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I opened my eyes and found the heart now dissolved in my hands, only the remnants of ash remaining as they washed away in the water’s current, becoming one with the silt of the seafloor.

I looked at my clenched hands with a renewed sense of strength. The taste of the golden light was still fresh on my tongue. “The pain is…gone,” I said, smiling with relief. I breathed a sigh of relief, reinvigorated by the fading ache of hunger. An inhuman strength thrummed through me, and I felt alive again.

Layne looked on in silence, watching me with satisfaction. I didn't like the way he looked at me, as if I was some kind of prize—but he had helped me, and for that I was grateful.

“Pay attention, darling. This is your life now. You’ll need those hearts of darkness to survive,” he said, sitting back down on his shadowed throne. “That is the nature of your hunger, and the price to be paid, Evelyn Graymore. Their darkness is what fuels you. Without it, you’ll wither and die, and this time, there’s no coming back. And the golden song laced in your voice? That is your weapon–it bends their will to yours to command. Use it to take what you must. Or don’t! The choice is yours.”

I now realized the gravity of the deal I’d struck with my devil. The weight of that choice pressed down on me, but the surge of power that thrummed through my body eased my concerns. I felt powerful and knew that I would do what was required to survive.

Yes—I would get my revenge on Preston, on everyone that had abused their power. But the question of how I could do that from down here still remained unanswered.

“How am I supposed to find them on land when I’m stuck down here, though?” I couldn't just conjure up someone like Layne had done, at least as far as I was aware, and I certainly couldn't go on land looking like this.

Layne scoffed, waving his hand, dismissing what I said as absurd. “Stuck? You’re not stuck down here. Do you think I’m some kind of monster?”

Yes. Without a doubt.

“All you have to do is go up to the surface, the glamour will…” he stopped and laughed as his devilish smile returned. “Well, the glamour will take care of the rest, let’s just say that. You will appear as you did before,” He paused, leaning forward in excitement. “In fact, better even–you’ll see! But don't get too comfortable up there, princess.” He leaned forward, golden eyes gleaming with a dark amusement. “One way or another—the water will always call you back.”

Glamour? More shit I didn't understand.

I rolled my eyes, the frustration blooming across my face. I was over his games. “Oh, is that all? Perfect. Anything else you're not telling me?”

I struggled to swim up to him, but managed after a few tries, my body still foreign. I looked him in the eyes, gaze intense. He was even more devilishly handsome up close, and I hated it. “Look, I appreciate your help, but all you do is speak in riddles and subtext. No more games. What else is there that I need to know?”

He smiled a little too wide and I immediately regretted getting that close to him. He closed his eyes and sighed, throwing his hands in the air, as he held his finger up. “Just…one little thing,” he said. “Don’t ever fall in love, Evelyn Graymore. You made a deal, and you belong…to me.”

My body recoiled, mouth twisting into a snarl. The thought of any man thinking they owned me sent a fiery rage through my body. “I’m not owned by any man,” I snarled. “Ever.” I turned to swim away, but he appeared in a plume of shadows in front of me, his gaze narrowed.

“Ah, ah, ah, not so fast,” he mocked, as he caressed my hair. “The curse does not forget the details of what was agreed upon. You’d do best to remember that. Any human you fall in love with will be marked for death, and the curse will slowly kill them.” He cocked his head as his gaze turned menacing and sinister. “There is no way around it–so don't even try,” he hissed. He pulled away, searching for signs of regret on my face, but found none.

I stared back at him, hollow and unflinching. The dream of a life with love had died well before I had. Preston and the men like him had killed it long before the sea ever did. It wasn't something I thought was ever within my grasp, and it was certainly not something to be desired with my second life. But one thing I knew for sure—I would never be owned by anyone, let alone Layne Murrows.

“That won't be a problem, but I’m nobody's property, got it?” I growled, drifting past him. “Thank you… for everything—but it’s time we go our separate ways now.” I turned my back, ready to put all of this behind me.

Layne regarded me for a moment, as his eyes flickered with a sinister and curious light behind them. “You are quite something, Evelyn Graymore,” he said, slowly bowing. “Until we meet again, princess.” He disappeared into a billowing plume of shadow and light, sending a cascade of bubbles scattered around me, as his parting words lingered in a quiet echo in my mind.

I kept my gaze forward with a renewed determination, along with the knowledge of the newfound magic that pulsed within me. But I couldn't shake the feeling that this wouldn't be the last time I saw him. I knew that in time, the relenting hunger that had ravaged my body would soon begin to creep its way back in. And I would do anything necessary to ensure I never needed his help again.

I looked up towards the surface as the moon hung low in the sky. Preston was still out there, and I wouldn't stop until I held his beating heart firm in my hands, as the empty husk of his body floated atop the Sound’s surface.

Igasped as I broke through the surface, the crisp night air filling my lungs—the first since Preston Willows had stolen the last of it.

It had been well over a week since I vanished, and even the air smelled different now, tinged with the underlying scent of darkness, now my source of sustenance.

I looked down at the tail swaying steadily beneath the water, keeping me afloat.

Now what the hell am I supposed to do about that?

Before thinking too long about it, my body began to tingle, but quickly turned to a persistent sting.

Groaning through the searing pain, I slowly dragged myself toward the shore under the veil of darkness and Pier 57. My claws dug into the pilings, heaving myself up and pulling at the wood for support.

I looked down, eyes wide as my tail split, bones and skin moving beneath the black scales that scoured my lower body. The slick sheen of magic rippled as if it were water across my skin, until fading into mist. Pale skin, soft as silk, left behind.

I forced myself to my feet, grabbing the piling for support, legs wobbling beneath me like a newborn learning to walk.

The night air bit against my bare skin, and panic struck me. A naked woman would not bode well in downtown Seattle at night–or anywhere for that matter. Before I could spiral further, the air around my body seemed to flicker and crackle with magic.