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As I swam deeper, the ethereal glow of bioluminescent creatures replaced the sunlight. The gentle hum of currents and schools of fish surrounded me.

I knew that the human city and the people within it had changed me, leaving unforgettable marks on my soul. Yet, as I swam through the depths, a sense of homecoming rekindled the ties that bound me to the sea.

The siren who had walked the streets as a human was a part of me and always would be. But so was the creature of the deep.

Today, beneath the waves, I embraced the duality of my existence.

As much as I wanted to take my time and enjoy the reunion with my first home, I was only here for one reason. Finley could swim fast, but not as fast as a siren, so I scooped him into the small satchel I’d brought with me, along with the talisman.

With a final glance back at the sloping sand that would lead back to the beach, I dove farther into the deep. Powerful strokes of my tail took us down fast.

As the hours passed, I utilized various currents to keep from exhausting myself.

Pods of dolphins, random sea turtles, and even a few whale families rushed by as I swam.

Everything here felt so much more familiar than the world above, even though I’d lived there almost as long as I did beneath the waves.

At last, I saw the dark gap in the ocean floor that would lead me deeper into the trench where the sea witch kept her lair. It had taken far less time than our original journey. Thanks to my time on land, I knew the Delaware beach would bring me closer to Naftes’ territory.

Closer to home, and closer to the witch.

In the ocean, we called this trench the Avyssos —the Abyss. It was dark and bleak and perfectly suited to her kind.

My father’s land, the Naftes Kingdom, spread from just beyond the western edge of the trench to the eastern edges of North America. I had followed the northern Naftes’ border to avoid running into any patrols.

Farther south was the Thalasses Kingdom, home to King Ateleíotes, my father’s greatest enemy. Or so I had been taught, but my father had also promised my hand in marriage to Ateleíotes’ son to solidify a truce. Mend broken bridges and all that.

I only felt a small amount of guilt for putting my father in a tough spot after my disappearance. He should have known I wouldn’t go along with a forced marriage, just as my mother had been against the idea.

Far to the southwest was the Kalyteros Kingdom, a smaller territory but also one of our allies. King Cyreus had three sons, and while I would always prefer the freedom of choice, I might not have swum away from home had my father promised me to one of them. At least they were tolerable. Mostly.

As I closed in on the cliff’s edge, the haunting melody of sirens reached my ears. It was a sound that was both alluring and foreboding, and panic surged through me. I instinctively dove for cover behind a large outcropping of coral.

My pulse thrummed in my ears as I peered around the coral.

A group of four sirens emerged from the depths of the trench. Their iridescent blue and green tails shimmered like liquid silver, and their blue eyes almost seemed to glow with an otherworldly light.

Each siren kingdom had guards that patrolled their boundaries, their keen senses attuned to any intruders. But these guards wore distinctively marked whalebone armor and familiar weapons that made my heart skip a beat.

This was a Naftes patrol, some of my father’s sirens.

Wait a second…

I frowned. The Avyssos was outside Naftes’ territory in a sort of no-man's land. Why were they this far out? Had they visited the sea witch? For what purpose?

There was nothing else down that trench but her lair, and I highly doubted my father would approve a visit. He wouldn’t have sent anyone else, either; he would have gone himself if a visit was necessary.

The siren guards swam in my direction, and my heart pounded against my ribs. It would be just my luck getting caught by my father’s men on my very first return to the sea. Slowly, so as not to cause a disturbance in the water, I scooped sand onto my tail, hiding it from view as much as I could.

As the guards edged dangerously close to my hiding spot, I closed my gills to avoid releasing bubbles. The ocean seemed to hold its breath with me, the only sound the echo of the sirens’ haunting song.

Any moment now, one of them was sure to see me. They were scouring the ocean around them as if looking for something—or some one . There was no way they could know I was coming today, but an eerie sensation still prickled across my skin. Something felt off about this encounter, like it was planned.

Had Demetrius laid a trap, after all?

I pressed my body against the coral, wincing as its sharp edges dug into my skin, and prayed that the limited shadows would conceal me.

The guards swam overhead, their eyes scanning the surroundings, and for a moment, I believed I had escaped their notice.

But then one guard paused as if sensing something amiss. My heart lodged in my throat as the siren turned in my direction. A ripple of uncertainty passed through his expression.

This was it.

I was caught.