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The lighthouse.

Evie’s skin had changed when he touched her. The same skin he was looking at now.

No—It’s not possible⁠—

The woman leaned down, bringing her face closer to Preston’s.

Ethan’s heart stopped.

The woman’s blond hair melted away, disappearing into a watery vapor, replaced by the familiar dark hair he’d run his hands through just nights ago. The features of her face shifted, like a mask torn away, the truth laid bare.

The hair. The face. All of it.

Ethan had memorized every detail of her. Dreamed of those eyes, kissed those lips, caressed that face before.

No.

“Don’t you remember?” Her voice dripped with venom. “It’s me. Just another dead girl.”

Ethan went white as he stared at the scales that covered her arms and body, stunned by the gills that slit across her neck.

Those eyes—those beautiful glacial eyes that had pulled him in time and time again—burned like a frozen flame.

He dropped to his knees on the dock, the wooden planks clattering under the impact.

It was her.

Evie.

His Evie.

Evie’s head snapped toward the sound of his crashing body against the deck, and her eyes went wide. The rage on her face was quickly replaced with dread and panic.

“Ethan…” Her voice was distant.

He stared back, unable to move or breathe as everything he knew shattered in front of him.

Whatever Evie was—it wasn’t human. But what terrified Ethan the most wasn’t what he was looking at.

It was that despite it all, he didn’t care.

Time shattered.

Ethan shouldn’t be here. Shouldn’t be seeing this—seeing me, not like this. The web of lies I’d spun trying to shield Ethan faded away with my glamour.

As I saw the stunned expression on his face, I knew he’d seen and heard everything.

Ethan was on his knees at the edge of the dock, muddy and pale, his eyes wide. He looked right at me, seeing me for exactly what I was.

My mouth parted as his name escaped my lips. “Ethan…”

Evelyn, ignore him! Layne’s voice cut through my racing thoughts. Kill Preston!

My concentration slipped, and the grip I had on Preston’s wrists loosened as my hands went to my sides.

Pain exploded across the side of my head, and white spots danced across my vision as Preston’s hand ripped free. His fist collided with my temple so hard that my head snapped sideways, throwing me backward.

Falling hard, my body crashed against the dock. My claws scraped across the planks, digging deep into the wood, splinters bursting underneath my nails.