For a minute, she got lost in the ocean life. The amount of water, the fish swimming by, the quantity of life down here threatened to lose her. She had no idea these colors and shapes existed this far down below the surface of the ocean. She didn't think any of her kind knew. How could humans know anything about something so far away? It was unreachable.

With effort, she tore away. She only hoped that she would find more time in her lifespan to be amazed at such creatures as she saw in the water.When she turned her head the other direction,she spotted two things.

The first was Isabelle, holding her arm around her waist, gently pulling her along like a plank of wood.

Second was the source of the light. Suddenly more of Sam's words echoed through her mind.

"We call them coves. From the descriptions…" he had trailed off as he spoke to her and Nathaniel.

"From the descriptions, coming upon them is like coming upon the stars. It is every creature that doesn't belong on earth. Every plant that never surfaces, every color we create in our minds. Mermaids are deadly and political. They feed like savages and are, by all accounts, insane. But their cities, their coves would be the most beautiful thing you ever see."

For a moment after this, Eleanor's mind went blank. All she thought was that he had been right. It was precisely like coming upon the stars.

Eleanor stared in wonder at the shimmering lights and buildings down below. They were encased in the ocean floor, built into caves and cliffs she didn't know would exist at the bottom of the ocean. There was plant life everywhere, and it grew both small and giant.

Plants with leafs bigger than she a full-grown man, curving up above round huts and waving in the water. She had no idea how they lit the space below her so much. Human torches wouldn't work down here, and she wasn't sure they would look like this if they did.

Eleanor had no idea how any of this worked. She was out of her element. She was out of her world. She was getting lost not only in the wonder of the city below her but in the life that surrounded it. In this direction, the fish and other creatures were more active and better lit. For a few moments, she forgot her place in the world entirely and felt like a child discovering the earth again.

She was knocked out of her reverie a few minutes later when she felt her body jolt. Her escort had stopped suddenly. Isabelle's arm let loose around her waist, and Eleanor heard her escort speak, forcing her to break contact with the coves below.

"Manners, Eleanor," the creature said, turning to be face to face. "If you are awake enough to mutter, you are awake enough to swim. I advise against similar rudeness in front of the queen. I suspect you know better already, though."

"If words left my mouth, I had less control than I thought I did. You are the one that let me unaware and dragged me into the water like cargo," Eleanor said.

She spoke without hesitation, but she was surprised that they all came out so easily and audible. Small bubbles formed around her. She had no idea if she would get used to any of this being possible, but she wanted to maintain composure.

If she was going to swim independently, she needed to get used to her body movements at this depth. She had been in the water before. She knew how to swim. But she had never been so submerged before. Everything about this was brand new for her. She pulled her head forward and pushed down on her legs, forcing her body into a standing position. She would be able to move forward in this position, much better than laying flat on her back. She looked down at the Cove once more, hoping that once down, she may be able to feel solid earth in some form again. Her amazement did not keep anxiety at bay. Her feet were used to land, and she longed for it back.

Before they started moving again, Eleanor wondered exactly what kind of black magic kept her breathing and talking so far underwater and for so long. She couldn't figure out how she was even still alive, considering where she was at. She looked up above her, at the depth of water that was between her and her ship.

Would she be able to make it back up? Or was her safety closely tied to the mermaids? What exactly had Isabelle done to her already to plunge her down here? She wasn't sure she should risk it at all. Her body didn't feel ready for a fight if it broke out.

"It would be death," Isabelle told her as if reading her thoughts. Such an act wasn't necessary. Eleanor was staring longingly above her.

Anyone could guess she wanted to try to get back home, back to her air and people.

"And this isn't?" Eleanor asked. From where she stood, or floated, life as she knew it was over.

"It doesn't have to be. Now move, we have appointments to keep."