Reservation hung like a noose around Asair's neck as he made his way to the reservoir. The mermaids were his responsibility—his abomination.

Over the decades, observing the sisters from his dimension, remorse for his actions tore at his conscience. With the spell now broken, the bond hinged on Selene's black heart, and as much as he hated the bond, he needed the mermaids. They were his eyes on the outside. If they went to Pyramid Lake and Halen was near, they would sense her presence, and if he asked, they would bring her back to him. At least, he hoped to the heavens they would.

He caught his reflection in the tinted windows as he passed the control center. Gone was the ghostlike boy with long, flowing, snow-white hair and stark complexion. Now a rugged young man with shaved black hair stared back, his skin a warm umber tone, not like Quinn's mother Rania, but like his human father.

He rubbed his hand across the stubble on his chin and over the raised scar trailing his neck. He couldn't imagine Rania standing by while the Elosians inflicted these wounds on her son. When their souls had merged, Asair had understood Quinn's pain, had relived each lashing and tortured cry as if he too had suffered an Elosian trial. And though the siren no longer remained present, Asair would ensure his fight was never forgotten. He admired the boy who had sacrificed his life for the realms; he wouldn't let him down.

A damp fog enveloped him when he pushed open the heavy steel door. The water churned with choppy waves as silver tails slipped between the crests, sending a shiver down his spine. Though the tank measured forty feet deep, restraining the mermaids this way was like keeping a whale in an aquarium. They couldn't thrive here.

He approached the edge with caution, never quite knowing the mood of the girls. Selene popped up first, no doubt lurking near the surface, awaiting his arrival. She swam to the edge, propping her silver scaled elbows on the concrete. Her wispy dark hair wrapped around her shoulders like a cape of snakes. Still, beneath the scales, he recalled the beautiful Elosian, her skin glistening with dew, her eyes wide with life and devotion; her petal pink lips, which once sipped his blood, were now stained black from the curse he had once held over her.

"Where have you been?" She slapped her tail against the water.

Her two sisters, Kye and Diya, surfaced, responding to her request. Out of twelve, only three remained; two turned to stone at Halen's hand, which only made his request that much more difficult to ask.

"I have some good news." His skin flecked with warning sparks as he crouched to be level with Selene. She liked him close, and even though the proximity turned his stomach, he needed to appease her.

Her incisor teeth punctured her bottom lip as her smile broadened. She licked away the black blood. "You look hopeful today." Her gleaming gaze skimmed his, searching for a way into his thoughts. "Are we going somewhere?"

He glanced away, knowing already she'd seen in too far. "We may have found her." His tone remained flat. He didn't even say her name to not appear eager. He feared Selene's tantrum if she read his confused emotions.

"You found the siren?" The smile slipped from her mouth.

"It took you long enough." Kye joined her sister by the ledge while Diya circled, her curious gaze trained on him.

Asair's pulse raced as they read him, each mermaid confirming every heartbeat still belonged to them. "We believe she's with the owls beneath Pyramid Lake. I need—" He paused. "We need you to go and see. If she's there, bring her back with the Guardian."

"Oh, I do like the Guardian." Kye pushed away from the ledge, floating back, and fanning her fins across the surface. "His blood is so sweet." The tips of her tail curled as she laughed.

Diya licked her lips. "I am a little hungry for something other than the dry desert birds your dragon brings us. Their organs reek of land. And the aftertaste..."

"You can't harm him," Asair warned, cutting her off. "We need his marrow." He rubbed his forehead where the previous headache collided with a new one. Asking them to bring Halen back safely was a horrible idea. Cooped up with little to feed on, they needed to hunt. He feared where this venture would lead.

"You can't drain his blood, Kye." Selene rolled her eyes. "The blue moon siren is weak without him. She's not like us."

"No, she's nothing like you," Asair spoke through gritted teeth, though he kept his tone warm.

Selene strummed the concrete ledge, her black nails razor-sharp, able to slice through his flesh with one swipe. Yet, he was sure she wouldn't harm him. At least, he hoped her love for him would protect him. She wouldn't stay at the fortress otherwise. The shifters may be masters of portals, but Selene and her sisters were masters at blocking them. Already, they had blocked a dozen attempts at entering. "If she is with the owls, then they won't give her up without a fight."

"Or a trade," Kye said.

"What do we get in return?" Selene asked.

He swallowed hard, glancing toward the door. He shouldn't have come. "I don't have much to give."

Kye giggled as black smoke rose from the water.

He stood, stepping away at once. "Not today." Of all days, he couldn't allow them to see into his mind. Not when every thought centered on Halen.

Selene's tail rolled above her like a scorpion, and he steadied his breath. He couldn't help but feel she had already peeked inside his brain. "We will fetch her if you promise to leave with us when we return."

He crossed his arms, hiding his clenched fists against his rib cage. "You know I can't leave the fortress."

"Because you have feelings for the siren?" Selene met his gaze.

"No." He glanced away, hoping she didn't read the lie in his eyes. He cared for Halen. It was true. But not in the way Selene believed. Still, Selene would interpret his concern and guilt as more. "We need her alive. Even though the curse breaks, you live because of the magick I cast." He crouched once more, leaning close to the water. He lowered his voice, using Quinn's seductive alto tones. "If the portal opened, we would never see each other again."

Playing with Selene's emotions was cruel, but the soul of the girl who sipped his blood so many years ago no longer remained. Black magick tainted the demon's heart now. "What you're reading is Jae's spell. I'm connected to Natalie andHalen. There's nothing I can do about it."

Selene rose out of the water, stopping inches from his nose. Though her breath, laced with a putrid sulfur scent, roiled his gut, he didn't budge. Revealing his repulsion now would only endanger Halen.

She locked with his gaze. Eye to eye, she attempted to claw her way into his thoughts. His head pulsed as his magick pushed back, fighting the force of Selene as she ripped away at each stitch of his protection spell. Shackled by the force of her powers, he fought for a firm footing in their mental game of tug-of-war.

But he slipped. For just one second. His mind flooded with a vast poppy field, tall grass swaying in the ocean breeze. On the bluff, a girl with flowing chestnut hair called out his name. As Halen stood before him, his magick ignited.

Selene broke the bond, slipping from the ledge, and dived beneath the water, taking the sweet vision with her.

Panic rushed through his veins, pumping his heart with dread. "Wait!" He reached, and her fins slid past his fingers.

Diya laughed. "You never were good at blocking your emotions, Asair." She dived, following her sister.

His thoughts filled with dread as he scanned the water, debating whether he, too, should dive in after Selene.

Kye splashed the water with her tail. "Don't worry. We won't harm the siren. We could have killed her already. We've always known where she was." A mischievous grin played on her lips.

"You what? You knew, and you didn't tell me?" He dropped his fists by his sides.

"Does it matter if you don't care about her?" Kye winked.

"It matters because we need to protect her. Or do you want to die too?"

"Halen's not as innocent as you think. She's a killer. She would be beautiful with a tail." She bobbed on her back, fanning her silver fins in his face. "We could teach her things. Her magick is so—"

"Kye!"

"Relax." She cackled with delight.

The sound grated on his nerves.

"I'm just not into you the way my sister is." She dipped her fins back underwater. "I'm more interested in the boy—the Guardian." She swam to the ledge, popping up inches from him. "Promise Dax to me and no harm will come to Halen."

"You can't have him!" He didn't back away. As much as he hated Dax, he couldn't let anything happen to Halen's Guardian. "He's not a toy."

"And what did you think of us when we drank your blood?" She drifted back, spreading the water with her webbed fingers. "My sister still loves you. I will do whatever it takes to make her happy." "Kye," his voice held warning.

"The boy is mine." She dived beneath the water without waiting for his reply.

He slammed his fist against the concrete, his magick cracking fine fissures along the floor. Regret knotted his stomach, wishing he could take back his request.