Page 3

Bree

A s much as I tried not to let these human guys get to me, my patience had run dry after the unexpected reappearance of my scales. Rage surged through me like a tsunami, and I flexed my hands, ready to unleash.

But before I accidentally outed myself as Gifted, the human was lifted off me.

Brutus threw the guy halfway across the basement, where he crashed into a group of gaping onlookers. They fell into a heap of scrambling bodies, and my anger dissipated into a laugh.

I accepted the bouncer’s offered hand and let him pull me to my feet. "Thanks."

"I know you didn’t need the help, but I gotta keep up a reputation, you know?" He winked before turning to handle the fighter, who was now yelling like a madman as he struggled to disentangle himself from the others.

Thankful for the distraction, I slipped through the crowd, grabbed my duffel bag, and headed up the stairs leading out to street level.

A few underground Metro train stops later, I was back in Tenleytown, a quaint and semi-quiet neighborhood in D.C.

’s northwest quadrant. Calvin’s small house was a five-minute walk from the station, through tree-lined streets and fenced-in yards.

The walk was amazingly peaceful considering it existed in such a populated city.

The wizard—who was trying to work his way up the Gifted Interests Government’s ladder via the cryptozoology department—had let Marissa and me stay with him after leaving Subliminal.

He had a tiny second bedroom stuffed with boxes full of research and artifacts from his college days, and there was just enough space left over to hold a twin-sized bed.

To be honest, I wasn’t convinced anyone would consider the cot a twin, but I also wasn’t about to complain.

I’d told Marissa to take the bed so she would be well-rested for school—not that she needed much convincing—and I slept on the wizard’s couch.

Both were way better than any other option, especially one like sleeping next to a Metro station toilet.

One night ten years ago was more than enough for a lifetime, thank you very much.

"I’m home," I called out as I dropped my bag next to the front door and slipped off my shoes. The adrenaline from earlier had long since faded, leaving my limbs sluggish with fatigue—physical, emotional, and mental.

Unfortunately, the scales hadn’t faded.

"Why are you home so early?" Marissa’s voice called back from down the hallway.

"I lost."

My younger sister padded into view from the hallway, rubbing something greasy onto her face. She had clipped her curly red hair—so similar to our mother’s—into a mass of chaos atop her head, and she wore a white silk robe that barely covered her curvaceous butt.

There was no denying we were sisters, but her looks were as vibrant and full of life as her personality.

Only crammed into a tiny yet curvy package.

I loved the natural red and gold highlights in my otherwise brown hair, and I was glad I didn’t have to deal with all the special care her curls required.

The only part of her I truly envied was her eyes—they were this bright blue rimmed with silver that sparkled in the light. Mine were more of a stormy ocean blue. Pretty, but not sparkly.

"Since when do you lose?" she asked. As I sank onto the couch, she scrunched up her nose. "Ew. You need to shower and change before you get your stink all over that."

"I sleep on it every night. Trust me, my stink is already all over it. But the couch is the least of my concerns right now." I grasped the talisman around my neck. "We have a problem."

Rubbing the extra grease or cream or whatever it was into her hands, Marissa arched an eyebrow. "Like what?"

I held up my arm, revealing the purple scales. "Like this."

Her eyes widened, and she grabbed my arm. "When did that happen?"

"During the fight." I grimaced as her hands left a greasy film on my skin. I rubbed my arm against my shirt, trying to wipe it off.

"You can help yourself to my lotions, you know." She gave me a pointed look. "It’ll keep you looking young, and you could definitely use that these days.”

"What do you—" I snapped my mouth closed and held up a hand. "No, not a concern right now."

"Right, the scales." She chewed on her lower lip. "So, don’t get mad, but I may have the same problem."

I stared at her. "Since when?"

"I noticed it yesterday." She pulled aside her robe just enough to reveal a patch of purple scales on her chest.

"Yesterday?" It was hard to keep the panic out of my voice. "Rissa! Why didn’t you tell me?"

"I mean, duh. I didn’t want you to freak out like you are right now." She put her hands on her hips. "You’ve got enough on your plate to worry about."

I dropped my head into my hands and groaned. Fin-freaking-tastic. Losing our ability to walk on land was just what we needed right now.

The only good that had come from leaving Subliminal was Marissa’s behavior.

Ever since our father’s enemy showed up and scared the bubbles out of us, Marissa had taken on more responsibility.

She was still much more carefree and impulsive than me, but she was growing up.

Maturing, as hard as that was to believe sometimes.

I was so flipping proud of her.

And also terrified that we were about to lose everything we’d worked so hard to achieve.

She was this close to finishing massage school and getting her license.

According to the sea witch, these talismans should have worked forever as long as they remained intact, which they were. Not a scratch or chip on them.

"I know this is, like, impossible for you to do, but try not to worry. Not tonight, anyway. There’s nothing we can do right now, and you need to get some sleep.

" Marissa leaned down for a rare hug, only to pause and wrinkle her nose.

She backed away again. "Well, shower first. You look and smell like legit shit. "

I huffed out a laugh. "Thanks."

"That’s what little sisters are for." She pulled a nail file from her robe’s pocket and headed for the kitchen, where I knew she would make her evening chamomile tea. Nothing fancy, mind you. We couldn’t afford that. Just a cheap bag dunked in microwaved water. "Now go. You seriously reek."

Leaving her to her nightly primping, I did as I was told, at least on the shower part. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop worrying about what was to come. Without working talismans, our life on land was over. We’d have no choice but to return to the sea.

But where would we go?

We couldn’t go back home, not unless we were willing to give up our freedom. After getting a taste of what freedom truly meant, there was no way Marissa would do that. No way she could . And I wouldn’t force her to make that decision.

After my shower, I popped into Marissa’s room to feed Finley and say goodnight. He was a luminara axolotl , a rare species of salamander with magical abilities. But he wasn’t just a pet; he was my friend.

In his aquarium tank, Finley’s opalescent scales shimmered like moonlit pearls, and his iridescent skin transitioned through a myriad of colors and intricate patterns. On either side of his head, fringed pink gills fluttered softly in the aquarium’s water and framed his pale blue eyes.

He wriggled up to the surface and chirped in greeting.

Despite the recent dilemma plaguing my thoughts, I smiled. I never got over how ridiculously cute he was. "Well, hello to you, too. I hope you’re hungry."

I laughed as he bobbed his head up and down vigorously, sending splashes of water over the tank’s edge. That little guy was always hungry, especially for crab, even the canned kind.

When Marissa had retreated to her room for the night and I finally turned off the lights, I tossed and turned on the couch. Grim futures played on repeat in my thoughts and, eventually, my nightmares. My heart raced as if each beat echoed the anxiety that consumed me.

The weight of my worries made it impossible to get comfortable, and the couch creaked beneath me with each movement. It was a restless symphony that matched my turbulent thoughts. Scenes of failing and disappointing my sister taunted me, and the vivid imagery intensified with each passing moment.

But it wasn’t just failing my sister that plagued me. I would lose the life I’d worked so hard to cobble together here, no matter how crappy. Not to mention I’d be forced to marry for political reasons and lose any—however impossible—chance at being with Dominic. Or even just marrying for love.

I longed for the first rays of dawn, hoping that the light would bring an end to the relentless torment. Until then, I was trapped in a never-ending nightmare, unable to escape the clutches of my fears.