The young man tore his eyes from the serpent and found me in the waves. He stopped, keeping several strides between us.
“No,” he said. He seemed uncertain whether or not he should look directly at me; his eyes kept skittering over the waves to my left. “I’m Ben Reeves. Officer Miller will be here any minute. I came to warn you. You have to stay away from them. They know.”
“What do you mean,they know?”
A second helicopter thrummed in the distance.
Ben paled. He whirled to examine the sky. The helicopter descended rapidly, this one darker and larger.
When he spun back around, his forehead glistened with fresh sweat. “I mean they’re going to kill you!”
“But—they can’t know. How did they find out?”
“It’s my fault. I told Miller. I thought it would make them go after the king instead of you. I mean—not you specifically, but—” He gestured broadly at the ocean.
The helicopter circled the lot, taking a wider swing than Ben had.
“Go!” said Ben.
I hesitated. Something needled at me, but before I could wonder, Eriana said,She is coming.
I faced the water, picking up her urgency.
“What’s wrong?” said Ben.
Nilus surfaced. “Meela—”
The next wave slapped the shore, and when it retreated, a mermaid was there on the rocks. The sinking sun glinted off her crown, which sat atop ropes of hair that hung heavy without the tide to lift them. Her orange-brown eyes glimmered. She spoke in a powerful voice that carried across the shore.
“Metlaa Gaela. I have come to collect what is mine.”
Medusa reached behind her to pull a bow from across her shoulders. She did not notch the arrow—but held it in her other hand, ready.
“I’m not going to pass control,” I said, knowing that even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to without sacrificing my life.
“Do not back out on your word! You promised me the serpent in exchange for my help.”
“You refused our offer.”
Medusa’s eyes reddened. “My armies have stopped Adaro’s across the globe. Without me, the war against Adaro’s regime would have been hopeless. I am the rightful master of the serpent.”
Eriana gave a low hiss.
“You’re not,” I said, feeling my own eyes redden. “I’m her descendant. This island is my home. Its legends are a part of me. I have the right to decide.”
Ben looked between us in alarm. It occurred to me that he had no idea what we were saying.
Medusa’s fingers, which gripped her bow and arrow more tightly, became webbed.
“I will have control, Metlaa Gaela. So unless you know a way that does not require blood, you leave me no choice.”
Before I could react, shouts carried on the wind. I snapped my head around to see people—my people—rushing towards us. They must have heard the helicopters.
My heart ached. Were my parents among them? Annith, Tanuu, and Blacktail?
Medusa raised her bow. The arrow was notched, its deadly tip pointing at me. “Metlaa Gaela, consider the arrangement you requested in the Atlantic. This is your final chance to give me what is mine.”
My ears pounded. The helicopter hovered lower, scalping back the shoreline. Eriana followed it with both heads. She could easily strike at my command—like a frog catching a fly.
