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  Graham had created a tornado under water. Using his hands to bend the element to his will, he managed to conjure up a giant whirlpool of sorts with us in the center and the ratchets spinning around uncontrollably on the outside. I watched in fascination as he wielded the energy from the water and directed it toward incapacitating our attackers.

  Somehow, the lead ratchet escaped the currents and barreled straight forward into both of us. The impact knocked us back and Graham was forced to drop control over the water. He needed to maintain the tornado in order for us to even have some semblance of a chance. So without thinking, I pushed him behind me and grabbed the massive dog-eel around the body to yank him away from Graham.

  Keep going! I yelled in my mind, not knowing if Graham would be able to understand. I really didn’t have time to wait and see because a large set of canines chomped down on my arm and I screamed in pain. His grip tightened and I was forced to let go of his back.

  Using my free hand, I pushed my thumb into the ratchet’s eye until he let go of my arm. As soon he did, I backed away and spared a glance at Graham. The tornado was moving again and this time I saw him use tendrils of water to grab individual ratchets and slam their bodies together. It seemed to be killing them and I quickly felt reassured. They may be water sprites, but they can still be killed.

  I suddenly remembered something. We should be able to control water sprites, at least to a degree. I looked at the ratchet swimming straight for me and thought Stop! in my head as hard as I could. He continued to come at me, so I held up my hands and commanded him to stop again.

  It was futile. His jaws were open and focused on my extended arm. With a rush of dread, I realized I couldn’t control him. Then abruptly, he jerked away from me. I looked at Graham in surprise as he commanded a strand of water to grab a hold of the ratchet and pull it closer to him.

  The creature shrieked as the water crushed his ribs like a constricting snake. Graham’s eyes focused on the ratchet but I noticed his body trembling with overexertion. Belatedly, I also realized there were no more ratchets spinning around us. I assumed they were dead, but the water was too dark to see if their bodies sunk to the bottom. Graham whipped his arms around and I saw another tendril appear out of nowhere and wrap around the ratchet’s snarling head. The water sprite still struggled to break free but his movements were waning. It was only a few seconds longer before I heard the breaking of bones as his body was flattened to an unnatural shape by the force of the water.

  His final yelp echoed through our surroundings and something dark began to seep from his body. I didn’t know if it was blood, but it was definitely a symbol of his demise. With a final toss, Graham used his watery arms to throw the creature down toward the bottom of the ocean.

  Once it drifted safely out of sight, I rushed over to him and wrapped my arms tightly around his chest. He had saved us and I would forever be grateful.

  Graham nodded toward the surface so I began to move my tail to lift us out of the water. We broke through and gasped for a clean breath of air. Graham breathed heavily and he looked tired. I focused on the beach that was now at least half a mile away and tried to see if there were anymore ratchets waiting for us. In the distance, I noticed an orange glowing light coming from the area of Jeremiah’s house and my heart sank when I realized it was fire. Many people probably died tonight and although I didn’t know most of them, it still saddened me.

  “Are you okay?” Graham asked with a raspy voice like he’d just woken up for a nap.

  “He got my arm but I’ll heal.” I turned to look back at the house. “We need to go help.”

  “Yes, we do.” He dropped his head in shame. “I just knew that this was the only place I could fight them.”

  I swam over to him and grabbed his face, giving his cheek a quick kiss. “I’m not accusing you of running away, Graham. You were amazing. But now we need to go back.”

  A small grin appeared in the corner of his mouth. “Amazing, huh?”

  I sighed in frustration and pushed away from him. Now was not the time to flirt. I dove head first into the dark ocean and stayed under the surface as I propelled myself toward the beach. I didn’t know if Graham would follow me, but I soon sensed his presence by my side.

  When we got closer to the shore, I commanded my body to change so before I reached the beach, I was walking on two legs again. Graham changed quickly too and emerged from the surf like a sea god. The man was certainly too good looking for anyone to see and the way he sauntered over toward me let me know he anticipated my reaction.

  He grabbed my arm and held it up into the moonlight to examine the wound. Even though this wasn’t the time to flirt, I couldn’t help but feel the electricity shooting through my body. His hand rubbed lightly against the raised gashes that had partially healed with my transition. And when his lips gently pressed along my skin it took every ounce of fiber in my being not to jump into his arms.

  “What are you doing,” I whispered. Without removing his lips from my arm he lifted his eyes up to meet my gaze.

  “Healing your wounds,” his accented voice cooed.

  “I think I’m healed now.” I didn’t want him to stop but it was too dangerous for him to continue. His eyes blazed with desire.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay.” His hands slid down and grasped my fingers, pulling me a couple of steps closer. “Isn’t this exciting?”

  Not knowing exactly what he was talking about I asked, “What? Almost dying or standing naked on the beach?”

  He laughed and pulled me close enough to wrap his arms around my lower back. Pressed up against his warm body, my heart beat so hard in my chest I was sure he could hear it. “Both, luv.”

  That snapped me back into my senses. “People are dying Graham, and you’re excited about it?”

  “Ah, that’s not exactly what I meant and I think you know that.” He looked down at me with his trademark intense stare and momentarily stunned me into silence. “I’m excited you’re here in my arms when the odds were against us.”

  “And you also enjoy the battle.”

  “And I enjoy some aspects of the battle,” he smiled.

  “You’re an adrenaline junkie,” I stated.

  “Perhaps.”

  “Well, feed your desires at the house. I’m sure there are a few more ratchets there for you to squeeze to death.” I’d finally found something I didn’t like about him and I was going to use that to keep my hormones in check from now on.

  “If I could truly feed my desires, luv, then we wouldn’t be going back to that house.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to ignore his implications. Why did he have this power over me? He leaned forward and pressed his lips to the top of my head, reminding me of how Brendan used to comfort me.

  And that was all it took.

  I pushed away from him and began jogging back toward the house. I missed Brendan and Graham simply didn’t compare. “We need to go help Jeremiah,” I yelled behind me, not really caring if he followed or not. In fact, the further away he stayed, the better I’d probably handle the situation awaiting us at the house.

  The situation was bad. Graham caught up to me by the time I ran through the gates and got my first glimpse of the destruction. Several small fires burned in various parts of the property and bodies littered the front lawn. The servant quarters, as Jeremiah called them, were almost completely destroyed by the fire at this point. I didn’t know exactly how many humans slept in there, but I knew it was a lot and I worried not a single one escaped.

  Graham walked past me and through the front door of the house. I took longer, being sure to step over the pieces of body parts and puddles of blood. There didn’t seem to be any ratchets left, but they’d certainly caused an immense amount of damage. Tears poured from my eyes without control as I walked around at least a dozen humans and several protectors who died fighting for us.

  When I reached the front door, Graham nearly ran into me. “Here,” he said while shov
ing a robe into my hands. Already covered up, the look on his face told me I wasn’t going to like what he had to say next. “I need you to come with me.”

  He turned and I followed him down the dark hallway leading to the indoor pool at the rear of the house. People were scattered all over the other rooms and the grand staircase. Many were crying, most were injured, and I noticed only a few were in good enough shape to move around and help the others. Those creatures had caused so much death in such a short amount of time. It made me wonder how we were ever going to beat Lucian if this was his doing. My emotions were shattered, my vision blurred with tears, and I felt scared.

  I was fairly certain this attack had been planned. It happened at night when most would be asleep and there had been water sprites. Lucian’s go-to assassins of the water world. I’d tried to control them, and I’d failed. I’d failed everyone here and everyone who was still on Lucian’s hit list. Yet when we walked into the atrium area, all thoughts of pity and dismay disappeared as I saw what lay before me.

  The pool shimmered an eerie red and several body parts floated around at the surface. Two protectors leaned against the wall near the door, one helping to stop the other from bleeding out of a dangerous wound on his neck. It seemed hopeless and I watched as the injured merman who’d pledged his life to protect others, closed his eyes for a final time. His friend began to sob and it was almost too much for me to handle. Until something else caught my attention.

  Near the wooden table Jeremiah used for impromptu meetings, laid the merman and his pet selkie. Malcolm was leaning over Jeremiah and whispering something to his master. He gently stroked his head and Jeremiah’s hand clasped tightly around the selkie’s arm. Graham and I ran forward.

  “Malcolm! How is he?” I fell to my knees, suddenly afraid of what might happen to the man who taught me so much the past few days.

  Malcolm shook his head. “It’s not good. They got his femoral artery. He’s bleeding out.”

  “Can’t he change and heal himself?” I asked. But when I looked at Jeremiah’s face I knew the answer. His normally tanned skin glowed a sickly pale color and his barely noticeable breathing sounded forced. Graham knelt next to us without saying a word.

  “Eviana…” Jeremiah whispered. I moved so I could lean down close to his face to hear him.

  “I’m here, Jeremiah.” I nearly choked on my words. For as much as I loathed the man just a few days earlier, this was not how he deserved to die. I couldn’t stop the tears.

  “Are you crying for me?” he asked in a strangled sort of whisper.

  “Shh. Don’t talk.” I continued to rub his head while Malcolm and Graham sat silently by his side.

  “You need to know…something…” Jeremiah started to cough and Malcolm suddenly cried out. The artery in his leg shot blood with each spasm and even though Malcolm had his hands pressed into the wound, it wasn’t enough. A large pool of blood seeped out around us, evidence that Jeremiah didn’t have much time left. He reached up and grabbed my hand.

  “You...not…safe.”

  “It’s okay, Jeremiah. They’re all gone. Graham killed all of the ratchets.” Malcolm’s head snapped up and he gawked at Graham. Whether it was because of the ratchets or the fact Graham had been able to kill them, I didn’t know. Now wasn’t the time to ask. Plus, Jeremiah was still trying to tell me something.

  “Not safe…him…too close...” I had absolutely no idea what he wanted to say. I knew it wasn’t safe for me to be around Lucian. My parent’s death had shown me that. But it seemed as if he was trying to tell me something more.

  “Go…home…and…speak…with…” he coughed again. His eyes rolled back and he finally took a deep breath. Only this time when he let it out, he never moved again.

  “Jeremiah!” I shouted and shook him by the shoulders. “Jeremiah!”

  Malcolm sat back on the ground and sighed. “He’s gone now.” He ran his hands over his face and head, and because they were covered in blood, it made for a gruesome sight.

  “I need to call this in,” Graham announced as he pushed up to his feet and made his way out of the room.

  I looked down at Jeremiah. Shunned by his clan, more arrogant than a god, and killed by a supernatural dog. Using my hand to close his eyes, I set his head gently on the ground and turned my back to his lifeless body. The sight in the pool didn’t help to calm me any, so I closed my eyes and listened to the distant background noise of the beating drum soundtrack Jeremiah liked to play in here.

  “We need to do a body count,” Malcolm suddenly said. Looking at the pool again and remembering the carnage out front, I wondered how accurate that count might be.

  “Start with the live ones,” I said. He nodded and got to work. I watched as he helped the protector leave his dead friend behind to assist with the task. Most of the protectors were usually ex-military so putting their emotions away to deal with an emergency situation should be second nature to them.

  I, on the other hand, was not getting any better at handling all of this death and destruction. Lucian wanted a meeting with the Council and with me. They didn’t want to negotiate, but after witnessing this bloodbath tonight, I knew I had to change their minds. All of these senseless deaths could have been prevented. Should have been prevented.

  My thoughts drifted to that overturned cruise ship. Thousands of innocent people killed in order to make a point. Lucian Sutherland was insane, but the only way to fight that right now was to hear him out. He obviously wanted to make some demands, and I needed to convince the Council it was worth our time to at least listen to him. Then we could strategize for the best way to take him out.

  I stood and found a discarded towel with only a little blood on it and used it to cover up Jeremiah’s body. Closing my eyes, I wished for him to have a peaceful afterlife then walked out of the room.

  I continued until I reached the front door where I saw Graham pacing back and forth yelling into his cell phone. To my right was the dining room where the three of us had recently shared our meals. Now those nights felt like a lifetime ago.

  Everything was changing again. War with Lucian would be inevitable now, and how we handled ourselves from here was yet to be determined. Graham stepped into the house and let out a long breath.

  “What’s the plan?” I asked.

  I must have startled him because he jumped a little to the side when I spoke. “The Council is sending a clean-up crew now. They should be here in an hour.” A clean-up crew? That sounded so horrible.

  “Did you tell them about Jeremiah?”

  “Yes.” He paced around the room some more until Malcolm’s appearance stopped him dead in his tracks.

  “There are only ten of us left, Mistress.”

  “Ten?” I gasped. There had to have been at least three times that many living here just a few hours ago.

  “Yes. Ten. Six humans, three protectors, and me.”

  “Jesus,” Graham breathed and ran another hand through his head. “We need to get out of here.” He began pressing buttons on his phone again.

  “Mistress Eviana?” Malcolm edged closer to me. “What’s going to happen to us now?”

  The question caught me off guard. “Wouldn’t you like to live on your own?”

  He shook his head. “Maybe the humans would, but the protectors and I don’t know what else we would do. This is all we know.” The sadness in his eyes nearly made me cry again and before I could stop myself, I had a solution.

  “Then come home with me.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. We’re all going to need more protection and there is no reason for you to stay here.” He lurched forward and grabbed me in a hug. The smell of selkie washed over me, and I felt nostalgic for home.

  “Thank you.” He squeezed me for a while. “I’m going to tell the others.” Before I could stop him, he was gone. Graham stared at me from the doorway.

  “You invited him to your home?”

  “Yes. He and the protectors still left al
ive. They have nowhere else to go.”

  “Huh,” he grunted while scrutinizing me with his eyes. “You really are something else.” I ignored him and asked a more pressing question.

  “What do we do about the humans?”

  “The team will erase their memories and patch them up.” He gave me a sarcastic glare. “Unless you invited them to California too?”

  I rolled my eyes. “No.” But maybe I should. Would having their memories erased really be the right thing to do? Although bringing them back with me into what certainly was going to be a war, really didn’t seem like the best idea either.

  “Our ride will be here in an hour,” Graham continued. “We should collect what we can and let the clean-up crew handle the rest.”

  I nodded in agreement as he trudged up the stairs toward his room. I didn’t really want to pack when all of these people around me had just lost their lives. Something about it seemed wrong. It wasn’t fair that I lived and they didn’t. It’s wasn’t fair that my friend Lily had been killed simply because she was a mermaid. So much death.

  I slid to the floor, momentarily frozen with grief. I thought of my parents, especially my mother. The way Lucian snapped her neck so coldly and methodically…it ripped my heart out. I began to cry and once the tears started, I couldn’t stop them if I tried. Thankfully, everyone left me alone and gave me the privacy I needed. I cried for my parents, my friend, Jeremiah, and all of the protectors that lost their lives tonight.

  At some point the tears stopped and I forced myself to collect my belongings for the trip back home. My cell phone buzzed with messages, but I didn’t want to talk to anyone else right now. I just needed a little more time before I dealt with the world.

  “Are you ready?” Graham’s soft voice asked from my opened door.

  “Almost.”

  He stepped inside and sat on my bed, watching me as I packed up the final pieces of clothes. “They’re going to fly us to the airport and then we’ll start home.”

  “Where are you going?”