Blue Sargent couldn't breathe. She flailed her arms and legs, desperately attempting to breach the lake's surface; the monster still had a tight hold on her ankle. She wasn't rising. She was sinking. Technically, she was being pulled down. And quickly. The intense pressure was beginning to go to her head, meanwhile she tried so hard not to waste her breath.

She hadn't meant for this to happen. Her and the boys were out following a ley line and they happened to come across a murky lake. Blue could've sworn she saw something move, but Ronan pointed out that it was probably a fish. How wrong he had been. How foolish Blue had been to believe him. Now, she was being dragged to the bottom of the lake by her ankle. And who knew what the boys were doing about this; probably nothing reasonable.

The creature had sharp claws, which were shredding Blue's ankles; blood was clouding the muddy water that they were submerged in. Slime and scales covered the creatures dark body, meanwhile its eyes glowed a shocking yellow. Blue had no recollection of this creature, wondering if they'd ever been spotted by humans before.

It didn't take much time before she was hurtled up into a cave, colliding with a rock surface. Instantly, she was coughing up water and desperately inhaling the air that filled the hidden cavern. She was also fairly convinced she might pass out from lack of oxygen. But she fought off those feelings, looking up at the creature, which was observing her from the water that led back into the lake.

Now that Blue had a better look at the creature, she understood some new facts about it. Long algae-like hair tumbled over the creatures shoulders; meanwhile the yellow eyes held snake-like qualities. The creature also appeared to have feminine body qualities. She tilted her head, observing Blue carefully.

"What... Are you...?" The strange creature demanded as Blue arched a curious eyebrow. She wasn't quite sure how to answer that question.

"I'm a human. My name is Blue," Blue replied as the female nodded.

"Hello, Blue. My name is Ki'vara. I'm a naiad. If you want me to be more specific, I'm a limnade," Ki'vara explained as Blue slowly nodded, the naiad tilting her head to inspect the colorful assortment of hair clips tucked in Blue's hair.

"What are those?" Ki'vara asked, her yellow eyes open wide with curiosity. Blue removed one of the barrettes, which happened to be hot pink. She held it out to the naiad, who looked at it cautiously. Blue weakly smiled before using it to clip back some of the naiad's hair. Ki'vara seemed pleased with this.

"Thank you, Blue. But when I asked what you were... I meant... Why can we feel you? Even from the bottom of this lake?" Ki'vara questioned; this clarification only confused Blue more.

"Feel me? What do you mean?" Blue questioned, but as soon as she asked she had an idea.

"Wait... Because I'm an amplifier?" Blue questioned as Ki'vara's eyes widened and she quickly nodded.

"Yes! My people can feel your strength, Blue. They sent me to find you. When our queen left, she told us we would find our next leader when we felt that. When we felt you, Blue. You're our new queen!" Ki'vara determined as Blue blinked, uncertain what to do with all that information.

"You want... You want me to be your queen?" Blue asked, wanting to make sure that she'd properly understood the female naiad. Ki'vara nodded, a grin spread over her lips, displaying her sharp fang-like teeth. An uneasy feeling settled over Blue.

"I'm truly flattered, but I can't. I have a family and friends and I can't just leave them behind," Blue explained as the naiad tilted her head, looking as if she was attempting to understand. Hesitantly, she nodded.

"So... If we bring you those boys, you'll stay?" Ki'vara asked as Blue shook her head rapidly.

"No! Ki'vara—"

Ki'vara was already gone. Blue was left standing there, breathing heavily. The naiad was going after the Raven Boys. Ronan Lynch was bound to throw a fit. Gansey would most likely be the first victim, seeing as he was probably already in the lake in search of Blue. Adam Parrish was bound to be forming a plan of action. Noah Czerny wouldn't be there at all. Henry Cheng would be with Gansey, making sure the group's leader wouldn't drown himself. Panic began flaring up in Blue's chest.

Blue Sargent sat down, attempting to keep herself from hyperventilating. She can't endanger their lives like this. Sure, all the quests that their group went on had many opportunities to kill them, but they'd survived thus far. This situation, however, seemed extremely dangerous; possibly even permanent.

After about five minutes of Blue's silent thinking, a loud splash came from the submerged cave entrance, another body being tossed up onto the shore next to her. Coughing, attempting to ensure that he could continue breathing, Gansey looked up at Blue; relief flooded the boy's eyes.

Blue was quick as she scrambled over to Gansey's side, eyes opened wide and pushing his soaked hair out of his face. Gansey was quick to cup Blue's face in his hands, seeming to inspect to confirm that she was okay. She offered him a nod, seeming to understand many of the questions that he was about to ask her.

"Oh... Is this one your king?" Ki'vara asked as Gansey looked up, panic in his eyes as he observed the creature that had taken him. Blue grasped tightly onto Gansey's hand, the boy squeezing onto her; the pair of them were both afraid.

"I mean... Technically, yes," Blue replied, thinking about Gansey's role in their quest for Glendower.

"How sweet. The new queen and her king," Ki'vara spoke as Gansey's eyebrows shot upwards. He looked between the naiad and Blue quickly, seeming a bit behind on the conversation. Gansey licked his upper lip, seeming to think through what he should say.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but... What are you? Exactly?" Gansey questioned, looking up at Ki'vara.

"Oh! My apologies, your Majesty. My name is Ki'vara and I'm a naiad. And, according to Queen Blue, you're the new king!" Ki'vara explained; if anything, Gansey only felt more confused. He blinked a couple times, then turned his attention towards Blue. She had her head in her hands, appearing a bit frustrated with everything taking place.

"You're a queen now?" Gansey mumbled as Blue nodded.

"Seems that way..." Blue muttered, looking up at the boy she was leaning against. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into his chest. The two of them were still drenched, but the warmth of their bodies supplied them some heat.

"So, why is Blue your new queen?" Gansey questioned, his eyes moving back towards Ki'vara. She grinned.

"Because she's important," Ki'vara replied, as if it was just that simple. Gansey exhaled an exasperated sigh, arching one of his perfect eyebrows at the naiad.

"Well, obviously. But what about her specifically?" Gansey questioned as Blue rolled her eyes, meanwhile Ki'vara giggled like a little girl.

"How sweet! Um, how did she phrase it? Ah! Yes! She compared herself to an amplifier! The power stored inside her acted as a beacon to my kind," Ki'vara explained as Gansey glanced over at Blue, understanding passed between their expressions; they needed to get out of here. Immediately.

"Right. Ki'vara, would you mind taking Blue and I back up to the surface? Our friends are probably worried about us," Gansey explained as Ki'vara quickly shook her head.

"No, I cannot do that. Queen Blue cannot leave here," Ki'vara spoke as Blue inhaled a sharp breath.

Gansey debated going alone and telling the other boys what was going on, but he couldn't do that. He couldn't leave Blue alone; who knows if he'd ever be able to find her again. He wasn't willing to risk that much. He wasn't going to leave her. Never.

"Gansey. You need to go tell them," Blue spoke, almost as if she was capable of reading his thoughts. She wanted him to go alert the other Raven Boys so they could aid them in breaking out; Gansey only stubbornly shook his head.

"Yeah right, Jane. I'm not leaving you here. You're going to have to try a lot harder than that if you want to get rid of me. Our best bet isn't going to be breaking in, it's going to be breaking out," Gansey explained as Blue contemplated his words, then nodded. Because, as per usual, Gansey was right.

"Okay. Unfortunately, we don't have Parrish to make up a plan. So, we have to do that part on our own," Blue muttered, the pair of them whispering to one another in order to prevent the naiad from hearing them.

"Surely we'll be able to come up with something. The main thing is getting you out of here. They're not after me or the others. I could cause a distraction and you could swim back to the surface," Gansey planned as Blue sat silently, squeezing tightly onto his hand again.

"I don't like leaving you here. They know that if they keep you, I'll come back," Blue whispered in response as Gansey brought her hand up to his lips, pushing a kiss to her palm.

"Blue... You have to go. We don't have too many choices. Once you get out, you could send Ronan or Adam down to find me," Gansey explained as Blue exhaled a shaky sigh before nodding her head slowly; she knew that he was correct.

"Gansey..." She mumbled as he shook his head. He didn't want to argue about this anymore. He knew that he needed to do something.

"Miss Ki'vara, I have some questions about this whole arrangement," Gansey spoke up in his school voice. Blue winced, absolutely unnerved by his ability to switch his tone just like that.

The naiad seemed more than willing to help, fully encompassing her attention on Gansey with his charisma and faux questions. Blue licked her lips anxiously, taking a quick glance at the other two before taking off in a sprint and diving into the water. Could she out-swim the naiad? No. But, hopefully, she wouldn't have to.

Blue kicked off the murky bottom of the lake, quickly rising in order to breach the surface. Apparently Ki'vara was either distracted or too shocked to know what to do, because she wasn't behind Blue. It was to the point that the small female's lungs were desperate for air, needing it immediately. When she broke the surface, she was coughing and inhaling deep breaths. This caught the attention of Adam Parrish and Ronan Lynch, who were both in the water in attempt to find their friends.

"Blue!" Adam yelled, meanwhile she continued to choke on the water that was in her lungs. Ronan made it to her first, dragging her out of the lake and laying her down on the surface.

"Lynch... There's a cave... At the bottom... You have to get him..." Blue whispered, continuing to have a coughing fit.

Ronan didn't even ask for more information. He took what he was given and dove directly into the lake, diving down in order to find the cave. When he didn't resurface and the bubbles quit rising, Blue knew that he had made it down there. She was completely exhausted and could hardly move her limbs. Henry was left in charge of her, tending to her needs while Adam paced and kept his eyes on the lake; he was going to act as the lifeline, pulling the other two in next.

"What the hell happened down there?" Adam questioned as Blue inhaled a shaky sigh.

"There are naiads down there. They said something about needing a new ruler and wanted it to be me. Then it became a hostage situation," Blue mumbled as Adam nodded, seeming to process the information that she was giving to him.

It only took a couple more minutes for the other two to surface, Adam quickly rushing to their aid and pulling them out of the water. Gansey was laid down next to Blue, both of them completely exhausted and practically unable to move.

"Damn! She was a bitch!" Ronan announced as Blue sighed, weakly laughing as Gansey shot the boy a glare.

"She wasn't. We just stole everything that she worked to get. If anything, we're the assholes," Gansey explained as Blue rolled her eyes.

"She kidnapped me first," Blue stated as Gansey looked over at her, searching her expression for any signs of her being hurt; she offered him a small smile, which immediately made him feel better. He reached over towards her, the two of them locking their pinkie fingers together and then allowing their hands to fall in the grass.

"I suppose that's true," Gansey answered as Blue looked up at the stars, trying to imagine that everything was fine. Adam was with Ronan, asking him about a million questions while Ronan got pissed off and didn't answer any of them.

"Was the naiad pretty?" Henry questioned, wiggling his eyebrows and looking expectantly at Ronan; the latter blinked a couple times, seeming confused as to whether or not Henry was actually speaking to him.

"I wouldn't know," Ronan answered as Henry arched an eyebrow.

"You saw her, didn't you?" Henry pressed as Ronan pondered this question.

"I find boys pretty, Cheng. Not girls," Ronan answered as Adam laughed, the remainder of the group finding this interaction rather hilarious; after all, Ronan and Adam had been dating for a few weeks now.

"I knew that," Henry muttered as Blue and Gansey let out laughs of their own.

"Do you think Ki'vara will still be a problem?" Blue asked as Gansey sighed.

"Perhaps," He admitted honestly.

"If she is, however, she was correct. You're the queen and I'm the king. I go where you go. I'll make sure everything will be alright..." He mumbled; Blue rolled her eyes at this sappy statement.

However, she tightened her hold on his pinkie as they continued to lay there in the grass beneath the stars.