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“If he pulled the stunts you have, you’d better believe it!”

“I find that hard to believe.”

Her nostrils flare. “That’s because you’ve underestimated me from the beginning, you slimy little eel.”

I ignore the dig. “You think you haven’t underestimated me? I have the Ayers power, and I’ve killed a king! You really want to test me?”

“I managed to get you out to the woods your first night. That was just the beginning of what I can do!”

Anger swirls around me. “Did you happen to notice I got away?”

“Took you all night. That’s hardly impressive.”

My hands heat as the green glow brightens and a ball forms between my palms.

“You think that scares me?”

“It should!” The ball grows and casts an emerald light on us and the walls.

People have gathered on the stairs watching us from above and below. Hushed whispers run through the onlookers.

“Why would that scare me?” Earwyn demands.

I turn my attention back to her. “Maybe because I’ve killed a king with it!”

She pretends to yawn. “You keep bringing that up like it’s supposed to mean something. Like I’m supposed to care. You’re nothing more than an entitled first-year who gets everything handed to her! You think you’re better than the rest of us, but you’re not. Not even close!”

“It’s dangerous! And I’m not trying to brag. Do you think I’m proud about what I did?”

Earwyn hesitates. “You’re not?”

“He was my dad!”

“And he was also a horrible king. Not just that—a rotten merman. He deserved to die!”

“It’s because of people like you that he’s dead!” Without thinking, I throw the ball at her ugly face.

She moves out of the way, and the ball barely misses her. Crashes into the wall, cracking it. Leaving a hole in its stead. Earwyn’s eyes are wide and her face pale. She gasps. “You just threw that at me!”

“And you’re surprised?” I clench my fists, and they glow green again.

She straightens her back. “I’m going straight to Middlebrooks!”

“I can go to the king!” Everything around us takes on an emerald hue.

“Oh, stop bragging! Just wait until he has kids. After that, you’re going to be displaced.” She gets in my face. “You’ll be nothing.”

I hold another glowing ball between us. “Sure you want to go with that narrative?”

“Yeah, because you’re completely replaceable. And Tiberias will forget all about you once he has a true heir!”

Anger pulsates through me. All I can think about is how I want to show her. To shut her up for good. “He won’t replace me!”

“You’re just a niece. Get over it! You killed your chance at being queen someday. You might wish you were the next Queen Sirena.” She laughs cruelly. “Pathetic! That’s all you are. Except nobody feels sorry for you.”

“I’m Tiberias’s daughter! The true heir to the throne! If he has more kids, they’ll be my siblings.” Suddenly, I realize what I’ve said. That I blurted out the truth to my enemy in front of all these onlookers—and I haven’t told Bash or Halen yet.

“Is that true?” Earwyn’s voice is so quiet, I almost can’t hear her.

I cover my mouth. Glance around. Everyone else looks as shocked as she does. The stairwell seems to be closing in on me. What have I done?

“I need to go.” I push past the students above us and onto my floor.

Bash and Halen are right there.

They heard everything. Halen’s expression is hurt and Bash’s is full of disappointment because I kept the secret from them until blurting it out to our whole dorm.

I’ve betrayed my real dad and hurt my friends in one moment.

I swim away as fast as I can.