h4Chapter 800: 800-Another Realm/h4

    strongHnie:/strong

    "What? What is it?" I asked, almost rushing too anxiously.

    He looked at us with a sad, disappointed expression before he muttered, "It’s in anothernguage."

    As soon as he said that, we rolled our eyes.

    "Come on, you don’t have to be so dramatic," Norman said, pping his chest with the back of his hand, reaching across the table since he was opposite Emmet.

    "I will read it. I can read manynguages," Maximus volunteered, and we all stared at Emmet, waiting for him to hand over the book.

    "Really?" Emmet asked, sounding skeptical. "Fine, go. Go ahead, read it." He turned the book toward Maximus, making us wonder why he was being so petty.

    But the minute Maximus looked at the book, he scratched the back of his neck. "Um, it’s mermaidnguage," he admitted, handing it back.

    The disappointment lingered for only a few seconds before everyone turned to me, pushing the book in my direction. I stared at the words, but they just looked like a mumble jumble.

    "Um, guys, I didn’t grow up with the mermaids. I don’t know what it says," I mumbled, disappointing them.

    "Your mother, she grew up with the mermaids!" someone yelled.

    Thankfully, Jenny said it before I had to take time to remember my mother could help. And then our faces lit up once again.

    "Come on, give your mother a call," Gavin said, and Emmet started to wag his finger as a no.

    "Guys, we don’t have to wake her up at this time of night," Emmet disagreed. It was so sweet of him. I knew it would mean a lot to him to find out right now what the pearl could do and how we could use it to save him, but he still wanted to be considerate of my mother’s rest.

    "I think there is a few hours’ difference, so it might not be thatte over there," I reminded Emmet, and then I grabbed my phone.

    "I’ll call her now," I said, excitedly dialing her number.

    "Put it on speaker," Lamar added, reaching over from Norman’s shoulder to tap my shoulder with two fingers, and I nodded.

    I dialed her number and put the phone on speaker, cing it in the middle of the table on top of the book.

    "Hello? Is everything okay?" My mom picked up instantly, worried I was in some trouble because she knew the time difference and that it was night over here.

    "Oh yeah, I’m fine. I just wanted to speak with you about some stuff," I said, and I guess she noticed the excitement in my voice.

    "What is it?" she asked.

    "Hello Miss Urs!" Jenny yelled, others joining along.

    My mother started tough on the other side. "I’m so d you guys are having fun. Are you all staying at the academy?" she asked, probably thinking that was why we were together.

    "No, actually, we came over here. We were going to discuss stuff about Lucy," Jenny exined, making us all stare at her. She shrugged. "What? She’s my mom too if she’s Hnie’s mom," Jenny argued, giving us a harsh look and a pout.

    "She is right. But what about Lucy? Isn’t this the friend who stopped being friends with you after a while?" my mother remembered. She had been keeping an eye on me and my life, so of course she knew a little.

    "Yeah, actually, it turns out she was never really herself. When she was pushed off the 10th floor, remember I told you, the entities took over her body. Our poor friend has been trapped for so long, and we never found out. But now we’re finally trying to find a way to get to her and free her," I said in one breath, because I knew my mother would understand.

    "I’m so proud of you, Hnie. Not only do you do great things for others, but you don’t forget your friends. And the regret I hear in your voice is what makes you a better queen."

    Herpliment meant so much to me, so I smiled. But deep down, the guilt wouldn’t vanish until I saved Lucy and helped her back to a normal life.

    "Anyway, this isn’t even why I called you," I said, pping my forehead. I never had anyone growing up that I could share everything with, so once I found my friends and my mother again, I would just yap to them. Every time something happened, I’d share it, though I was still good at keeping secrets, which I was proud of.

    "What do you want to know?" my mom asked, and I could hear theughter in her voice.

    "Mom, the pearl you gave me, it’s not just a pendant, is it?" I asked, gulping hard, and somehow Kaye noticed. He quickly offered me a ss of water without moving too much since someone’s hands were still on his shoulder. I took a sip while waiting for her response.

    "How did you figure it out?" The excitement in her voice told me it was true.

    "So it is true?" I asked.

    "Of course it is. It’s a mermaid’s tail pearl, Hnie. It’s special," she replied, and we all started to smile creepily again, except for Emmet. I guess he was just tired of us acting like excited bunnies.

    "How do we put it to work? I mean, does it really open a door to another realm?" I questioned. I couldn’t even word my questions better because of how excited and happy I was. This would change everything. All the concerns we had before about losing Emmet and not being able to help him would be gone.

    "Oh, by the way, we found a book with mermaidnguage written in it. Can you please help us with it?" Lamar added, reminding us we had the solution in front of us, except we couldn’t read it.

    "Oh yes, mermaidnguage. Just send me a screenshot," my mom said.

    Our eyes widened even more.

    "Okay, wait a minute. I’m sending you a screenshot from Jenny’s phone," I told her. I turned to Jenny, wagged my fingers at her, and she instantly handed me her phone. In the next two minutes, I took a screenshot and sent it to my mom.

    While she examined it, we stayed impatiently on the call.

    And then, after she was done examining it, my mom, in a very gentle and sweet voice, said, "Yes, it is true. It can take a person to another realm."