. They were not Zaki, Urdel, nor Jacob. They even charged against Qara who fended them off easily. She also made sure that I was not hurt. Then, just as fast as it began, it ended right away. Our side won.

"Well… well… well… would you look at that?" a captivating voice said. We turned to the voice and saw a mermaid resembling Qara but she was more… alluring… more dazzling… more exquisite… more desirable. I could not help but be drawn by her subtle movements… the tilting of her head… her smirks… her gestures… they were all pleasing to look at.

I closed my eyes and shook my head to get out of my trance. The other pirates did the same. They would not allow the mermaid to fool them twice.

Qara scoffed, "You really made them charge at me?" She shook her head in disbelief.

Arella grimaced, "You were helping them. Can you blame me?" she said and touched the face of the merman beside her.

My eyes widened as I recognized who it was. "Jacob," I muttered. He was in the pool beside Arella nuzzled in her neck. He turned to me after I mentioned his name. For a very long time, he stared at me. He looked lost and confused as if he was searching the depths of his memory for me.

Arella looked at me and then whispered something in Jacob's ear. I located the shell on her bracelet as it turned blue. After she was done, Jacob quickly grabbed the trident beside him and hurled it at me. I gasped. It was too fast. I know I cannot evade it so Qara used her powers to deflect the attack.

Arella hissed at her in response, "What are you doing?"

Qara shrugged, "She cannot die, sister. We had an agreement."

Arella groaned and ordered more of her mermen, Urdel, Zaki, and Jacob included to attack us. We were currently outnumbered and we struggled to hold off the queen's forces. But still, we pushed back. I had just finished defending myself against a merman when I saw Jacob headed for my direction. He was holding a sword in his hand!

I quickly glanced at Qara but she shrugged her shoulders again, "I cannot fight your battles for you, I can just make sure that you lived," she said and walked towards her sister to watch the fight.

Not a moment too soon, our swords clashed. I know that Jacob was much stronger than me. Not to mention, he was the one who taught me how to use a sword. Therefore, I know I would lose. But, for his sake, I pushed back with all my strength.

"Jacob!" I grunted as I struggled against his strength. "You... have... to wake up, please!!!" I pleaded in between deep breaths.

He scrunched his forehead after hearing my voice. The force of his attack weakened. He continued to hold his position but he shook his head as if he was shaking something off in his mind. I was hopeful. Maybe… just maybe... he was beginning to recognize me.

I tried some more. "Jacob, it's me. Look at me," I told him while still maintaining my defense just in case my attempts do not work.

Jacob looked at me and groaned. I smiled at him. "I know you're fighting it. Please, you can do this," I encouraged him. I know… I believe.... I can almost reach his mind.

"Darling," he whispered finally with labored breaths.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "Yes, it's me!"

He finally triumphed. He recognized me! But it was too early to celebrate because I heard Arella scream, "NOOO!!"

There was power in that voice that I felt as if someone pushed me and I was hurled off near the pool. I grabbed hold of my sword and quickly looked back at Jacob. Arella ascended from her pool with the same flowy dress as Qara's and then she kissed him! Her shell glowed!. UGH!!! She was controlling him again! And it worked right away because Jacob wrapped his free hand around her waist to deepen their kiss.

I narrowed my eyes. I had to destroy that shell! I quickly grabbed Arella's wrist in hopes that I could yank the bracelet off of her. But what I did surprised her and she fought back with force. Because of that, we were off-balanced and plunged into the pool. I felt her bracelet break because of the impact so I snatched it away and quickly swam up the surface.

When I resurfaced, I did not waste any time and smashed the shell into the sediment beside the pool with all my might. I felt my hand throbbed in pain but it was worth it! The shell shattered into pieces. I looked around and saw Jacob knelt down and groaned. Gondro came rushing to him. I smiled. What I did worked! He was transforming back.

Arella was stunned that I did not drown despite her efforts. She glared at me and was about to stab me with a dagger which she procured from nowhere when Jacob appeared and hurled a spear in her direction. Arella was distracted so Jacob quickly grabbed my wrist and we quickly swam away.

Not a moment too soon, Arella noticed our escape so she swam after us. I know how quick the mermaids swim so I was preparing to fight back but Gondro came to our aid. He grabbed Jacob and me and like lightning swam and headed back to the surface. However, since Gondro was just halfbred, Arella was faster. She grabbed my leg and pulled me down. I slipped from both Gondro and Jacob's hold because of the impact.

Gondro, seeing Jacob struggle to breathe underwater, took him to the surface while I wrestled with Arella. She wrapped her left hand around my neck to choke me as she prepared to stab me with the dagger in her right. I closed my eyes preparing myself for my imminent death but I felt a strong current separated us.

"QAAAARAAAA!!!!" I heard Arella scream so I opened my eyes.

The current drifted her away from my direction. So, I immediately swam to the surface. When I ascended from the waters, Jacob quickly pulled me up. I was panting hard. He looked at my neck and thought that they were cuts at first so he turned harshly toward Qara.

Qara rolled her eyes at him, "Those are gills," she explained and waved her hand. My gills disappeared.

"We have to get out of here as fast as we can," Gondro remarked.

I nodded. "Thaddaeus and Tibet are waiting at Labyrinth," I said.

Qara smirked, "Good idea. You know my sister will be back, right? I could not hold her off for long."

I stood up. "Lead the way," I told her.

Qara obeyed. Jacob looked at me confused, "What is going on?" he asked me.

"I will explain everything when we are safe," I responded.

Our group quickly followed Qara out the cave system and before we knew it, we were running towards Labyrinth. Coralyn was by the shore waiting.

She looked at me, "I am here as promised," she winked.

I nodded. We all quickly boarded the ship, helping each other out. Right away, Urdel helped Tibet anchor up while Puma headed straight to the wheel because Jacob was clearly still regaining his full strength. Thaddaeus adjusted the sail to catch the wind. I looked at Coralyn after determining that we were ready to set sail. The mermaid understood it as a signal and flicked her hand. She created a big wave that guided our ship towards the gulf opening. I sighed in relief. FINALLY!!!!

However, I was very wrong. We were NOT safe just yet. Arella was already waiting at the opening of the gulf and stretched her hand to stop us. The waves obeyed her and tossed us back. She hissed at Coralyn. "You dare help them as well?!!!"

"She has my scale. I cannot do otherwise," Coralyn argued. "I promised to help her escape."

Now it was my turn to smirk. I outwitted the queen of the mermaids! But, that did not make her happy. Obviously, it made her rage even more. She felt betrayed by her kind so she looked at me with eyes filled with wrath and vengeance. She plucked one of her midnight-colored scales and dropped it in the ocean. I saw her lips move and the waves rose and became tumultuous, as if there was a storm. She then turned back to me and cackled.

"You need to pay to cross over!" she declared in a loud voice. Then she pointed towards the still weak Jacob. Labyrinth rocked so Jacob was off-balanced and fell into the sea.