Fear rolled through me as I watched Selena storm away, several of her men in tow. This wasn’t over, and after what she’d said to me, I knew I had grossly underestimated just how angry she would be at my sudden interest in another woman.

I had always known Selena wanted me for herself, but I never quite realized how angry she would be if I showed affection for anyone else.

And judging from the look on Eva’s face, she was just as mad. And just as confused.

She looked into my eyes with an expression of fury mixed with pain. At first, I didn’t know what to say. How could I possibly explain the truth about Selena? Why hadn’t I told her about it earlier?

Eva shook her head and turned, practically running through the crowd toward the willow tree.

“Eva, wait,” I shouted. I ran after her, but there were so many people standing around I had a hard time pushing through to find her.

When I finally did catch up with her, she was standing under the branches of the great willow, tears running down her face.

“Who was that woman?” she asked.

“I’m so sorry, Eva,” I said, touching her arm. She pulled away from me so quickly, it made my chest tighten. “I know I should have said something earlier, but I was so ashamed of the truth, I didn’t want you to know. I thought I could deal with her myself, somehow. I never thought she would come here tonight. I promise, I was planning to tell you about Selena tonight after the festival. I just wanted you to get a chance to see how great this town is before I told you the truth about me.”

She turned toward me, her green eyes glistening. “What truth? Why was she so angry with you? Is she your ex-girlfriend or something? I don’t understand.”

“No, not exactly,” I said. I glanced around at all the people still standing close enough to hear what we were saying. “Can we walk for a minute? Away from the crowds?”

She seemed to consider it for a moment, then finally nodded.

I led her over a small footbridge that spanned the marshy channel that fed the roots of the willow tree. We took a small path that led away from town, toward the beach. It was darker over here, and much more private but on a night like this, I didn’t want to keep her here in the shadows for too long.

When I was sure we were far enough away that no one could listen in on our conversation, I started talking.

“Remember how I told you the male version of a mermaid is a triton?” I asked.

Eva nodded, looking confused. I know she wanted to hear about Selena, but if I was going to tell her the truth, I needed to start from the beginning.

“I am a triton,” I said, watching as her eyes widened and her lips partly slightly. “I didn’t grow up here in Willow Harbor. I grew up in the ocean just a short distance from shore, in a kingdom of tritons and mermaids. That cave I showed you is nothing compared to the beauty of my kingdom. Down there, the ocean floor is full of caves and castles, an entire community built from coral and shells and rock. It’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.”

My heart ached just thinking about it.

“My father is the king of the tritons, Cepheus. He’s a powerful man and a great ruler, but many years ago, when he was just a teenager, he caught the attention of an equally powerful siren named Selena,” I said.

Eva turned to study my face, recognizing the name. “The woman you were just talking to?” she asked.

“Yes. Sirens don’t age the same way most of us do,” I said. “She’s ancient. Several hundred years old. When she discovered my father, he wasn’t married yet, but he was already in love with my mother, Vanessa, a mermaid princess. Selena tried to lure him away from the kingdom, but he was able to resist her. He’d been taught about what sirens were capable of, and he knew in order to resist her, he simply had to stop listening to her. Stop looking at her. But Selena wasn’t used to being resisted. She was part mermaid herself, which is why she can breathe underwater when most sirens can’t, and she’d always wanted a triton for her collection. But as hard as she tried, she was never able to claim my father the way she wanted.”

Eva was listening with her full attention.

“After some time, Selena stopped visiting the triton kingdom, and my father assumed she had forgotten about him. Once he was named king, he set up special boundaries and made sure that she couldn’t enter the kingdom, so he thought he would never see her again. He married my mother and they had three children,” I said. “I was their firstborn, then my sister, Aurelia, and my brother, Leonidas.”

This was all the easy part of the explanation, but as I got to the more difficult parts, my stomach began to tighten. I didn’t like to think about the mistakes I’d made and how much it had cost everyone that loved me.

“What happened?” she asked softly. Her arms were still crossed angrily, but at least she was listening.

I took a deep breath and continued.

“I was only sixteen when I met Selena,” I said. “I wasn’t supposed to go outside the borders of our kingdom, but I was stupid and rebellious. I liked to explore, and I hated that my father tried to keep me so close to home all the time. I had this one spot near Willow Harbor’s shore where I liked to go and watch the people on the boardwalk and in town. I never had any intention of speaking to any of them or even going into town, even though tritons can shift into human form at night close to the full moon.”

I glanced up at the full moon tonight, realizing that it was the first time in a long while the full moon had actually occurred right on Halloween night.

“One day I was swimming near my favorite spot when a beautiful woman appeared to simply walk out of the water. She was wearing a shimmering gown, and her hair looked as though it was made of pure silver,” I said. “I had never seen anyone so beautiful in my life, and when she began to sing to me, I was mesmerized. She sang of the kind of life she could give me, and suddenly, I wanted nothing more in the world than to be with her.”

I hated this part of the story. I hated how easily I had fallen into Selena’s song.

“I managed to get away from her that first day, but I couldn’t get my mind off of her,” I said. “Unlike my father, I wasn’t in love, and I hadn’t been outside the kingdom enough to have met other sirens or know what they were capable of. A few days later, I left the kingdom again, searching for the mysterious woman. When she came to me and sang again, I felt as though I could trust her with my life. It happened so quickly, I didn’t even understand what was happening until she placed this silver shackle on my wrist.”

I lifted my arm so Eva could see the shackle that had been on my wrist for the past ten years. The inside of it was stamped with a picture of a heron, Selena’s chosen mark.

“The moment she put it on me, my entire body transformed,” I said. “I could feel all my power being drained, and I was no longer a triton. I was a human, even though it was still daytime and not a full moon. I was confused at first, but Selena laughed and told me that she couldn’t believe I was Cepheus’s son. She told me that my father had dared to refuse her all those years ago, but she had finally found a way to pay him back. I tried to get away from her and go home, but I could no longer breathe underwater or swim as fast as before. I was trapped, and Selena soon explained the shackle on my wrist meant that I now belonged to her. That I would never be able to go home again.”

Eva gasped, her hand fluttering to her mouth.

“She enslaved you?” she asked.

I nodded. “I’ve never spoken to my father or mother since that day,” I said. “Selena left me there near the rock and told me to make my way into Willow Harbor. She said she would be in contact with me when she felt the time was right. It took all of my energy to swim that far in my new form, and when I finally made it, it was well after dark. I was exhausted and devastated, but Drifter found me. He’s been like a father to me ever since, taking me in, helping me find a way to make a living and be a part of the community here.”

“And Selena? What does she make you do for her?” Eva asked.

I groaned. This was one of the things I was most ashamed of, but I had promised her the truth.

“I’m basically a delivery-boy,” I said. “There are a few witches here in town who make special potions Selena can sell to the different races of creatures who live in the sea and don’t have access to the same types of drugs we have here. Selena has the potions created somewhere here in Willow Harbor, though I don’t know where. When they’re ready, her head man, Jennings, contacts me, and I meet him out by the docks. I load the drugs into my boat and take them out to sea, just beyond the borders of Willow Harbor, where the rules don’t apply.”

“And then what happens to them?” she asked.

“I don’t know, exactly,” I said. “Sometimes Selena meets me out there herself and takes the shipments from me. Sometimes it’s one of the others who work for her. I don’t know what they do with them from there, except I know they take them down into the various kingdoms at sea to sell them.”

“So, she’s nothing more than a drug dealer.” Eva’s voice was filled with disgust.

“Basically, yes,” I said. “But she’s been getting even greedier as the years have gone on. Ten years ago, when I first came to Willow Harbor, I would only get a shipment from her once a month, if that. And the shipment would be a single crate. Over time, it’s gotten much bigger. Lately, they’ve been contacting me two or three times a week, and each shipment is at least three or four large crates. When I asked Jennings about it, he told me it was simply the law of supply and demand. The kingdoms are getting hooked on this stuff, so as the demand goes up, so does the supply.”

She shook her head. “I wonder what witches are making these potions for them?” she asked. “You don’t think Anna and her family are involved, do you?”

“No way,” I said. “At least not willingly. Anna is one of the few really good friends I’ve made here in town, and she knows all about what Selena did to me. If she knew about any of her family members working for Selena, she would have told me.”

Eva twirled a long, red curl around her finger. “So, basically, you are every bit as much a prisoner as I was,” she said, tears shimmering in her eyes. “How could you let me tell you my entire story and not say a single word about Selena then? Why would you wait?”

There was so much hurt in her voice, it made my heart ache.

I wanted to apologize to her, but I couldn’t find the words. I should have told her the truth right from the start.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Eva shook her head.

“I’m sorry, Nik,” she said. “I can’t do this. I have to go.”

She turned and ran. I followed, but she was so fast, and it was crowded on the square.

I tore through the mass of people, searching for her, but there were just too many people on the town square tonight. Too many tall hats and crazy costumes. I couldn’t catch any sight of her beautiful auburn hair.

Frustrated after more than half an hour of searching, I headed toward the inn, hoping that maybe she went back there to calm down or get some rest, but on my way there, police cars near The Dragon’s Hoard, the local antique shop, caught my eye.

Cole, one of the Willow Harbor police officers I knew from helping them out one night this past summer on the beach when the Naga attacked, was standing in front of the shop. I jogged over toward him, fear thundering through my chest.

“Hey, Cole. What happened here?” I asked. I didn’t see any sign of Eva here, either, and I prayed that nothing had happened to her.

“A break-in,” he said simply. He was not a man of many words, to say the least, but I wanted more details.

I had to be sure Eva wasn’t here. I knew this is where she had come to sell her bracelet. She wouldn’t have tried to come back tonight, would she? I know it was important to her. Maybe she tried to see if she could buy it back.

“Was the shop open tonight?” I asked. Some of the local shops around the square stayed open during the festival, hoping to get extra business while everyone was out and about.

“No, Violet closed up around four so she could get ready for the festival,” he said. “She and her husband were both on the square when someone called it in. Someone passing by said he spotted a couple men in dark suits break into the place. By the time we got here, they were gone.”

“Was anyone hurt?” I asked.

“You know, I really shouldn’t be discussing this with you, Nik,” he said, glancing around. “The incident is still under investigation.”

“Look, I’m not trying to get in the way of your investigation, but this is important to me right now,” I said. “I need to know if anyone was hurt.”

I didn’t say he owed me, but I had practically saved the life of one of his fellow hunters that night on the beach. The least he could do was give me a few details about the break-in.

Cole sighed. “No one was hurt, Nik,” he said. “As far as we can tell, there was no one inside at the time of the break-in. The men who came here appeared to be looking for one very specific item. Strangely, it was something that just came in yesterday, as a matter of fact.”

My blood went cold. Eva’s bracelet. It had to be.

And there was only one reason two men in dark suits would have known to come to this exact place looking for it.

Damn. My own instincts had told me Dominic surely would have had some secret way of tracking Eva. I’d assumed maybe it was in her car, but I’d forgotten to bring it up with her. He must have either installed some kind of tracking device on her bracelet or had some type of tracking spell cast on it when she wasn’t paying attention.

It was the only way they could have located her so quickly in a town like this.

“Cole—”

“I’ve given you all the information I can, Nik. I’m sorry,” he said, turning around.

“Was the stolen item a gold bracelet with a large stone in the center? Some type of emerald?” I asked.

He stopped cold and slowly turned toward me. “Now, how would you have possibly known that?” he asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

My heart dropped. Shit. Eva was in danger. I had to find her.

“I have to go,” I said.

I left Cole standing there on the sidewalk in front of The Dragon’s Hoard as I ran toward the Willow Harbor Inn, praying Eva was still there.