It was nearing midnight. The girls were still in the infirmary. Des was right by Sera's old door. It was the place he felt closest to her without leaving. Ling, and Becca had fallen asleep. Ava was still awake. She was trying to feel for things going on behind the closed door.

The girls had not felt any pain since earlier that day. No one had heard from Neela or Mahdi. Des sent a conch after chaos in the infirmary died down. Nothing was heard since. Ava had a feeling in her gut though that they would hear from Neela very soon.

The six where all broken apart. Sera on the verge of death, Astrid conspiring with the enemy, and Neela in a whole different kingdom. There were only three alive, and well merls together.

Sera had been in surgery majority of the day. The doctors had stopped working around sundown for an hour or so to let Sera regain as much strength as she could before continuing. They said that they had almost lost her on more than one occasion. Now they had no idea what was going on.

More doctors came into the infirmary quickly. They looked around at the group before rushing into the room Sera was in. Des picked up his head to see many doctors rushing into the room.

"What's going on?" Des asked.

"It's nothing to worry about. The doctors just need some assistance. No need to worry," a doctor said.

"What's happening?"

By this time Becca, and Ling had woken up. Des was on the verge of breaking. These past days have tested his limits, and he was beginning to reach them. He didn't know what he would do without his little sister. It was his little sister after all. He was supposed to protect her from all of the harmful things in the sea, but he kept thinking that he had failed. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks as he hung his head.

The other girls did too. Until they heard a voice. "Merls. Merls are you there?" It was Neela.

All three of their heads shot up at the voice. Without speaking they joined hands, closed their eyes, and concentrated. Soon they saw Neela.

"Neela! Thank Gods it's you. We needed to talk to you," Becca said.

"I do too. I got the most painful feeling today. Is everything okay there?" Neela asked.

"No. Sera got worse today. The doctors said they had almost lost her many times today. Then a few minutes ago a handful of doctors went into the room Sera is in."

"That's terrible. I'll come as soon as I can. Did Des get word to us?"

"He sent a conch earlier today. It's on they way, but don't wait for it to come. Get Mahdi, Yazeed, and you out of there as soon as possible. You need to be here if something happens to Sera. Especially Mahdi," Ling said.

Neela shook her head before saying, "I'm sorry I didn't contact you earlier. My parents thought we were crazy when we arrived. They put us into separate rooms until we would let everything go. I've kept it hidden that I haven't let it go. Neither have the boys. Now I can contact you. We'll leave as soon as we can."

"Good. Ava has been trying to see anything going on in the room, but she has seen nothing," Becca said.

"Nothing. Not as much as a hint of an outline of a doctor. It's got me worried," Ava said.

"It's okay. Those rooms are practically impenetrable to magic. It's all fine," Neela said. She looks over her shoulder to something no one else can see. "I have to go. I will see you soon."

The concova fades away, and the girls are still in the infirmary. Almost as on cue a doctor comes out of the room. Everyone sits up straighter to hear what the doctor has to say.

"She is holding onto life with as much strength as she's got, but we don't know how long that will last. She wears herself out by doing so. Right now it's touch, and go. She's stable now as long as she can be. The chances are she won't make it very longer. We have to stop now before we lose her. She's very weak, and won't make it if we don't stop. We will give her time to recover, and begin again. I hope you have contacted the Emperor of Matali, and his relatives. We will let you see her once we have cleaned up her highness," the doctor said. He bowed as he left to go back into the room. The door closed.

A few minutes later the door opened again, and everyone in the room filed out. After they were all gone Des cautiously walked into the room. He gasped when he saw Sera on the table.

She was deathly pale. Her cheeks, and eyes were sunken. She was very thin, and looked like she was going to crumble into millions of tiny pieces if you were to touch her. She looked worse than she did when she was shot. There were no words to explain how she looked, but Des knew Sera wasn't going to make it. No matter how strong she was. Sera wasn't going to make it. All Des could do was hope that Mahdi would make it in time to see Sera one last time.