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I sit up abruptly, startled awake by an icy wind kissing my cheeks.

As I glance around the hovel, Laisren is sleeping against the wall with a blanket thrown over his torso.

A small fire is burning in the hearth, so why is it suddenly so cold?

Rubbing my eyes with the back of my hands, I avert my gaze to the door that’s swinging soundlessly on the breeze as the soft gray sky comes over the horizon.

Strange.

I’m fairly certain that Laisren locked it before we fell asleep.

So how is it now unlatched? Hoping to not awaken the exhausted commander, I place my feet gently on the frigid wooden floors, tiptoeing to the door.

As I inspect the latch, I find it isn’t broken or dismantled, so surely no one tried to break in while we slept.

A large gust of wind must’ve forced it open, which doesn’t surprise me with how temperamental the weather is this morning.

Still, I gaze outside for any tracks left in the snow, but find nothing.

I yawn, shrugging my shoulders.

I suppose it’s just a faulty latch.

As I close the door, a melodic female voice wafts along the air.

I stop, pausing to listen for a moment. The soft soprano voice is entrancing with her song of love and untold riches.

With each mesmerizing note, I lean out of the frame, desperate to hear more.

My heart that felt heavy moments ago lightens as I listen to the angelic voice.

The story she tells is beautiful and heartbreaking as she sings of her love for a man who wished to discover the riches beneath the sea.

As her song finishes, my heart aches to hear more.

I release my hold on the doorframe and walk in the direction from which the voice came.

The cold no longer bothers me, nor do I think about the ache in my soul.

Her song is healing me, and I need more .

As I trudge through the snow, I hear the voice again coming from below the hillside.

The melody that made my heart feel weightless fills the air, and I walk toward it, bewitched with each lovely note.

Suddenly, a strong pressure in my skull nudges me. Maeva, you need to listen to me, a voice calls.

The voice sounds familiar, yet my only concern is finding the owner of the song.

I laugh lightheartedly, drawn to music.

Is this what it feels like to be free of all worries?

If so, I desire to stay here forever.

Maeva, please stop listening, the voice screams.

Why? It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard, I think, completely mesmerized.

As I come into the clearing, I’m met by a bluish-green river, its color vibrant against the stark white of the snow.

The surroundings reflect in the pristine water, as if painted along the surface.

“Maeva,” the melodic voice calls. My gaze travels across the water until I find the source.

In the center is a shimmering woman with long yellow hair that floats around her.

“Maeva,” she sings in that hypnotic voice. “Come join me. You’ll be free.”

I move to the edge of the river, allowing the iridescent water to drift across my toes. Smiling, she glides closer to the shore with an extended hand. “Come join me,” she coos. Her grin is so inviting as she sings for me… only for me.

I giddily stretch my hand toward her. “I want to be free,” I say.

From atop the hillside, a voice yells, “Maeva!” I turn around to find four men armed with swords, and something dark swirling around the one in the middle.

“Hello,” I say with a wave. “Come join us!”

I turn back to the smiling lady who continues to sing.

“Don’t touch it,” one of the men shouts.

It?

What in all Celestae are these men upset about?

They should feel so fortunate to be in the presence of such extraordinary talent.

The men’s voices draw closer, but I don’t care. We can all find peace here together. I place my hand in the woman’s embrace, noticing it feels at odds with its appearance. Her touch is slimy and glacial— not what I was expecting .

She stops singing, pulling my attention back to her face, a devilish smile replacing the tender affection that was present moments ago.

Her teeth are now razor sharp and chiseled into tiny points.

Without warning, she drags me to the center of the river, the melodic voice now a strange garble. “Come be free,” it growls.

“Wh-What are you doing?” I ask.

Suddenly, the hand clutching mine melts away to reveal puke green flesh with jagged nails.

I follow the line of morphing skin to her face that’s replaced with the likeness of a creature with piercing yellow eyes, two pegs on either side of its head, and gills along its neck.

The legs of the woman are now replaced with tentacles.

My heart sinks into the depths .

I’ve only read of creatures like this, and I honestly believed them to be myths.

“Stay away from the river,” Darach had warned.

I should’ve heeded those words.

Panic rises in my chest as I attempt to wrench out of its grasp, but the hold is secure, despite the creature’s greasy texture.

“Maeva,” Emyr calls out.

My scream is cut short as I plunge beneath the cool water, and the grindylow drags me down.

Emyr

Her body quickly disappears below the surface with the grindylow.

“Maeva!” I shriek. I peer across the water for any signs of the water demon.

I should’ve warned her not to wander too close to the river.

I thought that Laisren would’ve mentioned something about the dangers in the Bones River, but apparently not.

He was in a panic this morning when he woke up to find the door flung open, and Maeva’s bare footprints walking toward the riverbank.

I never should’ve told her to stay with someone else.

Virgil throws off his cloak and shoes as he barrels into the water with his sword.

“Virgil, what are you doing?” Riordan yells.

“We need to think of a better solution,” Laisren says.

I’m already shrugging off my boots. “There’s no time,” I say. “She could already be drowning. You two wait for us. Be ready to drag Maeva out if need be.”

Without waiting for a reply, I join Virgil in the water, wading out deeper.

The river is enchanted, so I can’t summon my abilities beneath the surface.

This is why travelers are the perfect targets for these creatures, because they become easy prey within the river.

However, the steel of our weapons should be enough to stall the grindylows long enough to retrieve Maeva. “Ready?” Virgil asks.

I nod, then we plunge to the watery depths below.

Maeva

I squirm as the building pressure makes me lightheaded.

Though my body begs to relax and go to sleep, I don’t because that will mean death for me.

I thrash with all of my might against the grindylow’s hold, but it’s no use.

It shrieks and laughs, bubbles flying from its mouth with glee.

“Your flesh will make a good meal for the kelpies. Perhaps it’ll appease them for another hundred years,” its shrill voice bellows.

I attempt to summon my starlight, but I’m so panicked that either it isn’t coming, or it doesn’t work under the water.

The temperatures from this far below shock me as it seeps into the very marrow of my bones.

I kick at the grindylow’s back, which only makes it howl in frustration.

However, its cry calls forth more of its friends as they join us, each taking hold of my flailing limbs.

As we near the bottom, tall stalks of eelgrass envelop us.

In the center of the meadow is a wooden frame with attachments at all four corners.

No, no, no!

I fling my body as my energy seeps from me, while the burning in my lungs increases.

I’m going to die down here because of my stupidity.

If I’d remembered Darach’s warning, I never would’ve lingered to listen to the song. It’s my ineptness that’s led to this.

The creatures bind my limbs to the four corners of the frame, watching me gleefully as my fight against the restraints falters.

From off in the distance, the whinny of a horse echoes along the bottom of the riverbed.

“Not much longer now,” one of them shrieks in delight.

The neighing grows louder, making the grindylows shudder, but they don’t leave their posts.

As the air drains from me, my eyes are heavy as black spots dance in my vision.

I’m resigned to accept my fate when one of the grindylows shrieks as a steel blade pierces through the center of its green chest—a dark black substance leaking from it.

The others screech as one of their own sinks to the riverbed.

Behind the eelgrass, two figures with piercing amber eyes emerge, swimming to me.

I wish I could sigh in relief to see Emyr and Virgil, but doing so would cost my lungs precious air that I desperately still need.

They’re a few feet from me when the aquatic creatures go into a frenzy, attacking them. I clench my fists as I watch the grindylows try to restrain the leviathan men, but they’re unsuccessful as the two Galrosans sink their blades through every last one of them.

The heaviness of my eyes is too much as the soldiers cut me from my bindings.

As my body floats downward, Virgil catches me, swaddling my nearly limp body in his arms. Bending his legs, he vaults us off the riverbed floor, hurtling us at impressive speeds toward the surface.

I catch a small glimpse of the gray sky coming into view as my eyes close, allowing the sleep I’ve fought to overtake me.