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Like he’d never existed at all.

In my dizzied state, I turned to Ethan, dreading to see his face after what I’d done.

“Ethan I–”

A wave of pain cut me off, and I doubled over, my body convulsing. My legs gave out, and I fell to the ground.

“Evie!” Ethan rushed to my side, his eyes wide as he stared down at my legs. “What’s…happening to you?”

The glamour’s magic shattered as the transformation ripped through my lower body. My legs rapidly fused, black scales erupting across my skin, gleaming with the fading slick of magic. My tail thrashed uselessly against the dock’s planks.

Ethan’s eyes went wide. He grabbed my hands as I writhed with pain, his grip desperate.

“Evie, what do I do? Tell me how to help you, please!” he begged, his voice breaking.

When faced with something you don’t understand, especially the impossible being I was now, fear was the first emotion I expected to see from him.

Ethan wasn’t scared of me.

He was there for me—because of me.

“Ethan I–”

Pain radiated through me, stealing my words and breath as the black veins snaked across my skin. They crawled up my arms, burning as they made their way across my chest and neck. I looked in terror as they branched across my body like roots, digging themselves deeper.

“Layne…?” My voice was strained as I choked out the words. “What’s…happening?”

Silence.

Ethan’s hands tightened on mine, tears welling in his eyes. “Who’s Layne? Evie, I don’t know what to do!”

I writhed again, rolling onto my back. The dark sky stared back at me as moonlight filtered down, casting everything in silver and shadow.

A warm glow slowly bloomed around us as we looked at each other, frozen with fear, while the water rippled around us.

Golden light pulsed across the entire water’s surface, as if the sun itself were rising from the depths of the ocean.

The rattle of chains echoed through the night air, as if some massive lock had opened and been discarded, clattering to the ground.

My skin prickled at the sound.

I’d heard that sound before.

That very first night, when everything changed.

We both jerked our heads toward the sound, searching for the source, but it reverberated all around us, impossible to locate.

Our eyes darted back to the rippling water. Golden light erupted from beneath the Bay, salt spray showering down on us in a sparkling golden mist.

Rising from the depths, a sphere of inky shadows and golden light lifted out of the water.

Ethan’s grip on my hand tightened.

“Evie…what the hell is that…”

I couldn't answer. Didn’t want to know the answer.

My eyes were locked onto whatever the hell was in front of me, unable to look away. It ascended slowly, hovering just above the water's surface, directly in front of us.