Merletta is out of time, and so are the triple kingdoms. She can't outswim her mistakes, and if she can't expose the Center's lies, so many will pay the price. Matters of the heart have no place-whether on land with Heath, or in her underwater search for her family. Heath has accepted that there's no simple way for him and Merletta to be together. With the wrath of the dragons hanging over Merletta, and the increasingly desperate need to clear Percival's name, Heath has never felt more torn between worlds. Merletta is ready to give everything in this final fight, and Heath's attempts to protect everyone have caused his magic to grow far beyond what he once imagined. But they both know it still won't be enough-even if they achieve the impossible and save their two worlds, there's no future where their paths don't diverge. There's nothing to cling to but hope. And yet hope is the most tenacious and powerful ally of all...