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I finally felt strong enough. I hadn’t missed swimming exercises all week. Confident that I could help Kai on my own, I’d convinced Mom to trust my instincts. She insisted that she and Benton stay near the lake, in case I needed help.
Mom was a strong swimmer. Benton...not so much. However, I found her requirement that he be present more than fair given the situation. He could call an ambulance, though I doubted it would come to that. We kept the Perlnaut part from him, hoping that all would go smoothly and he would get to enjoy a day at the lake.
I left Benton breakfasting with Mom and Pap. Despite the glorious smells of bacon, waffles, and hot maple syrup, I put nothing into my stomach that would cause it to cramp while in the water.
With light steps, I arrived at the lake. Bright sunlight reflected off the water. I’d shown up earlier than Impostor-Kai and I had arranged. I wanted to be in the water before he arrived, to take him by surprise in order to find out what was going on.
Grandma’s bracelet was securely fastened around my wrist. The clam shell pendant Mom gave me hung from its chain on my neck. I ran my fingertips along the tiny links in the chain. Each link connected to the next. After hearing the story of the Lake Maiden, my mind filled with potential connections between Grandma, Mom, and the Perlnauts.
I wasn’t facing this challenge alone, after all. Wearing the bracelet and pendant made me feel as if Grandma and Mom were with me. Along with each and every Perlnaut descendant in the female line that could be traced back to the Lake Maiden. They were all with me.
A surge of assurance bloomed within my chest.
“It’s time to find out once and for all.”
I drew in a deep breath, and dove into the water.
I pumped my arms and kicked my legs. The bracelet glowed bright blue, wrapping me with protection. I could feel additional energy coming from the pearls inside my locket, allowing me to remain underwater without breathing air. The pocket of space surrounding the lake’s bed narrowed into a tunnel. The temperature of the water dropped as I swam farther away from the water’s sunlit surface.
I maneuvered a bend in the tunnel. My eyes widened at how the tunnel stretched deeper and deeper under the water. I wondered how far it went through the lake and underground. Steeling myself, I pressed forward, running my fingertips along one of the tunnel walls. Glimmers of blue light caught my eye from the left and right. I turned to find openings along the walls that led into larger pockets of furnished rooms, each lit from within by the soft glow of L’even pearls.
One of the rooms held a structure formed out of the ground and back wall. It appeared to be some sort of chair or throne—like something used by human royals, but made of different materials.
A Perlnaut sat on the throne. He lifted his head. A wave of surprise clouded his features.
“Hazel.” He grinned. “What a charming surprise.”
He turned his attention to a tablet on his lap. From where I floated, it appeared to be made of stone and flat sheets of shell. He scratched a glittering shard of sharpened diamond along the tablet’s surface.
“Though she fell asleep at the foot of the ficus, she threatened to fall for more than a fragile leaf.” He shot me a side-ward glance. “A little something I’ve been working on since last meeting with you. I find it ironic. Do you like it?”
I crossed my arms. That sealed it for me. I was in Kai’s throne room, but this Perlnaut was not Kai. The poetry—the literacy—had already given it away. But there was something about his smug audacity that sounded nothing like Kai. The L’even pearls of my jewelry flickered rapidly, mirroring the fury of my heartbeat.
Though the pearls allowed me to stay underwater, I couldn’t speak. Just like the Perlnauts’ voices didn’t carry on land. I swirled around and darted from the room. Squinting, I glided along the tunnel, searching for any pocket of space where Kai could be hidden, letting the pearls I wore lead me to him.
“Hazel!”
I swam faster. The urgency in Impostor-Kai’s tone confirmed he was in rapid pursuit behind me. Trying my best to avoid becoming frantic, I pressed my hands back and forth along the tunnel. There were openings into what appeared to be a dining hall, a kitchen, several bedrooms, and a library. My chest seized up as I swam along the tunnel. I had no idea how long it would take for me to get back out again.
I’d nearly given up hope of finding Kai when my fingertips brushed across what felt like a wet cloth. I poked a finger at it. Instead of coming into contact with the solid tunnel wall, my hand pressed forward. A curtain? With both hands I pushed the cloth aside, revealing an opening into another room.
I clasped my hands across my mouth.
A Perlnaut, alive but emaciated, was suspended in the water and tethered to the back wall. I felt myself grow sick. I didn’t recognize him until he opened his eyes and called out to me.
“Hazel?”
I nodded.
“Why are you down here?” he said. “You must return to the surface, immediately. You will die if you stay under the water for too long.”
I cringed at the weakness in Kai’s voice. I wanted to wrap my arms around him because I was so grateful he was still alive. Instead, I gave him a shy grin. Then quickly cleared my thoughts. I needed room to find a solution to free him from his bindings.
I tapped the rings at his wrists and gave him a questioning look, hoping he would tell me what, if anything, I could do. The rings appeared to be made of metal, with no apparent keyhole or other mechanism to unlock them.
“The ropes attached to the rings can be untied,” he said. “I’ve been studying their pattern—a series of knots. But I haven’t been able to loosen them because my hands are too far apart.”
I followed Kai’s directions as he explained how to unlace the ropes. I freed one of his hands before I felt an arm around my middle, pulling me from behind. Kai glared at the space above my head.
“Release her, Acai,” he said, folding his freed hand into a fist.
The Perlnaut I’d been calling Impostor-Kai, Acai, was so close I could feel the rumble of his laughter.
“The only reason she’s still alive, brother—despite her betrayal—is because she brought me a gift,” he said.
Brother?
I twisted, trying to escape Acai’s grip. At the same time, I felt Grandma’s bracelet being torn from my wrist. I shuddered. He hadn’t intended to catch me in the tunnel. He’d wanted to see what I’d do, and then take the bracelet.
Acai dangled the bracelet in front of me before clasping it around his wrist. “Let’s see how long you survive without this,” he whispered in my ear.
Then he let me go. I spun around to face him. The pulse of my heartbeat thudded in my ears. Acai was now wearing the diadem and both wrist cuffs. As he rose higher in the water, his smile turned dangerous.
He lunged for me. Fingertips grazed my neck. Before he could wrap his hands around my throat, another pair of hands pushed me aside from behind.