CHAPTER 829: 829-SLEEP WELL, MY MATE

Helanie:

As soon as he set me down in the living room, the door opened and my mother and Lord McQuoid rushed in. I hadn’t known they were coming too after hearing I’d been abducted, but it made sense.

The moment my mother stepped inside, I held out the pearl.

"This is from Kesha’s tail," I said, and she nodded.

"When a young mermaid dies, she leaves a pearl behind. Her tail doesn’t need to be cut off for it to appear. But very old or very young ones don’t leave a pearl. So you’re lucky. Otherwise, finding one now would have been nearly impossible." My mom explained and I nodded, smiling back at her.

"Is it safe, though?" Jenny asked.

"The world will be a little twisted. It’ll be harder to bring Emmet back, but I’m sure he’ll recognize you once you go in to fetch him. Other than that, it’s fine," my mother answered.

Honestly, it didn’t sound too bad. It had been hard for Gavin as well, and even when he and Lucy rejected each other, he’d still managed to wake her. I still looked up to him, so I felt hopeful.

"So we should go prepare everything in the basement then," Lord McQuoid suggested.

I didn’t want anyone to know, but I wasn’t feeling well. Still, I wanted to delay as much as I could, just to finally see Emmet in front of me.

They all rushed downstairs, but I stayed behind. I had to speak to my mother, who remained with me. She was staring at my belly intently, and I could tell Norman had already told them about my condition.

"You don’t need to worry about it." She cupped my face once she noticed my panic.

"But I’m scared," I whispered.

"I understand. But think of it this way, you won’t have to suffer too much in your pregnancy. Trust me, pregnancy isn’t something to enjoy," my mother said with a weak smile.

It hurt me to see that, because I realized all her pregnancies she had been tied to the bed. I gently held her hand and kissed the back of it, thanking her for giving me life and saving me when I could have died like my siblings.

"Anyway, Mom, I’m scared about Azura and the others. Where are they?" I asked, glancing around.

My mom frowned. "Maybe in their rooms. I did see someone in the kitchen."

I immediately guessed who. Charlotte was probably cooking, though it was strange she hadn’t come out. Azura usually stayed in the guest room, since she hated when my friends visited. She likely saw them and locked herself inside. As for Jessica, she was probably asleep. She usually slept around this time.

Then the door opened, and Kaye and Norman appeared, carrying a passed-out Emmet. He must have put up a great fight, because both of them were scratched and covered in bite marks. I panicked as I rushed toward them.

"Are you two okay?" I asked, then my eyes landed on Emmet.

"Yeah, we’re fine, but I don’t know what to do with him," Norman admitted. I could tell how worried he was for his brother, and why not? They didn’t know I had the pearl.

"We got a pearl, Norman," I said, smiling as a tear slid down my cheek.

The brothers froze, holding Emmet between them with his arms draped over their shoulders.

"What?" Norman asked happily.

"Kaye, you did an incredible job. Not only freeing yourself from the curse, but also finding a pearl for your brother," I told them. "Kesha’s tail left a pearl behind."

Kaye’s eyes widened, joy lighting up his face.

"And Helanie was lucky to grab it before it disappeared," my mom added. "If no one touches a pearl after a mermaid dies, it usually vanishes."

I turned to her and smiled with relief, but then clenched my jaw as a strange pain rippled through my body.

"Let’s take him downstairs. They’ve prepared everything." I spoke even though I could tell they noticed me clenching my jaw.

"Guys, focus on the task at hand." I snapped my fingers at Norman and Kaye. "We need to take him downstairs, and then I’ll prepare the pearl." My words came out with effort as I cleared my throat.

"Helanie, you’re not well. We need to take you to the hospital," my mother urged, but I shook my head.

"No. Not until I take Emmet to the realm myself." I shook my head.

"Well then, we don’t need to go to the basement," she said. "The larger the area, the faster the pearl vanishes. How about another room?"

Norman and Kaye nodded right away. I was sure they wanted to stop me from climbing stairs, but they weren’t wrong. The basement was huge.

"Okay then, whose room?" I asked softly.

My mom turned to Lord McQuoid’s quarters. "That one. It’s downstairs and easy to access."

We all headed there, and within minutes Penn, Sage, and the others began dragging the furniture out until only the walls and beds were left. We set up small separate beds, just in case I—or anyone else—had to go inside later to check on Emmet. Then they carried his unconscious body in and laid him on the bed.

Everyone left the room except me. Holding the pearl, I stared at Emmet.

"We’ll meet again, Emmet. But for now, sleep peacefully. Your mate promises to bring you good news when you wake up," I whispered before closing my eyes and rubbing the pearl.

It began to glow. I knew he was gone. A tear slid down my cheek as I placed the pearl on the side table. Then I walked out, locking the door behind me.

Everyone watched me again, the same way as before. I hated that feeling.

"We cannot wait," I said. This time my words were different. "He won’t just wake up. We’ll have to wake him after we’re done with the curses. We need to find Maximus."

Norman and Kaye met my gaze, sharing the same look of devastation.

But after just one step forward, I felt something wet between my legs and realized my water had broken.