Chapter 1

My father would fillet my tail if he caught me this far away from home. Just thinking about how long I had been gone this time sent shivers of fear down my tail fins. I"d been sneaking out for months, searching for the rumored Dark Water the refugees who fled to our home in Aquarius whispered about. With each venture, I swam farther, but so far, I hadn't found a shred of proof that it existed. A sensible part of me urged that I dismiss Dark Water as a tall tale, but I couldn't understand why my father would forbid any mention of it with the threat of banishment from the kingdom. For him to take it that seriously meant there had to be some krill of truth to the nightmarish tales, and I was determined to find out what it was.

I bit my lower lip, trepidation mounting with every passing moment. Hesitating in the water, I cast an uncertain gaze over my surroundings. Moonlit shadows swirled in the current, playing tricks on my mind and conjuring monsters where none existed, or so I hoped. The pink iridescent scales of my tail shimmered in the muted glow, a dead giveaway to my presence in these treacherous waters. A siren, especially a princess, had no business being this far out on her own. Still, curiosity had wrested control from my good sense, and I had blatantly put myself in danger over a rumor. Great—I was starting to sound just like my father. I crammed his words and my fear deep down and forced myself to regain composure as I pressed on.

The tension in my tight muscles intensified when I came upon a coral reef. Its presence signaled my proximity to land—a foreboding place where I should not be. I glided over to it, running my hand across its stunning orange porous surface. In our city, nestled in the frigid depths, coral like this could never thrive. I had only seen it a few times in my youth, long ago, before my eldest sister's death.

Just thinking of her shot a pang of sorrow through my soul. Valeria had been gone a few years now. Her death at the hands of humans had sent my father into a depressive state. Soon after, he passed a decree forbidding all sirens from going anywhere near land. A law I was breaking at the moment, and another reason for him to be angry with me.

When I saw coral reefs in my youth, crabs, colorful fish, and other species coexisted in harmony with the coral. So, where were they? I swam a little further, stopping abruptly when the foul scent of decay assaulted my nostrils. I hesitated before going further, not knowing what lay ahead. With a fleeting burst of courage, I cautiously circled the colossal reef. The hairs at the nape of my neck stood on end at the sight before me.

"No." I gasped as tears threatened to spill from my eyes and mix with the saltiness of the sea.

The vast area had been completely destroyed. The lush vegetation had turned black and floated in a slimy muck through the water. Shredded bits of dolphin fins, skeletal ribs of fish, and a stray crab claw floated before my eyes. The carnage was immense. My body trembled, and my mind screamed for me to swim away, to flee from the horrific scene, but movement in the looming shadows caught my attention, halting my escape. I flipped my tail fins once to glide closer, my eyes snaring on the unspeakable evil.

The swirling black water drifted closer. Slowly. Inexorably. The hum of death in the churning current froze my body in fear. I knew I had found what I had been searching for. Dark Water was not a myth; it was real.

The carnivorous Dark Water slowly churned through the ocean, consuming anything in its path. Common sense took hold and shook me from my stupor. I swam to the other side of the coral, turning back around as an evil hiss echoed through the water. I watched in horror as it floated over the beautiful piece of coral I had just marveled at. In a matter of seconds, Dark Water devoured the reef, and the living organism died instantaneously. I gasped as the darkness slowly consumed the crystal-clear water, tainting it with evil.

Tears burned the back of my throat as I turned around, putting as much distance between myself and the abomination I'd just witnessed. My people had to be warned. They had to know the truth. Dark Water was coming.

As I swam, a numbness overcame my mind, distracting me from my surroundings. A deadly mistake, I realized almost too late. Dark silhouettes shot through the current, forcing me to pause as my pulse drummed in my ears. My gaze swept across the open ocean, but I saw nothing. Doubt crept in, and I wondered if the shock of finding Dark Water had permanently damaged my mind.

I held my position, relying instead on my instincts. Something was out there—I could feel it. Precious seconds elapsed before I saw it again. Whatever it was moved with lightning speed, and I only knew one thing in the ocean that was capable of moving that fast. Sirens.

My breath caught in my lungs as they moved in closer. There had to be over twenty of them edging closer to me. I prayed they were friends and not foes. A large male moved from the shadows, and relief flooded through me. There was only one siren with flowing pale white hair rivaling that of a pearl and muscles that seemed to have no end.

"Orm!" I gulped as he rushed forward and latched onto my biceps.

His flashing green eyes scanned down the length of my body. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," I assured him as I tried to pull from his embrace. His hand slipped to the back of my neck, the pressure increasing with my struggles.

"Do you know what you have done? You have put the entire kingdom in jeopardy. We should be protecting the palace, not out here searching for you." Shame burned in the pit of my stomach as he lashed out at me. "You know it is forbidden to come this close to land. You are the future queen of Aquarius. What if you had been injured or, worse, killed?"

His words stung like a physical slap to my face, reminding me of my daunting, unwanted duties. With Valeria gone, I was next in line for the throne, a looming future I did not want.

I pried away from his intense grip as my anger billowed up like a hydrothermal vent. "And as such, what makes you think you have a right to touch me?"

At my words, his anger waned, and his hands dropped along with it. His eyes brushed across the ocean floor. "Forgive me. I have been worried sick, and I forgot myself."

I nearly scoffed out loud but managed to swallow it back down. He wasn't fooling anyone with his false pretense of caring. He had been engaged to Valeria, and now that she was gone, he believed he still had a shot at the throne through me. The mere thought churned my stomach.

"Forgive me," he said, attempting to reach for me again. I quickly evaded his touch, which brought a scowl to his otherwise perfect, angular face.

"We don't have time for this," I hissed. "Dark Water is real. I found it."

He glanced back, drawing his white brows together as doubt clouded his eyes. "Rhea." His voice held a subtle warning.

"You doubt my words? I saw it. We have to warn everyone."

"I believe you, but getting you back to safety is at the top of my concerns at the moment," he said as he ushered me toward a mass of armed warriors. They all eyed me, curiosity pulling at their facial features, but no one uttered a word.

For once, I agreed with him. We had to get back as quickly as possible to warn my people.

The swim back was unnervingly quiet. Orm kept close to my side, swimming in the center of our armed security. I snuck a glance at him a few times, but he did not seem interested in engaging me in conversation. As captain of the guard, it was his duty to always maintain tight control. A job he took all too seriously.

I bit my bottom lip as my nerves increased, and the silence stretched. The confirmation that Dark Water was not a myth gnawed at me, and I desperately wanted to speak to someone about it. For someone to alleviate my fears and tell me everything would be all right, even if I knew it wasn't.

"Do you think that Poseidon's death caused this?" Chills tingled across my scales as I spoke the words out loud.

Orm slowed his breakneck speed and stared at me. "I don't know."

His honesty was refreshing for once, putting a crack in his know-it-all demeanor, but it did very little to ease the quaking inside my chest. Poseidon's shocking death sent the Seven Seas into turmoil. There was no protection, no advisory for the creatures that dwell below the ocean's surface, and no one to contain the evil Dark Hydra that resided in the deepest part of the ocean. Without the might of Poseidon, the Dark Hydra had been unleashed, and its deadly Dark Water was spreading throughout the seas. A rumor I had just proven to be true.

"What should we do? Surely, my father will listen to me now that I have proof." I studied Orm's profile before looking around to the other males who swam alongside us.

"You shouldn't worry about it, just like you shouldn't have ventured out looking for trouble." He cleared his throat and swam faster to get ahead of me. Half the soldiers followed after Orm, and the other half crowded around me as if they feared I would disappear again if left unchecked. Given the chance, I probably would.

I stopped swimming, and Orm paused with a look of frustration.

"Shouldn't worry about it? How do you not worry about Dark Water? The entire existence of the ocean and all who live in it are in jeopardy!" I desperately looked around, staring into the faces of the other sirens, but they quickly downcast their eyes, refusing to meet my worried gaze.

Orm inhaled like he was trying to school his response. "I'll talk with the king. I don't want you worrying about it." He raised his hand as if he intended to touch my face, but I pulled back so violently that his hand stilled in the water before dropping back to his side.

I floated there in stunned silence, my mouth gaping open like a codfish. He couldn't be serious. How does one not worry about Dark Water? I was too shocked to speak to him again about it. What good would it do anyway? Obviously, neither he nor the soldiers intended to discuss the matter further with me. Anger surged through me like a raging storm. I continued toward Aquarius without another glance in his direction. He wasn't in charge, even though he liked to think he was. The one I needed to speak to was my father, King Manta. He could no longer dismiss Dark Water as mere gossip. It was real, and it was coming.