She was innocent.

The young Nereid swam, her small tail barely keeping her afloat. She was in a kelp forest within a cove surrounded by an island of rock: hunting grounds for the Sirens, savage creatures who preferred devouring human flesh to biting into fish or kelp.

The cove was too cold for her skin and her blood. She was only a youngling of three years, and she was alone in this dark place. Even on a full moon, there was nothing to light her path in the dense kelp. She was lost in unknown waters, alone with bloodthirsty creatures that had red eyes and elongated teeth ready to tear her apart to bits.

Before she could swim away from this place, she heard her sing.

When one hears a Siren's song, one loses all hope of escape; the desire to flee is gone. Male victims will listen and search for the source, thinking that only an angel could have sung such a beautiful song. Females are attracted too, but not by a desire to see the beauty of the singer—they simply want to hear more.

Regardless of gender, when one discovers the singing Siren, they are instantly enchanted by its flawless appearance. The skin takes on the tone the victim desires most, and other features that are more popular with males change too. A Siren is born with an innate ability to sing their fatal song; it is a way to hide its true, scaly form before it is too late for the victim.

The young Nereid wanted to hear more.

She was lost, floundering in this cold, dark place when she heard that song. It felt warm. It sounded like the lullaby her mother loved to sing to her. It sounded like what she wanted right now: an escape.

Eventually, she reached a clearing in the kelp. Rocks lined its edges. Moonlight struck coral and fish, making then glow pale in the night. The entire place felt magical compared to the dark kelp forest she had emerged from. It felt snug and warm, too.

She smiled. It was right to follow that song. After all, it had led her here. Maybe she could live in this magical, moonlit place.

As she wandered into the clearing, the moonlight took on a tinge of red. Though slight, it was enough for her to notice, and she looked up.

Red eyes looked back.

She froze.

Shapes dived into the water. Bubbles momentarily obscured their forms, but there was no mistaking their teeth.

"Well, well . . . what do we have here?"

The one in the lead had spoken. The strands of her hair were more like tentacles than strands. Her greenish scales covered not only her tail but her entire body. Her fingers ended in nails that looked sharp enough to slice through a whale's hide. Her red eyes were even more haunting now that they had lost their glow. She made no effort to hide her teeth as she grinned at her in what seemed to be an attempt at a sweet smile.

"Why the horrified look, girl? Do I look that ugly to you?"

The young Nereid stayed quiet. She was too afraid to answer.

"We Sirens have taken the effort to show our true forms to the other Undines," she drawled on, picking at her fingernails. "And we get dirty looks in return for being our true selves."

She approached with a grin that was brimming with intense malice.

"You, girl, you have it easy. You don't look like us. You look normal, and that's what we hate about Undines like you."

It was at this moment when the young Nereid noticed a figure of her size hiding behind one of the Sirens.

"You can eat fish. You can eat kelp. You can eat whatever you want—you don't have to bite into flesh that screams back, the legged who writhe in agony as you tear into their guts. You'll never feel how painful it is to want to scream back because they're alive and they're like us, but your mouth is too full, and all you can do as tears of shame run down your face is eat, and eat and eat because you're . . . so . . . hungry."

The young Nereid understood none of this, fortunately. However, she did feel the hate in her words, and she saw that it was time to speak.

"You're not ugly," she replied, stuttering. "You're just scary."

The Siren threw back her head and laughed.

"That," the Siren said in between laughs, "is the most outrageous thing I have ever heard. For a Nereid, you're quite naive. What's your name?"

"Cari."

"Very well, then. It was nice meeting you, Cari."

The Siren bared her teeth.

"And I hope you'll forgive me for what I'm about to do."

"Elizabeth, no!"

The youngling Cari had noticed earlier was holding up her hand. She swam closer to float between her and the older Siren. Cari swallowed. Though she seemed her age, she was also a Siren. Was she trying to keep Cari for herself to eat?

"Elisha." The older Siren's voice came out as a hiss from between her elongated teeth. "Do not interfere. She is ours. You will get your share."

The young Nereid was ignorant. She thought that once she'd seen one Siren, she'd seen them all.

Elisha was a Siren, but she was unlike everyone else in her pack. She was also losing her courage. Elizabeth was baring her fangs at her, the pack's only youngling.

"I don't want my share. We can't eat her!"

"Who are you to decide for us?"

Elisha turned to Cari, trembling. "Run," she mouthed.

And as Elisha leaped forward, showing the scales on her skin, revealing the sharp nails she had kept hidden, Cari swam as fast as she could.

She wasn't fast enough to spare her ears the horror of a youngling's screams.

She looked back as she swam. Red eyes were tracking her every swish, the Sirens' bodies clearing a path through the kelp.

She wiped tears from her eyes as they drifted away. This was not something she was going to forget soon.

She heard the sound of fangs clashing together behind her as they elongated. A Siren was ready to take a bite out of her flesh. Desperately, she wished she was home, safe in her mother's arms, away from these monsters and their thirst for blood.

The sea obeyed.