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“Remember what I told you, Amari,” my mother states, her voice low and hushed as if she doesn’t want anyone to overhear. “The future of our kind rests on your shoulders. You mustn’t fail.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” It’s the same speech that she has given me for the past year as she prepared me for this very moment. Queen Zola Malika, ruler of the Siren Queendom, floats in the water next to me, her closest friend, Themu Adanna, flanking my other side. We stare in the direction of the Mortal Kingdom, where King Fionn and his son, Prince Erik, are waiting to greet us. The meeting details were laid out as the rulers of each realm had spoken through their respective magical Mirrors.

“I do not like this plan,” Themu expresses, her third time doing so since we left the capital of Lumen. I glance at her from the corner of my eye, trailing over her dark umber skin and the way her bright green braids gleam beneath the sunlight above. “It could be a trap.”

My mother grips her golden trident so harshly that her knuckles lighten in color. “Themu, have you no faith in your queen?”

“I have every faith in you, Zola. In Amari as well. It is the men I do not trust. You see the looks they give us when we walk in their cities. The leering .”

“I do not trust them either. However, we need a pliant king. Once Amari is welcomed into the palace and our people into the kingdom freely, then we can enact the rest of our plan,” my mother says as she narrows her eyes keenly towards the coast. “For too long, we beings of two worlds have been forced to stay relegated to one. Sirens deserve the land as much as we do the sea. Once Amari is married to Prince Erik, she will help us gain what we are owed and I will rule over two realms.”

I lift my chin up, keeping my fingers relaxed at my sides despite my mother’s declaration. I am her eldest daughter; rule of the Siren Queendom will one day fall to me. I merely have to pretend to love the mortal prince until I can get him under my thrall and order him to do my bidding. Then we will finally have a space above land to call our own that isn’t a small island. Power is nothing but a tool for you to take, Amari. Do not hesitate to claim it. My mother’s words ring soundly in my mind.

“Men always have ulterior motives—secret plans of ways they think that they will gain the upper hand. All we need is to feed into the king’s ego until Amari is married, and then no one will be able to deny our rule when the king and prince die.”

“And if the mortals fight against it? We cannot take on an entire mortal army,” Themu growls, her bright green tail swishing angrily beneath her.

“Enough, Themu. It is time to go,” my mother snaps before darting towards the coast in a flash of deep blue scales and braids.

“You better hope that she is right, or we’ll be dooming our queendom.”

My top lip lifts in a snarl as I show Themu my teeth. “You better hope that she doesn’t grow tired of the way you constantly undermine her.” Then I join my mother in swimming to the Mortal Kingdom’s beach.

Warm air brushes against my skin, my eyes drawing down my body as we emerge from the ocean and step foot into the soft, dry sand. My dark purple scales retreat into my skin, their leftover luminescence a faint glow in the sunlight. Soft ringlet curls drape down to my hips, covering my breasts. The first few moments of walking on feet are always jarring, my toes flexing in the sand with every step I take. My mother and Themu transform as well, and together, we head towards the small gathering of royals on the beach.

“Greetings, Queen Zola. Welcome back to the glorious land of the Mortal Kingdom.” King Fionn’s voice is grating against my skin, and I fight the urge to sneer in his direction. He’s a portly man, his round belly stuffed tightly into a tunic of rich blue with gold adornments. His crown glints under the sun, the ruby-red jewels and diamonds laid within it large enough that I wonder if its weight hurts his head. He wears a sword of gold strapped to his hip, and as we step closer, I see a gold pin formed to look like the head of a roaring lion placed just below his collarbone on the right side.

He runs his hazel eyes over us, lingering on our naked bodies much too long. When he catches sight of my mother’s crown—one made of spiraling seashells, pearls, and aquamarine diamonds—he smirks, as if she’s nothing more than a child playing dress-up. He, at least, pays more respect to the diamond-tipped golden trident she holds in her hand. Despite us possessing magic that could bend him to our will, King Fionn looks at us like the trident is the only weapon worth being wary of.

“Your Majesty, the honor is all mine.” My mother’s voice is serene and lovely, holding no hint of the brutal power I know lies beneath her skin. “This is my daughter, Princess Amari, and my advisor, Themu.” Advisor isn’t a word we use in the Siren Queendom. There is the queen and her court; sometimes, my sisters and I serve as the right hand to the queen in matters that require her attention. But no one advises Queen Zola. She does as she wants. Her word is final.

I dip my head and hold it there in a small bow for five seconds, each one feeling much too long for a show of respect towards this imbecile. When I lift my gaze again, I wait for the king’s eyes to rise up from the lower half of my body. They do, only briefly meeting my gaze before his attention goes back to my mother. As he speaks to her, I look past him to the men lining the beach. Most look like guards, their armor a heinous gold that covers them from head to toe. Standing directly behind the king is another man wearing a much smaller crown. Prince Erik .

He’s handsome enough. His light brown hair is neatly trimmed, the top strands longer but styled in a way that leaves his face unobscured. Hazel eyes match his father’s, while a short beard frames the lower half of his face. His eyes snap to mine, and there is nothing but bored interest laid bare within them. My lips curl up at the corners as I roll my shoulders back and clasp my hands behind me.

My mother often laments on the simplistic nature of the male brain. They want to rule, and they want to fuck, and there is not much in between that they care about . So I push my breasts out farther, my curvy body on display for his consumption. Yet the prince looks almost appalled and directs his focus forward again.

“That is not what we agreed upon,” my mother says sharply, her tone sending a chill over me. I turn my head to look at her, the breeze coming off the water gently rustling her hair. Themu stands on her other side, her lips flat in a grim line.

“I know, I know. You wanted official land for your kind. But you women are already welcome to walk the streets and spend your coin here any time you like! That won’t change.”

“Females,” Themu seethes, her light green eyes flaring. “ Women is not a siren word.”

King Fionn chuckles as he shakes his head. “Of course. In any case, the truth is, my son has informed me that his heart is already spoken for by another. So marrying the princess is no longer an option.”

Dread curdles my stomach, but I keep myself still as my mother takes a small step forward. The guards in gold follow suit, only stopping when the king lifts his hand. Prince Erik’s eyes widen as he seems to recoil in on himself. Fucking coward .

“We had a deal —”

“We had a verbal discussion at best, and one that was not set in stone. My son is in love with someone else, one more fit to be the future queen of the Mortal Realm than a being who has spent her life beneath the surface.” His smile is cruel as he adds, “A female of half land is still part fish.”

My mother growls, her talons growing out from her fingertips. The hair on the back of my neck rises as she opens her mouth to start singing. One of the guards snaps his arm forward, and something whistles through the air, a quick glint in the sunlight before pain flares to life in my thigh. I scream, my fingers framing my leg where the multi-colored jeweled hilt of a dagger sticks out.

“We must go,” Themu snarls, wrapping her hand around my arm tightly. Pain pricks there too from where her talons are threatening to come out.

“You dare attack my daughter?” my mother shouts, her dark blue eyes fixated on King Fionn. He flicks his hand, and more guards step forward, all of them drawing their golden weapons and pointing them at her.

She opens her mouth again to reach for our song, but Themu stops her. “No, Zola! This isn’t the time.”

Queen Zola lets out a frustrated growl but glares at the king as she backtracks into the water. “You will pay for this.” He says nothing as he watches us retreat, our bodies changing as soon as we are deep enough in the water.

Pain flares as my scales replace skin and my legs morph into my tail. My hair returns to braids, and I brush them away from my face, my hand going to the hilt of the dagger.

“Wait, Amari,” my mother says, swimming over to me with calculated slowness. I wince from the pain as she positions herself in front of me, handing her trident off to Themu. Placing her hand on my shoulder, she grows her talons until they pierce my skin. I grit my teeth together but do nothing else, used to her brand of punishment. “I asked you to do one thing.” Her other hand wraps around the dagger’s hilt, and her jerky movements send a wave of blinding pain through my body. “For an entire fucking year, we have prepared for this! This would not have happened had you done your duty and seduced the prince! Had you presented yourself in a way that he could not resist .” She yanks the dagger out of my tail, my whimper pathetically loud as she lets me go and my body curls over itself. “You have failed me, Amari, and if I didn’t need you to prepare for the war I’m about to bring to the Mortal Kingdom, I would kill you now.”

Dark blue blood leaks from my wound, my mother letting the dagger fall from her grasp as it descends towards the ocean floor. Gripping her trident once more, she angles it towards me, the diamond-encrusted tips scraping at my chest and making me flinch.

“You will get me that kingdom one way or another. Even if it costs you your life in order to do it.”