I stood on the shore, watching the waves crash against the jagged rocks, once a great force now reduced to mist that sprayed my face, dripped down my long nose and soaked my hair. The sea was angry today, churning and whirling as if it had been wronged and I wished that I could understand the water in the ways that my sisters did. They would have been able to feel the droplets in the air and know that change was coming, that one of the daughters was facing great challenges soon. They would have been able to foresee the upheave that my world would be tossed into.

But I stood there blindly, oblivious. 

"Ember," someone murmured from behind me.

I knew in my heart that I was safe. I knew that I was on an isolated island with only my sisters around and that no one here would harm me. But my hand still twitched for the dagger that was strapped to my thigh, buried under layer upon layers of skirt.

I fought my instincts and loosened my clenched fist. A beautiful grin was pressed into my features as I turned to face my sister. Even among sirens she was considered an outstanding beauty. I heard stories of men throwing themselves at her mother's feet before we were all forced to move to the island and that kind of beauty, that kind of power was hereditary. If she ever came across men now, they would surely beg her just to touch her golden hair or look upon her blue eyes.

"Oceana, hello," I greeted, trying to ease the pounding sensation in my chest. She was my sister, my most trusted sister.

"Pondering life's great mysteries?" she asked, smiling as another wave slammed against the rocks. Now it seemed like the water was leaping up to greet her, recognizing one of Poseidon's daughters, while it ignored me.

"Just enjoying some quiet," I shrugged. "Dozens of girls in one place can get a little loud."

"Well, it's not very quiet out here either. There's a storm brewing to the north. It's going to be a nasty night."

"I can handle it," I assured, knowing very well that she hadn't just come out here to tell me about the weather that I could see with my own two eyes.

"Our queen has requested to see you," Oceana said finally. 

My gut tightened, though our queen was a kind and fair ruler, one of us. She had brought us to safety when the world turned against us for the actions of our ancestors and she ruled over us with compassion. She made the decisions that kept us alive after the humans started hunting us. There was no one else that could be thanked for our survival. 

But the last time I had been called into a meeting with her, it was because she knew that I had broken the rules. She had known that I swam off the island, swam as far as my body to take me, until I had found a new shore with a land that wasn't covered in sirens. I had broken the law that had been unchanged for two decades. 

I had gone to see the humans.

Maybe now she knew the truth. Maybe she knew that I hadn't just bobbed at the surface and watched humans interact from afar, that I had climbed out of the water.

She could know that I had fled back into the ocean with blood on my hands and tears in my eyes.  

I swallowed hard and followed Oceana back into the palace that housed us all. In comparison to the splendor that I had witnessed, our palace was small and simple. We did not have many human allies to help us build a safe haven and, as women who only knew how to sing and entice men, there had been a great struggle to get any structure erected at all. Now that all of the volunteers had returned to their lives, forgetting about it, it was beginning to show its weaknesses. But it was my home. It was the home to all of the fifty three surviving sirens.

Oceana guided me through the palace, though I knew it as well as she did. I tried not to notice the bits of rotting wood that needed replacing or the stones that were slick with moisture that had entered through cracks and gaps. They all asked the same question: How much longer would this all last? How much time did we have left before we had to go crawling back to the human shores for supplies?

We reached the throne room without incident.

It was bleak and small. Completely stoned in with no windows to speak of, it always had to be lit with candles that made it seem more haunted than it was. And the throne was nothing more than bits of drift wood tied together with fishing line.

"Ah, Ember, welcome," the queen greeted as soon as she saw me. Her head bobbed down in acknowledgement, the pearl and shell crown glinting in the light. She instantly gestured for Oceana to leave us and my dutiful sister shut the door behind herself as she left.

I felt sick. This was too similar to the previous confrontation. Did she know? Did the humans find the body? Were they able to identify that it had been the work of a siren? Had I just undone all of the peace keeping work my queen had worked so hard for? If the human knew that I had murdered one of their own, they would think our ways hadn't changed, that we still only wanted to lure them to their deaths.

"You're nervous," the queen murmured.

Damn it. It felt like this woman had eyes everywhere, even inside of my very own heart. "There is a storm coming in. It could be a rough night," I lied.

"I see. Is that why you are carrying that dagger? Because you think you can fend off the storm?"

My face burned with embarrassment.

"You've been carrying that knife since you returned from the human world, Ember," she pointed out, cocking her head to one side. "I hope no one on the island it making you feel unsafe."

"I feel very safe here. I just like the way it feels," I assured. "It gives me confidence."

"Do you know why we all call each other sisters, Ember?"

"Because we are all daughters of Poseidon. Even though our parents are different, even though all of our true fathers have been human, we are sisters through our power," I recited. 

"So you understand that when one of us falls, we all tumble."

God, I was going to throw up. My hands began to sweat. I should just tell her. I should just blurt it out and confess it right now.

I'm a murderer! 

She continued on, unable to hear the screaming in my mind. "And when one of us rises, we all climb a little higher. Does that make sense?"

"Yes," I choked out.

"You have always had an infatuation with the human world. Many sirens are happy here. They aren't being harassed by sexual partners. They aren't being accused of crimes. Here, our sisters can command the ocean as they please, they can sing without fear. But that was never enough for you, and I know why."

I winced, bracing for the verbal impact.

"You have no true siren powers, Ember."

I blinked once, then twice. This was about my abilities? 

"You can't command the water like the most powerful sirens. But you also cannot harness the water's power to force others to do your bidding. I've seen your sisters command each other all the time. But you, even when you've tried your hardest, you have been unable to do any such thing."

I knew that. I knew all of those things. Ever since I was old enough to understand that my sisters had been named after bodies of water, I knew I was an outcast. Every time I tried to use the energy stored in the water to order other sirens about, they only laughed at me. When they talked about feeling the emotions of the sea, I stared at them in awe, completely unknowing. And when they commanded the waves to lift, I grew green with envy.

"You're more human than any of us," the queen commented. "And because of that, I have a special task for you. We can't live on this island forever. We eat the same food every day and read the same books. Our castle is crumbling. We can't reproduce. If we don't do something soon, sirens will be nothing more than a myth in the next century."

~~~Distraction Section~~~

Hey everyone!

Welcome to my newest story. Full disclosure, I have been in a bit of a slump recently and this is the first story that I have been excited for since Hades! I was too excited to make a cover, so please appreciate my terrible, wattpad generated cover.

Question of the Day: What is the first book you remember reading?

Junie B Jones for me!