I feel like a fool.

I am a fool.

I sit in my room, arms curled around my knees, and wonder how I missed the signs.

No. I know how I missed them. I was too infatuated, too confident that I could spot any sort of ill intent.

Pride was my downfall. My embarrassment.

Klaus said that his father was stern but fair and I believed him. What I should have realized was that his fair judgment only applied to those with money. Women from poor villages were treated as less than human, beneath his notice. Certainly, all they were good for was as whores.

A sigh leaves my lips, tiny, resigned. I look up at my window and push my hair back from my face. I can learn from this. I can move on.

Wiping my eyes on my sleeve, I reach for one of my texts and crack it open. The words are comforting and familiar. I learned these spells as a child.

There is a knock at our front door. I pause and listen; I hear Papa crossing the room to answer.

At first, there is nothing; then, suddenly, there is a mighty shout from my father. I drop the book and race through our small hut to see Papa staring at Marc Lentz and the mayor, both men crowded uncomfortably in our tiny doorway. They jump as I come racing into the room, but keep their focus on my father.

"She can't be here anymore, Einarr," the mayor is saying. He's not the same mayor who dallied with Miss Templeton; that man was ousted years ago for things unrelated to extramarital affairs. I don't recall what, and right now I don't care.

Papa's face is a mask of pure fury. "Why?" he demands. "Did the duke demand it?"

I grow cold. They're trying to get rid of me? But why? What did I do?

"No," Marc says, mouth pinched. "But it's clear he doesn't like her. Even the viscount wants nothing to do with her."

I put a hand out and catch myself on the wall, head swimming. News of my argument with the duke and Klaus's very public repudiation of me reached Farbarrow quickly.

"That spineless boy didn't stand up for Sina," Papa retorts. "After all his promises ..."

"It doesn't matter," the mayor interrupts, even though it very clearly does. "Melusine is a liability to this village."

"How!?" I explode, pushing myself off the wall. Both men take two steps back until they are well outside our hut. "I have done nothing but try and help!" Tears fall down my face as I spread my arms wide. Who knew a human body could produce so much water? "I have found fish for the village, brought the lobsters back, and risked my life to save a stupid boy in a storm! And yet, here you fine, upstanding gentlemen stand, telling me to leave because the duke doesn't like me!?" My mouth curls into a mocking sneer and it won't leave.

Marc Lentz exchanges a look with the mayor. "We don't want you here anymore, Sina. I've already sent word to the squire to cancel our contract. My wife has spoken to her friends and instructed them to not purchase any charms from you." He pauses then swallows. "Don't make us force you to leave."

This is ludicrous. I tip my head back and laugh bitterly. "You? You are going to make me leave? Try." Magic rolls beneath my skin like a storm cloud.

"Sina," Papa hisses, catching my arm as the mayor pales.

I shake him off. "This village is nothing without me! You will starve, the lot of you!"

Both men are white as sheets. "Then," the mayor replies, trembling, "you leave us no choice." He motions to something—someone?—upon the dunes.

I push past them and stare up at the dunes. Dozens of men—and some women—appear with muskets and scythes and gaffs in their hands. Torches flicker in the dying sunlight.

Fury boils my blood. "You dare—!" Magic crackles between my fingers as I whirl upon Marc Lentz and the stupid mayor.

"Sina!" Papa shouts, grabbing my arm as dark clouds begin to gather above us. "Don't! I can't lose you too!"

Hot tears sting my cheeks. "Do you see what they're trying to do, Papa?" I cry, voice thick. "I've done nothing wrong! Why, Papa, why!?"

Papa's eyes dart between Marc Lentz, the mayor, and the frightened villagers. These are people who know me, have watched me grow up, and whose families I have helped. How can they treat me so?

"Last chance, Sina," Marc says, licking dry lips.

I press a hand to my forehead. All of this because I was foolish enough to love a duke's son. All of this because I was rejected.

The click of muskets being readied draws my attention back to the dunes.

I don't deserve this. I don't deserve any of this.

Rage and anguish and fear boil over, and I tilt my head back, screaming. Magic surges through me, bursting from my fingertips in waves. The sand beneath my feet rumbles, pitching back and forth like those earthquakes I have only read about. The villagers on the dunes shriek and cry out, dropping their weapons and falling to the unstable earth. I keep my feet and slowly turn towards the horizon.

Help.

The ocean hears my plea and answers. Far beyond the shore, blue-grey seawater boils as if the whole ocean is now a teapot. Great gouts of foam launch skyward as the earth continues to shake. Beyond the Wall, ships are tossed high into the air like toys, their masts snapping in two as they crash into each other. Wood explodes, and expensive vessels sink slowly beneath a vengeful sea.

"Stop!" the mayor screams. "Stop!"

He should have thought about that before coming to my home and demanding that I leave.

I lift my arms and entreat the ocean to continue.

The sky darkens and lightning flickers between the clouds. Great, thunderous booms shake the sky, threatening to bring down the very heavens.

If they want me to leave, I will do so.

But they won't like it.

Rise.

Far out on the horizon, a massive, black rock rises from the depths. Water streams down its jagged face, slamming back into the ocean. Coral and seaweed cling to the rocks; fish and crabs flop, gasping desperately as they are dragged upwards and away from the secure embrace of the water.

Higher and higher this oceanic mountain climbs until ... it stops. The earth quiets, and the seas calm. A brand new island off the coast of Farbarrow now rests, looming over the village, over Rollinsville in the distance.

Higher than Duke Lucien's stupid castle on a cliff.

I drop my heavy arms and look back. Everyone is on the ground. In the distance, small tendrils of smoke rise into the grey sky.

"Papa!" I cry, falling to my knees and wrapping my arms around my father's thin shoulders. Why is he so thin? "Come! We have to hurry."

Papa looks up at me and smiles sadly. He takes my hands off his shoulders and presses them together. "Go," he whispers sadly, tears rolling down sallow cheeks.

What is he talking about? "We have to go together!" I sob, head whipping towards the left as I notice the mayor getting to his feet. Suddenly, there are cries of Fire! among the villagers. People panic, and begin to scramble.

"Papa!"

He touches my wet cheek. "There's no time, Sina. They won't hurt me. You need to go."

How does he know that? He can't possibly be certain they'll let him be. Not after what I've done.

"Go!" With more strength than I anticipate, Papa shoves me away. I fall to the sand, then get to my feet.

A musket shot rings out, hitting the ground several yards from where I stand.

"They better not hurt you!" I threaten, pressing a hand to my chest. But they do mean to hurt me. Picking up my skirts, I race toward the ocean as another musket coughs and discharges its deadly load nearby.

A half-dozen silky heads bob near the shoreline.

Selkies.

Large, dark eyes glitter and gleam with an unearthly glow. I throw myself upon their mercy, wrapping one arm around a very familiar female. Without a word, the pod turns and begins to swim towards the black island, dragging me along with them—a reluctant traveler.

I chance a look back at the shore, to see my father one final time, but saltwater fills my mouth. I turn my head, spitting into the foam.

My heart sinks and I resign myself to whatever comes next.