I never knew I could be this afraid, this desperate.

In the darkness, I jerked against the ropes again. Laughter echoed through the cold air.

Tears sprung to my eyes—tears of fear and stupidity and regret.

Right now, I regretted it all. Coming to Willow Harbor, trying to find my father, meeting Nathan and falling for him, having found out I was a siren, and believing my father wanted to meet me.

How stupid and naive I had been.

A sudden light shone from above. A dim, naked lamp hanging from an electrical cord around the broken top of the carousel. Eyes wide and heart racing, I took in everything I could. I was seated on a wooden bench in the middle of the carousel, my arms tied to the two metal poles flanking it. Most of the carousel was gone, the horses and seats missing, the wooden floors broken or bent, and just out of the reach of the lights, I could see two pairs of feet. The rest of their bodies were shrouded by shadows.

I gulped the fear before I fainted and faced the men. “What do you want?”

“Right now, just to watch you,” one of them said, his voice rough.

What the hell was this?

I wanted to shout and scream and ask a thousand questions, but I had no idea what was going on. I wouldn’t play their games and give them the satisfaction of see me suffer.

From some hidden well inside me, I found a sliver of courage. I swallowed my tears and pushed back my fear. I didn’t think I would be unafraid, far from it, but I could disguise it. I just had to focus on something else.

Focus on something else.

I was a damn siren. I could enchant them and make them do my bidding. They could untie me and I could run away. I had no idea how to do this, how to focus and use my magic, but it was my only chance here.

“Why don’t you come closer?” I asked, willing my voice to sound firm and sure. It came out broken anyway.

One of the man stepped into the light.

“Here I am,” he said, grinning at me, a mischievous, sick smile that curled my stomach. He was tall and with smooth, dark skin, and long, black hair tied into a low ponytail at his neck. “Is there anything you want?”

I stared at him, into his brown eyes, and thought of spelling him, of enchanting him, of having him entranced and under my charm. A moment later, his smile was gone. He blinked once, twice, then stared at me with wide eyes.

I gasped; it worked. It had worked.

Then the other man stepped into the light and let out a loud laugh. “That was a good one, Nerom.” He slapped the other one on the shoulder.

Nerom blinked again and started laughing too. “You really thought I was under your spell, didn’t you?” He half-snorted, half-laughed. “You can’t enchant me, dear siren. I’m a naga. My kind gave you your powers. In fact, if you think about it, you have my blood coursing through your veins.” I gasped. “Which means in some way, I gave you your power.”

No, no, no. This man was my father?

“She’ll think you’re her father, Nerom,” the other one said. He shared much of the same features, but he was not as tall as Nerom and a little thinner.

“Let me have fun, Jennings,” Nerom said, still laughing. “Don’t you see how shocked she is?”

“Y-you’re not my father?” I asked, a mix of fear and relief dancing in my queasy stomach.

“No, I’m not.” He walked into the shadows, and another naked lightbulb turned on, casting a dim light farther onto the carousel. Seated along a metal pillar stripped of its horse, a man had his arms pulled behind his back and his head lolled to his chest. “This is my dear brother, Strom. Your father.”

I gasped as I stared at the man, at my father. With his shoulders sagged and his head low, I couldn’t see much of his face, but I could see the blood smeared on his sweater and his jacket.

“W-what happened?” I croaked.

Nerom grinned at me in delight. He was sick. Completely sick.

“I’ll tell you, but just because you’re family.” Still grinning, he leaned against a broken horse. “Until earlier today, I thought my brother was in this with me.”

“In this … what?”

“Our business.” He tsked. “You’re new in town so you might not know this, but there was a siren, Selena, who ran a big potions smuggling operation through Willow Harbor. It went on for decades, until finally a witch and a triton got involved in Selena’s mess last fall, and Selena was found out. The hunters arrested her, but when she showed remorse and promised to reform, they let her go.” He scoffed. “At first, we thought she was kidding. Selena had always been power hungry and ambitious and callous. She wouldn’t just let go of such a profitable business. But she did, and we were left to put our tails between our legs and vanish.”

“Ha, as if,” Jennings said.

“Right,” Nerom said. “That was our opportunity. We took over Selena’s business. Strom and I. We ran it like a boss. We were doing so well, but the hunters were closing in on us.”

Jennings whistled. “Until you came to town.”

“Yup.” Nerom nodded. “Then you came and their focus shifted elsewhere. I’ve smuggled more potions these last two days than I did in the last two months. And it’s all thanks to you.”

I shook my head, trying to make sense of it. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying Robbie was a happy coincidence. You know, he was a greedy werewolf and he was stealing from me. The bastard. I killed him that night. Imagine my delight to find out the police thought you did it and the hunters went all crazy trying to protect you.”

“And they left us alone,” Jennings added.

“That they did. So, I sent Karl to you this morning, and after making sure you were seen with him, I killed him.”

The air fled from my lungs. “That …” Oh, my head spun.

“That was genius, if I say so myself,” Nerom said, chuckling. “The police and the hunters were again all around you, and we were free to do whatever we wanted.” His smile faded and his brows slammed down. “We planned on finding another sucker to deliver to you tomorrow, in front of a witness of course, then kill him. But my little brother decided to act all noble.”

“Cursed naga.” Jennings spat in my father’s direction.

“This evening, he went to meet with your hunter, Nathan Knight. I wouldn’t have found out if one of my men hadn’t seen Strom acting suspicious and leaving our base when he was supposed to be moving potions.” He bared his teeth. “We followed. Strom told Nathan about everything we did, and everything he did.”

“W-what did he do?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

“My little brother betrayed me.” Nerom kicked Strom’s legs and I winced. Strom groaned, as if he was trying to wake up. “He told Nathan everything about us. But my biggest surprise was to find out he has a daughter and that he actually cared about her.”

“He tried making a deal with the hunter,” Jennings said. “He told Nathan where to find us, but Nathan had to promise to take care of you.”

My heart squeezed and new tears brimmed in my eyes. Hope bloomed in my chest. That meant Nathan knew where I was, right? He was coming right now.

“Thankfully, we got there before he revealed our location to the hunter,” Nerom said. My heart melted into a puddle of hopelessness and a tear rolled down my cheek. “We got Strom and would have killed the hunter if he hadn’t been fast and shot one of my men.”

My father groaned. He raised his head and rested it on the metal pole behind him. He blinked several times before finally squinted through his lashes. “Leave her alone, Nerom,” he croaked, his tone low. Broken. “It’s me you want.”

Nerom poked Strom’s leg with the tip of his boots. “That’s where you’re mistaken, brother. I want you both. They say revenge is sweet, and I’ll now enjoy this.”

“Don’t you dar—”

Nerom kicked Strom in the stomach. The air gushed out of Strom’s chest, and he coughed, twisting in pain. I winced. “What will you do about it? You’re weak. You’ve always been weak, and I’m about to prove it. But don’t worry, I sent some men to go get your woman and your little boy. They will join us soon, and then we’ll have loads of fun.”

Strom’s eyes widened. “You leave them out of this. All of them!” Strom yelled and I tried to understand what Nerom was saying. A woman? A little boy? My father … had a family? “Let Brooke go!”

Nerom kicked Strom again. This time, Strom’s head lolled back and he groaned in pain.

“Keep that up and I’ll start kicking your daughter instead.”

Yowling in pain, Strom straightened his head. His eyes met mine. So that was where I got this unusual bright shade of green from. He let out a shaky breath. “I’m so sorry.” A sob shook his chest. “I’m so sorry I brought you to Willow Harbor.”