It felt like someone had sucked all the water from my lungs. Though fear, confusion, and shock filled Leena's eyes, her voice was cool, calm, and controlled—the same as when she'd appeared years ago in that vision or hallucination or memory, whatever it had been. As I looked back on it now, I realized there had been some element of truth in it. Carla had recognized Leena and vice versa.

Had they met before? A snippet of their conversation floated through my head, bringing more confusion than clarity. Carla's words were biting and filled with venom. "'Leena. How dare you corrupt my daughter?'"

Leena's response was equally as vicious. "'Oh, Carla. I'm not trying to corrupt her. It's her destiny. Just as it was yours, long ago.'"

What had she meant by that? I glanced from Leena to my family, helplessness in my eyes. How had she even found me? "H-how did you find me?" I breathed, my voice shaking.

She grinned, the sight filling me with dread. "I'd been hiding in Aegrem for years, staying off the grid in abandoned houses. My parents died when I was thirteen from coral poisoning. I had no siblings or relatives to take me in, so I've been alone ever since.

"I first heard the Siren Song when I was twelve. I met Carla a year later. When I learned that she was a Siren, I immediately knew that if she decided to have children—if one or more of them were a mermaid—she would eventually hear the song at some point in her life. It's not hereditary, but if the mother is a Siren, the odds of a daughter becoming one increase exponentially."

She rubbed a hand over her face, blowing out a heavy breath. "I'd heard rumors that the king and queen of Pelathas adopted children, but I never in a million years thought that one could be Carla's daughter." The scorn and hatred she infused into our birth mother's name had me biting back a growl.

Taken aback, I gaped at her, horrified at how bluntly she spoke about Mom, Dad, and Carla. "Did Zander tell you about me?" That was the only reason I could think of her knowing where to find me. However, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how they could have possibly crossed paths.

She nodded. "By sheer chance, we ran into each other on the outskirts of Pelathas. I'd heard that you and his daughter knew each other, so it wasn't hard to connect the dots. We started talking, and he mentioned that his daughter had made friends with a Siren. Of course, this was before her sister revealed her true heritage. After that, I started tracking you myself.

"It wasn't long before I started asking around, trying to figure out if anyone knew the king and queen's daughter personally. That's when I encountered Zander. He was discouraged and bitter, unable to connect with his youngest daughter." Sympathy laced Leena's words, sending bolts of shock through me.

How in the world could she sympathize with someone so cruel? "So... what? After talking with him, you decided to come after his daughter and me?" I didn't mention our fight and subsequently rekindled friendship, fearful it would only give her more ammunition.

Her eyes twinkled cruelly. My heart stopped as all the water left my lungs in a rush. "No. I decided to come after you and make her watch."

I choked as I heard a petrified wail. I whipped my head around, eyes widening in terror and horror as a frantic Waverly was dragged forward, her hands bound behind her back. Her face, streaked with tears, was red and blotchy; her eyes, wide with terror, darted around wildly before finally settling on my face. And began pleading. Babbling.

I'd never heard her sound so... Broken. It was the only word that came to mind as I stared at my friend. "Faye, please! You have to believe me. H-he tricked me! He told me that you wouldn't be here—that it would just be me and him and Leena."

Her voice broke on the last sentence as the realization hit me like a punch in the gut. I turned to Leena, shock and horror lacing my words as I spoke. "W-what is she talking about?" Despite my best attempts to keep it steady, my voice trembled.

She threw a cruel glance at Waverly, then returned her gaze to my face. "I wondered if you'd be stupid enough to fall for that. No matter. It would happen either way—this just makes it more entertaining."

Before I could open my mouth, much less cry out, Leena was behind me. She gripped a fistful of my hair and yanked me backward, all but ripping the strands from my scalp. I let out a whimper but held the tears back. I would not give her the satisfaction of seeing me break.

It wasn't until she whispered in my ear, her voice filled with cruel glee, that I attempted (rather pathetically and unsuccessfully, I might add) to get free. "I'm going to enjoy this."

I lunged for Dad, the pain now like lightning bolts in my brain. The whimper became an agonizing scream as our fingertips brushed against each other. I lunged forward while she yanked on my hair, which ripped several strands from my scalp. It was so intense I almost blacked out. His expression was a mix of pain and fury.

Leena's voice, filled with vicious hatred, was soft. "Not so fast, Siren. Carla died because of her birthright. Though it would be so appropriate for you to join your mother and sister, contrary to popular belief, I do have a heart. So I'm not going to kill you, Faye." I could have sworn the water itself exhaled as my family released a collective breath, releasing all the tension from their bodies.

For a fleeting, foolish moment, I actually allowed myself to believe I would make it out unscathed. Everything would be okay—none of my family would have to suffer. That is, until she spoke again. "I'm going to make you wish you were dead."

Everything after that was a blur. I must have blacked out because when I opened my eyes again, I was in our suite. Jonah was beside me, gripping my hand. His face was deathly pale, his eyes filled with pain and anger.

I felt him squeezing my hand—which meant she hadn't broken anything. But when I tried to speak, I could only manage a weak inhale. Mom, Dad, and Drew were beside him with identical expressions. My throat felt scratchy and rough like I'd been screaming for hours without rest. Every inhale felt like I was swallowing glass.

When I looked at Mom, the haunted look in her eyes made my heart skip a beat. She held my other hand between hers, gripping it as if afraid I'd vanish if she let go. Something was wrong. I felt the tension in the water like a string connecting the five of us.

I looked from Dad to Drew to Jonah, searching their gazes for answers. Mom stared at nothing, as if she wasn't aware of her surroundings. When I glimpsed the tearstains on their faces, I stopped breathing entirely. I'd never seen Jonah cry before.

I inhaled a lungful of water, realizing my mistake seconds later when I started coughing and couldn't stop. Fear gripped my heart, squeezing until I finally caught my breath. Jonah cupped my face with a trembling hand.

"Are you okay?" The sentence was broken and ragged. Tears filled his eyes, but he hastily swiped them away before they could fall. I could tell he was trying to keep his composure but failing. My hand slowly rose to touch his face, the gesture causing more tears to spill down his cheeks.

I swallowed hard and cleared my throat several times, trying to make my voice work. He quickly shook his head, voice cracking when he spoke. "Please, Faye, don't speak. Your body needs to heal." It looked as if it caused him physical pain to say the words.

He handed me a notepad and a pen instead, which I accepted gratefully. What happened? I wrote, my hands trembling so violently I could hardly grip the pen.

A single tear fell down Drew's cheek—his composure finally cracking. Dad put a hand on his shoulder as he took a shaky breath. "Leena had us backed into a corner. Waverly tried to refuse, but Leena gave her an ultimatum: she would kill Waverly, then you if she refused. Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry." His voice broke on the last word, bringing tears to my eyes.

Before the words had even finished echoing, a flash of memory sliced through my mind like a dagger through flesh. Waverly gripped my shoulders, pale and shaking, as her mouth moved. No sound came out, but I would know the words even if I were blind and deaf—the Siren Song.

I remembered sharp, blinding pain—a crack that seemed to echo throughout the water—then blissful nothingness. I remembered Waverly's wide, tear-filled eyes staring down at me as I struggled to stay conscious. Leena had forced her to use her voice for evil instead of good—creating a soul wound in my friend that would never heal.

I was still a Siren—but in name only. I knew that if I so much as tried to breathe a note, nothing would happen. A blurry figure appeared before me, sobbing violently enough that I swore I felt a piece of my heart break off and shatter. I couldn't see her face, but I knew it was blotchy and streaked with tears.

I could feel my hold on consciousness slipping away like water through my fingers. Unable to speak, I weakly squeezed Waverly's hand, my heart aching at the sob that tumbled from her mouth. "Faye, I'm s-so sorry! She said she would k-kill me, then you, if I r-refused!"

She was hysterical. Dad put his arms around Waverly's shoulders, pulled her close, and whispered something in her ear. When I felt a cool hand on my flushed cheeks, I nearly moaned in pleasure. I was so tired. So, so tired. I heard Mom's voice, faint and muffled, even though I knew she had to be beside me. 

"Get some sleep, Faye. Everything will be okay. I promise." Her voice broke on the last word, and I realized she was lying. Jonah carefully slid into bed beside me and wrapped his arms around me. He tugged me against his chest, and I began to cry. Deep, heaving sobs that seemed to come from my soul.

Wordlessly, Mom, Dad, and Drew swam to either side of the bed. There were no words anyone could say, nothing anyone could do to make this better. I simultaneously craved sleep and dreaded it. On the one hand, I desperately wanted to stop feeling anything and go numb. But on the other hand, I was terrified to see what images awaited me in my grief-and-shock-fueled nightmares.

Sometime during the night, I must have drifted off because when I opened my eyes again, it was morning. But what I saw broke my heart again. The grief and guilt on Jonah's face as he stared at nothing, alert yet tired. That scared me more than anything.

Seeing Drew's composure crack terrified me. I was shaken to my core, however, by the horrible act of violence that Leena had forced Waverly to commit. I wasn't sure she would survive another world-shattering event. I wasn't sure I would, either.

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