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His eyes flashed with understanding. Because, geysers, he was Storm . Always able to read her mind. “Thinking about the Ceremony?”

“More like what comes after.” She sighed, her fingers tightening around his of their own volition. “Arden never wants to think about it. Certainly never wants to talk about it.”

He breathed a laugh. “She’s going to have to.”

“Maybe.” Or maybe she’d do exactly what she’d done for the rest of her life—be perfectly content on their little island world.

Helping her father. Diving with their friends.

Studying whatever facet of nature intrigued her this month.

Never feeling that itch to see more, experience more, do more, be more.

Jade envied her that contentment. Much like she envied Storm the certainty that the results of the Ceremony couldn’t possibly change his dreams. Guardians could be Awakened or Unawakened.

“She doesn’t want to think about what it’s going to be like when you’re gone,” he said softly.

Her shoulders stiffened, while her spine straightened unnaturally.

He noticed. Of course. “Even if you’re Unawakened, you’ll be going off to university, Jade. Whatever the results, you’ll be gone in another two months, and she means to stay here.”

The thought of leaving the island sent excitement dancing through her veins—but the people were a different matter, Arden especially. “She’s going to come. Study birds or something.”

Storm snorted a laugh. “Sure she is. Can you really imagine her cooped up all day in classrooms?”

A grin slipped onto her lips. Arden had been in constant trouble in school for truancy.

Mama and Papa had eventually relented and let her do her schooling at home, via crystal, so she could study outside.

Jade had turned down the offer to join her—she preferred the school with the other children.

She’d enjoyed studying them as much as her lessons. “She could last a term or two.”

“How optimistic.” Storm led her along the jetty a ways, until they were out past the surf, then to the breakers.

Waves crashed around them, tumbling over themselves, splashing against the rocks. A few flecks of water landed on her legs and arms, cooling her as they dried.

She wanted to go. To university, to a diplomatic posting, to the undersea placement she dreamed of. But she’d miss this. Knowing every inch of her island home. The dance and churn that came where worlds collided. The people who had surrounded her all her life.

Most of all, she’d miss Storm, whose calm presence eased the tension banding her chest. She turned to look at him, her gaze tracing each line of his profile. Memorizing. Storing it away to draw out when she was gone and all alone and yearned to be near him.

He turned too, met her gaze. Made her breath tangle up somewhere inside her chest. Only when they were alone, which rarely happened, did he look at her like this. Like he could go on looking forever. Like his whole soul yearned for her like she wanted to pretend hers didn’t do for him.

His thumb caressed her knuckles, and he leaned an inch closer.

Then stopped. Because he was Storm, and he was bent on driving her mad.

She swallowed, telling herself to leave it at that.

To untangle her fingers from his. Untangle her heart from his and walk away.

Today, in a month, in two months. She was only nineteen, she had dreams waiting to be chased, she didn’t need to get tangled up with a romance that couldn’t go anywhere.

But her heart was pounding and her cheeks were flushing and if she didn’t kiss him at least once before they both left to pursue their careers, she’d regret it the rest of her life. So she leaned closer too, stretched up, and prayed he’d at least meet her halfway.

He did. His free hand came up to rest against her cheek as his lips touched hers, caressed, held there, soft and undemanding, until she thought she’d explode from wanting more.

Her fingers abandoned his so that she could reach both arms up to wrap around him.

Pull him closer. Demand he didn’t leave her wanting, wondering, all her life.

It felt partly like victory, partly like defeat when his arms came around her too, when he pulled her tight against him, when his kiss went from sweet to passionate.

Victory, because she’d broken through that calm reserve of his.

Defeat, because she knew in that moment it wasn’t just a crush. Had never been just a crush.

When he pulled away far enough for them to catch their breath s , he rested his forehead on hers. She should probably step out of his embrace. Make excuses. Run home.

She couldn’t. Her arms refused to release their hold. What did those future dreams really matter right now anyway? They only needed this moment.

His hands settled at her waist, anchoring her. “I’ll come to university.”

The words made so little sense that for a moment, she thought she’d imagined them. Until she pulled her head from his and looked in his eyes. Then the meaning crashed over her like a rogue wave. “Storm—no. You have been training for years to join the Guard—”

“I don’t want to be like Uncle Rico in everything, Jade. I don’t want to wait twenty years before I really start my life. And I know how you dream of serving in the Sunken Cities. I won’t ask you to give that up.”

“But you think I’d ask you to give up what you were made for?” She pulled away more, stepping free of his hands, because she couldn’t think straight when she was that close to him. “Absolutely not.”

“I love you.”

He said it so simply, so easily that she could only stand a step away and gape at him.

She’d eventually made another argument about not letting him make such a sacrifice for her, and when he’d reverted to that stoic peace, she’d shaken her head and run away.

The darkness swallowed her again, the memory drifting away.

But the panic of it remained, slashing through her.

She’d missed her chance to tell Storm she loved him, thinking she could say it another day if she wanted.

Thinking she shouldn’t love him, not when they were so young, not when they had so much life to live first. Thinking it couldn’t be real.

Real made no sense either. Real was hands gripping her arms until they ached, real was mer tails in her vision, but not in the teal she was used to seeing. Black. Black scales, black fins, black water threatening to consume her, and she couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t breathe.

She thrashed, trying to break free of the crushing weight of water, of the iron grips on her arms, of the sticky, heavy something clouding her mind and trying to drag her back into yesterday again, or to the place with all the blood, where her sister was lost to the clutches of a monster.

A jerk on her arm pulled her gaze to the right, where a furious female face filled her vision beyond a strange distortion. A series of clicks and calls reached her ears, like the ones the islanders created with their devices, only smoother. Coming from the mermaid’s mouth.

Jade didn’t yet know the language that had always put her in mind of dolphin calls—those courses couldn’t be taken by crystal or before the university level—but she had no trouble gathering the meaning. Stop it, you fool . Or something even harsher.

This was not how she was supposed to meet her first mer. What did they want with her? Why had they stolen her away? All the stories she’d heard, the ones she’d always insisted were gross exaggerations or empty prejudice, slammed into her mind. She tried again to yank free of their grasp.

The mer kidnap land-dwellers to offer them as sacrifice to their false god, the One.

The mer steal pretty girls away and force them into marriages that are little better than slavery, to create more magical children they can enslave.

The mer kidnap children of powerful land-dwellers and hold them captive for blackmail.

She’d fought back when they’d taken her—she had that comfort. She’d still had the strange blade in her bag, and she’d wrestled it free in time to slash out and draw blood from one of them. Then…then…what?

Why couldn’t she think straight? The world around her didn’t look so dark now, but it had all taken on a strange blue-green glow. And her limbs felt so heavy, but maybe that was the weight of the water. Pressing. Suffocating. Drowning.

She was drowning, she had to be drowning. Gasping, she fought to free her hands, to reach for her mouthpiece so she could take a hit of oxygen.

But no, she’d spat it out in the boat.

A form took shape above her, bringing awareness to her own position.

Whoever had her by the arms was dragging her forward, but she was facing behind them, head toward the surface of the water, only her captors’ tails visible on either side of her legs.

The figure swam into the space right above her and held out a palm, resting it on…

A bubble. There was a bubble around her head, and it must have been made of glass, because it didn’t give under his hand. That must be what kept her from drowning and allowed her to breathe. Yes, she could feel air coming into the bubble from something down at her neck.

Then she was aware only of his palm. It had a strange mark on it. A white swirl against the skin that probably would have looked pink in sunlight but took on a blue cast here in the water. It was intricate. Patterned. And tracing its movement brought a measure of calm.

Was it glowing, that mark? That was odd. Must be her imagination. A trick of the strange light. But when she glanced past the hand, to the face hovering a few inches above hers, there was no mistaking the warm, peaceful smile. He nodded, as if to say, See there? You’re fine.

She nodded back.

She didn’t know who these mer were or why they’d kidnapped her, but they were keeping her alive—for now at least. And she probably shouldn’t do anything to endanger that. She took in a few careful, measured breaths, and let her limbs relax again.