Warmth enveloped my skin. Light glowed against my eyelids. One eye cracked open, then the other. I gasped. Catilli?

I jolted upright. Clear blue water surrounded me, sparkling as sunlight streamed through it. My eyes pulsed tiny blinks, unused to the sun's radiance. Not even the whole city-state of Oamer set aglow could compare.

Sun. Sunlight. I wasn't deep under the ocean anymore. I was close to the surface, which meant I was closer to home. Happiness sparked in my chest. Maybe Catilli and Lira brought me here during the night as a surprise. Maybe I'd finally get to see Lani.

I found it odd, however, that they weren't nearby. The white fabric of my maxi dress swirled as I spun around, searching for a familiar face or fin. Coral rose on my left side, vacant ocean on my right. Other than a few vibrant fishes, I was alone.

"Catilli?" I called.

No response.

They're probably just getting something to eat. I clung to this thought. I didn't want to consider if they dumped me in the middle of nowhere.

"C-Catilli? What's going on?"

A shadow loomed in the water behind the coral. Adrenaline spiked in my veins. I scoured the water for protection, but there was nowhere to hide, nothing I could use to fight. My fingers touched the string of pearls still around my neck. In a worst-case scenario, I could rip them off and try to choke my assailant, assuming it had a human-sized neck.

The figure swam into the light. All the air in my lungs released. It was only a girl, no older than ten or eleven.

Bafflement quickly destroyed my moment of relief. Wait, who's she? My eyes drifted to her knee-length blonde hair. That was a welcome surprise—knees and feet instead of a tail. At last, I was in contact with humans.

A grin stretched onto the girl's freckled cheeks. "She's awake!"

Three women emerged from the coral.

"It's about time," the tallest said. "I thought humans only need nine hours of sleep."

I flushed. "How was I asleep?"

"Fourteen and one-quarter." Her intense, olive-colored eyes peered down at me. I edged backward.

"S-sorry."

"It's alright, Ptolema," an older teen said. "Sleep is a woman's best friend." Her serene brown eyes, as rich as her skin, focused on me. "Don't mind her. The poor girl is always this disgruntled."

Anger flared on Ptolema's face. "Hey!"

"Now, now," the other soothed. "Let's not rile ourselves up. We want to make a favorable impression on her."

"You're the one who started it. Besides, I think saving her should be enough to make a 'favorable impression.'"

Saved me?

"What do you mean?" I asked.

The teen's eyes glittered with sympathy. "Unfortunately, in this universe, most wondrous things accompany a steep price."

My forehead wrinkled. "Huh?"

"Though all seemed in harmony, alas! Those deemed amiable plotted your demise."

The tension in my brow increased. What on earth was she talking about?

"Just spit it out already," Ptolema snapped.

"And in exchange for your stay in Oamer," the former continued, "Your life was required."

Steep price? Demise? I blinked at her, trying to process what she said.

Ptolema rolled her eyes. "Really, Kallais? You went through all that, and she doesn't even understand what you said."

Kallais brushed a sepia curl behind her ear. "I don't see why not. Clearly she understands English."

"They were trying to kill you," the girl piped up.

Now I was even more confused.

"Who?" I said.

"The Oamarens," Ptolema said.

"What? How? Lira saved me from drowning."

Ptolema huffed. "No, she's the one who pulled you under the ocean."

"Why would she do that?"

"King Osxucc wants Nitov to be a shape-shifter," a high-pitched voice sniffed. I glanced at the final stranger. Tears reflected in her cyan eyes, which peeked out from under the silken black hair that obscured most of her porcelain face.

"But...they're my friends," I blurted out.

"Not really," the girl chirped. "Friends don't want to kill each other."

None of this made sense. They seemed to imply that the mer-people wanted to kill me, but that was absurd. Catilli welcomed me into her home and even bought me an expensive necklace. I attended the Royal Ball as a guest of honor. Lira, the Princess of Oamer, included me in mermaid games. Or at any rate, she tried the best she could, considering my lack of underwater mobility. And The Prince of Oamer proposed to me. Those were not things people did when they wanted to kill you. Moreover, if that was their intent, why wait so long? They had plenty of opportunities prior to now.

My eyes narrowed at the four in front of me. "Who even are you?"

The girl grinned, her small head bobbing in the water. "I'm Etyma, the Nereid of Joy."

"Nereid? What's a—"

"It's a sea nymph." Kallais glided forward, her hands clasping mine. Her genuine smile lit up her entire face. "I'm Kallais, the Nereid of Poetry. It's wonderful to finally make your acquaintance."

Ptolema rolled her eyes. "Enough of this over-the-top nonsense. I'm Ptolema, Nereid of War."

"And I'm Melaina," the last woman said. "The Nereid of Tragedy." Her mellow voice barely carried through the water.

I stared at them, trying to process everything. Questions fizzed inside me, too rapid to properly register much less voice. I didn't even know where to begin, much less where my inquiries needed to end up. Though the sun smiled down on my skin, I felt more in the dark than ever before.

Lani. That was the only thing I knew. I had to get back to Lani. Even if I couldn't sort through what they had told me, I could ask them to bring me to shore.

"Do you know where the nearest town is? Human town, I mean."

Ptolema opened her mouth, but quickly shut it. Her body went rigid, except for her head, which clicked from side to side. Kallais released my hands and fluidly shifted her stance.

"Perhaps..."

"Shh," Ptolema said.

Kallais' eyes met Ptolema's, calm yet challenging. "It isn't polite to..."

"Shh!" Ptolema hissed. "We might have trouble. Stay close to me."

Etyma's tawny eyes widened. "What sort of—"

Ptolema silenced her with a wave of her hand. She crept forward, and the other three huddled behind her. I inched closer to them but held back a bit. I might know their names, but they were still strangers—strangers that appeared to have taken me away from the mer-people who promised to get me home.

Something flashed behind me. I whipped around, muscles rigid. Bubbles streaked the empty blue space. Adrenaline trickled into my blood.

A slosh cut through the water, followed by silence. Ptolema's hand gripped a piece of metal poking from her belt.

Scales clasped around my leg, and I plummeted through a funnel of water. Air knocked from my lungs, along with the scream in my throat. My heart thumped over the rush of the sea. I tried to squirm, to break free from my captor, but it squeezed me tighter until my leg was numb. Salt stung my eyes, but I forced them to open, if only into slits. Iridescent colors glittered in the paling light. The creature was dragging back to the depths.

White light glinted in my peripheral. A figure whooshed into the blue haze before me. The surrounding water slowed. My eyes focused on the tangled mass of a slender, rainbow-scaled serpent. Spiky white fins ran down its long body, so long that I couldn't see where it started and ended. My gaze flew downward, and I inhaled a breath. The snake's body encased my leg.

Metal cut through the water in front of me, disappearing into froth. The creature hissed and darted forward. I flew backward, whipping from side to side in the water. My head spun along with my stomach. Acid crept up my esophagus.

"Get her out of there!" a voice screamed.

"I'm trying!" another replied. "The serpent is wrapped around her leg."

My swishing eyesight glimpsed a muscular woman, fist enclosed around a silver sword. Ptolema?

She lunged forward. The snake jolted back, tearing my view of her away.

"She'll die if you don't get her out!"

"I'm working on it! I can't get her out now without chopping off her leg!"

Blood pooled in the nearby water. The serpent writhed, shaking my body. Pain shot through my neck as it jolted back and forth. I clenched my jaw to keep my teeth from smacking together.

"Please don't chop off her leg," a faint voice whimpered.

"I'm not planning on it!"

Fangs snapped at my face. I screamed and ducked to the side. It lunged for my arm, and I flung it aside just in time. Rough scales slid across my skin. I panted, strength waning.

"Duck!"

I shot downward as something skimmed overhead. I raised my head to see two red holes on either side of the creature's face. Terror coursed through me. Its head thrust toward me, jaws wider than my face. My eyes shut, nerves braced for impact.

A hiss reverberated through the water. I opened my eyes to see Ptolema, her sword inside the creature's gullet. The serpent thrashed, its body whacking my skull. My vision darkened. Pain throbbed in my head. I gasped for air, any sort of air, but water flooded my lungs. Panic overwhelmed my entire being.

Air bubble. Need air. Air.

Where is my air bubble?

Red spots speckled my vision. An urge to flail, to fight my way to the surface permeated my mind. But I had no energy. My limbs remained limp at my sides. Through blurry eyes, I saw Ptolema crash her sword onto the sea monster's head. The grip on my legs released. Rainbow scales dissolved into foam, and everything went black.