"Yeah, but Aunt Meira sided with our line. That was just after our father became king," Keefe said.

"We have to find Cara. Is there anyone with anything against Cara? Or maybe against the monarchy?"

"Sure. The king always has enemies." Keefe and Kealan started rambling on about the kingdom's political stance on several subjects that currently were causing strife among the different classes in the kingdom.

None of it screamed as a possible motive to cause the royal family harm. Trade disputes between the different classes of merrow and all that, but nothing that seemed volatile enough to tie back to Cara. Even with their own internal difficulties, the merrow were generally a peaceful race.

Yet this had to be magic related. And if it was magic related, then whoever did this was looking for a banshee scream. A banshee scream was one of the strongest forces in the Realm. Energy that could not be contained.

And Cara was the only banshee that came into the Merrow Kingdom.

Then Keefe and Kealan started talking about Cara's family again. The other line, as they called it. Duncan's instincts sprang to life. Something about that felt right. Like that was where he needed to go with this.

This was personal with Cara. This wasn't political at all. This had to do with the family. He could feel it.

He waved his hand. "Who in the family would have a grudge against the king?"

The two Merrow glanced at each other, and a light sparked in their eyes.

"Norton," they said together. "Norton Lynch."

"Then we need to find him. Now."

"Not a bad idea," Keefe said, though he stared at the rock around the entrance.

Duncan twisted around, trying to see what Keefe was staring at. Then, before Duncan could get a good view, Keefe took off, slapping hard against the water as he dove deep and stuck his hand into a crevice.

"What is it?" Kealan asked, swimming down to join him.

Keefe jerked out his hand, and held a red band of seaweed-looking vines, woven together in a braid.

"God's knees," Kealan said.

"What?" Duncan asked.

"That's Cara's bracelet. Her piece of cohuleen druith," Kealan said.

"I was hoping that wasn't what it was," Keefe said and muttered a curse.

Duncan agreed with the sentiment.

"She's in here then," Duncan said.

"Right, but where? If her bracelet's here, then she could be anywhere. Whoever took it could have taken her to any one of a million...hiding...places... Wait..." Keefe trailed off as he dove again, and this time, Duncan followed him, seeing a flicker of silver on the floor that didn't belong.

Keefe snagged it and returned with the little piece of metal. "What is this?"

Duncan accepted the metal. "It's a breather." Duncan patted the one on his face and held up the slightly smaller one for them to see.

"Well, she has to be around here somewhere," Keefe said.

"She can't get too far if she can't breathe," Kealan agreed. They started to pan out, looking for a singular spot that might hint where Cara had been taken. Duncan stuffed her breather in the pouch on his hip, because when they found her, she'd need it.

If it wasn't too late.

He brushed away the thought. They'd know if she wasn't alive anymore-the scream would erupt.

On land, Duncan would have just used magic to track her...

On land.

Wait.

He pulled out his wand and Cara's breather. He held out the small piece of metal and waved his wand around it to generate a tracking spell.

"What are you doing?" Keefe pulled on his arm.

"Trying to find Cara."

"You can't do it with magic," Keefe said.

"Why not?"

"We have to do this with our eyes," Keefe said.

"That could take too long," Duncan said and waved his wand. The magic started to glow, then began to fizzle and pop and fade away. "What the-"

"Told you. You can't use magic down here. The only person who can do that is the king."

Duncan put his wand away, muttering curses the whole time. How in the world was he supposed to find her? He was FID. They used magic-that was what they did. And now he was down here, looking everywhere for a girl, with little to no sign that she was anywhere.

They spread out again and Duncan grumbled as he looked for signs of his friend. While he had decent land tracking abilities-part of the FID training-underwater was a different story. He didn't even know what he should be looking for. Water didn't leave tracks like on land.

He scanned the rocks, looking for some sign of a disturbance. Not that he knew what that would look like.

Mud moved?

Something out of place, maybe. There had to be a clue, since they'd just found her breather and her bracelet.

"What is that?" Kealan said, swimming down the rock face just below where Keefe had found the bracelet.

He twisted around and jerked a rock out of its notch. "Look at this..."

"The algae's been disturbed," Keefe said. Sure enough, the algae on one side had been rubbed off in about the perfect formation of a handprint.

A merrow handprint-with the light webbing between the spread fingers.

Duncan's heart began to hammer, adrenaline pumping as the two merrow pushed the rock over. The rock hid a small entrance to a cave.

"Where does that go?" Duncan asked.

"Only one way to find out," Keefe said and headed inside.

Duncan followed the two merrow. "Are you sure this goes somewhere?"

"No, I'm not. But it's rather obvious something is going on here. It's too much of a coincidence finding Cara's cohuleen druith and breather just outside the entrance," Keefe said.

"You sure it's hers?"

"Who else would need one?" Kealan asked.

"True."

The tunnel, deep and narrow, pretty much had them swimming single file. The inky dark was only broken by the little sprinkles of algae on the walls, evidently agitated by water movement.

The tension increased as they swam deeper in the tunnel. The two brothers pulled from their wrist-holsters a funky bone-knife, shaped like a fish's rib cage. They held them out as they swam, like they were ready for a fight.

Duncan had pulled one of his knives, ready to use as well. He couldn't swim fast enough, because he was almost certain Cara had to be in there somewhere.

The need to find her thundered inside, for more reasons than one.

In most FID cases, once they were over, Duncan moved on, barely giving the fairy any thought after. He didn't consider them friends, or anyone he'd be overly concerned about.

Cara, however, had a different kind of hold on him. Why he'd been so engaged with her after the case, he didn't exactly know.

Other than he liked her dimples.

It sounded stupid just thinking it. Yet he couldn't help being drawn to the black-haired beauty. The older she got, the more beautiful she became, and she didn't even realize it.

He felt privileged to call her friend all these years.

And he wouldn't fail his friend with the dimple.

No matter what.

Yeah, that was what he kept telling himself. It was only a friend he wanted so much to save. That was all.

Just a friend.

Didn't have anything to do with that damn dimple that haunted his dreams after every casual meeting.

Especially that one time...

When I find you, he thought to himself, I'll destroy the bastard that did this to you, Cara. I swear it.

He shook off his worry and anger as he swam. He needed to stay focused. Being hotheaded and ready to explode wasn't going to help Cara. He needed to remain calm and collected.

Damn you, O'Leary, for putting me on this case! The jerk had to know about Duncan's relationship with her.

Maybe that was why he'd sent him and not another FID agent. Duncan would stop at nothing to make sure she was okay.

And really, would he not go after her himself if he knew she was in danger?

The tunnel dove down, then slowly started arcing back up, and as they eased through, Duncan noticed the water getting lighter.

The algae.

Had to be the algae on the walls illuminating their path.

As Keefe rose, Duncan saw more and more of the algae lighting the way.

"Why is all this algae lit up?" Duncan asked. "It's not from us."

"Someone's been here. Not that long ago, either," Kealan replied.

Keefe paused, and Duncan took in the water above them. Not that he knew what he looked at, but Keefe and Kealan did. They slid closer to the sides, creeping up the wall. Duncan realized what they saw-the edge of the water. There had to be some kind of shore above.

From the way the rocks curved in a tunnel, maybe there was a cove was above? Or an underwater cave? Keefe took the lead and emerged on one side, and Kealan followed on the other.

Duncan was the last to reach the air. He glanced around and found himself inside a cave.

"There's no one here," Kealan said, his voice bouncing off the cave's walls.

"Obviously," Duncan replied. "But someone had to have been here." He was glad to use his voice, though he winced at the echoes. There was something to be said about the quiet of underwater.

Duncan swam over to the small outcropping of rocks on the far side and pulled himself up. "This would be a great place to snatch someone and hide them. Especially an air breather." He rested his dripping hand on the ledge and, feeling something, he jerked it back. That something he felt wasn't water.

He stroked the dark brown pool that laid on the rocks, instantly recognizing the murky substance.

"What is it?" Keefe said, getting closer.

"Blood. Not enough to signify a fatal injury, but someone was bleeding here." Duncan waved his hand in the air. His wand materialized and he pointed it at the blood. Magic hit the pool.

"Don't," Keefe said.

"Too late," Duncan replied. He expected his magic to sputter and spit like it had before, but it didn't. Instead, a shadowed, waif-like apparition appeared, right where Duncan was sitting.

"This spot must be outside the charms," Keefe said.

Kealan leaned in closer to the apparition Duncan had created from the blood drops. "Nice trick."

Duncan ignored the merrow's dig about magic. He wasn't about to turn away any clues that might help him find Cara.

The misty image revealed a bound and gagged Cara. Her forehead was black due to blood stain, and she struggled against her bonds.

Alive. She was alive. Or was, not that long ago.

Cara.