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Clare didn’t say anything to Roman, though her closed mouth shifted as if she wanted to.

To hell with her. The woman had done absolutely nothing to help Pax since Donovan had started his magic lessons, had done nothing to stop the pain her husband inflicted on the poor kid. Roman couldn’t give a shit if she died. A part of him hoped she would; it was a better fate than being married to that asshole. Roman sometimes wondered if Donovan beat her, choosing to hit her in the places her clothes covered. It would be easy to conceal the truth with the sound barriers a hellseher’s magic could generate, but he wouldn’t put it past his fucked-up dad to gag her too, just for fun. He was into shit like that.

Roman would know; he’d done it to his mother.

He walked out of the house that by all rights should be his, and got in his car to head to the one place in the whole world that he could really call his own.

But first, he had a stop to make.

65

The Riptide

YVESWICH, STATE OF KER

When Shay made it out of the House of Blue and down to the rocky coast of the island, she took out her shapeshifting bracelet and prepared to put it on. It would be a long swim, but aside from the motorboats and jet skis that were rarely used, it was the only way off this island.

Sea glass and stones that had been tumbled smooth by ocean waves clacked under her feet. She still wore her hiking boots, jean shorts, and a white tank—clothes that still smelled like the desert. Like Roman. It was cold out, and a storm was brewing, wind whipping through the trees and making the branches groan like dying animals. But it didn’t bother her. Not when her blood was boiling and her head was about to explode.

Three figures appeared up ahead. Three beautiful women dressed in wetsuits and drenched in water.

Pia, Beatrice, and Kailani were heading this way.

Shay stopped short. It didn’t take long before the three of them were surrounding her like vultures.

“Look who finally decided to show up,” Kailani drawled.

“What do you want?” Shay bit out.

Beatrice’s broad smile was as cold as the gusting wind tearing through Shay’s hair. “You—gone for good.” They circled her, stones shifting under their water shoes.

“Anna’s dead,” Pia said. “And I want her title.”

“Who the hell told you that?” Shay snapped. “She’s not dead—”

“It’s been weeks, Shayla!” Kailani shouted over the wind. “She’s not coming back.”

“She’s not dead!” Shay’s voice was a thunderclap. The sky echoed it, the sound like boulders cracking together.

Shay felt it—the warning. Lightning prickled beneath her skin, and she gritted her teeth as it forked up her nape, digging deep into her skull.

Pia moved, quick as the lightning shattering the rain-bloated sky. She hooked her fingers through Shay’s bracelet and pulled.

The elastic stretched and snapped. Mermaid glass flew through the air and tinkled across the rocks.

With a guttural snarl, Shay lunged for Pia—

A spear of lightning struck the air between them, the sound a clap that rattled eardrums and sent Pia falling back on her ass.

The other two girls stumbled away with wide, frightful eyes. Kailani pulled Pia to her feet.

Pia stared at Shay as if she didn’t recognize her. “What the hell was that?”

Storm magic set Shay’s eyes aglow as she panted through bared teeth, “Don’t ever come near me again, or I’ll burn you all alive.”

They backed up, their panicked gazes flicking between the sparks in Shay’s palms and the lightning threading through her teeth.

The Selkies fled.