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The memory was seared into me, the warmth of his lips still fresh on my own, soft and gentle. The traitorous flutter of my heart, still racing in my chest. The one I'd been trying to drown since the night we met.

I wanted him. I wanted all of him.

But then I remembered his face. The absolute terror as he stared back at me. He had seen me in that moment, or at least some form of me.

The real me.

The golden glow in his eyes. There was no doubting the curse's fingerprint—the stranglehold it had on him.

My feelings were killing him.

I was killing him.

Rounding the corner shoreline of the West Point Lighthouse, I swam along the rocky path toward the familiar husk of the drowned tree.

I threw myself against its decaying trunk, pressing my back against it and squeezing my eyes shut, wishing the darkness would swallow me entirely.

I should have stayed away from him.

I’d told myself I didn’t care. Love wasn't something I’d wanted before the curse, and it damn sure wasn't an option for me now. Revenge was what fueled me. Revenge was why I'd said yes to Layne.

My inability to stop caring for Ethan—that was on me. But still, he made me feel human again. An escape from the hunger, the curse, the rage. Like for a moment, there was some part of me that was still normal.

I scoffed and dug my hands into the gritty silt, squeezing fistfuls of it until my knuckles ached.

Normal. The water eddied around me, the resentment of that word burning inside my mind. As if some of the old Evelyn Graymore I once was still lived inside of me.

A beautiful lie.

Grief. Guilt. Rage.

All of it welled up inside me, and my throat prickled like I’d swallowed needles. I doubled over as a surge of emotion raged inside my chest, the warmth slowly crawling up my body until it lodged in my throat like a fiery stone.

I couldn't handle this anymore.

I was tired of it. So fucking tired of all of it.

Why me?

Why fucking me?

What the fuck did I do to deserve all of this?

I threw my head back and screamed, releasing the maelstrom of emotion inside. Golden light barrelled from my mouth, shooting upwards, splitting the water from the violent torrent of magic. Above me, the surface thrashed and churned in its wake.

The Sound answered my call: fish scattering in all directions, the enormous golden light illuminating the all-consuming darkness that surrounded me.

All of my anger, my grief, shining like a lighthouse beacon, cutting through the night. I screamed until my lungs ached. Until my voice felt tattered and frayed.

The light of my golden scream wavered, slowly fading to a subtle trickle until it finally dissipated. Only a scattering of bubbles drifted lazily in the quiet that remained.

Slumping to the seafloor, my body gave way, and my cheek pressed into the cold sandy muck. Silt shifted below my shaky hands, and my breath came ragged and raw.

It’s too much, I thought. I don't want this anymore. For the first time, I wanted nothing more than to sink into the abyss…just like I should have done that night.

Shadows slowly crept past my hand, coiling around my fingers and brushing my cheek.

Layne’s voice cut through the murky darkness like a knife. “You’re breaking, little drowned one…”