back up to the surface.
It’s not her. It’s not her. It’s not her. I repeat the mantra over and over in my head, grinding my teeth over the rubber mouthpiece.
She sinks deeper, and her back bumps my shoulder, driving the soles of my feet against the pile of chucked human wishes. Her eyes are closed, and she’s pale as death, the outline of her lips tinged blue. I’m waiting for her to spring at me. For her to try to choke me or rip off my mask or anything a monster would do.
I press myself against the side of the well as she lands on the mound of coins. One lone bubble escapes from her nostril.
I step forward. She doesn’t move.
What if it really is Cadence?
It can’t be.
The others were with her. They wouldn’t have let her dive in.
Unless the dark magic somehow propelled her inside.
Fuck.
I pass my hand over my neoprene hood, trying to make up my mind.
What if it’s really her?
Fuck fuck fuck.
I can’t just let her die.
Fumbling about with the tubes and gauges, I find the extra regulator hooked onto my jacket and shove it between her lips. She’s still unresponsive.
Panic twists my gut and squeezes my lungs. Come on, Cadence. Don’t die. Please don’t die.
I slide one arm under her knees and the other under her neck, and then, hugging her to me, I pump a little air into my BCD and scissor-kick to the top. As we inch higher, she leans closer, her head lolling against my chest, and lays her hand on the back of my neck.
I close my eyes for a second, relieved she’s still alive. My ears pop, and then static bursts into my ears, and Cadence’s voice hits me loud and clear and strong. “She looked once more at the prince, hurled herself over the bulwarks into the sea, and felt her body dissolve into foam.”
My eyes snap open and Cadence—the one in my arms—removes the regulator from her lips and asks, “Did you like my story?”
Her story? Was I not hearing her through the earphones?
“You’re my hero, you know?”
Her words hit me square in the heart. No one’s ever called me their hero.
“I told you I saw my father in the well, but it was you, Slate. You’re who I saw.”
I blink at her. Never has Cadence looked this beautiful. Like a siren . . .
Wait.
Sirens aren’t good.
“Won’t you kiss me?” Cadence says.
Bubbles don’t stream out from her mouth. Because she isn’t human.
I’m cradling a monster.
I yank my arms down and away, but she doesn’t fall into the dark pit. She just hovers there in front of me, one hand locked on the back of my neck. Her throat’s so thin and breakable. I look for the flutter of a pulse, but her skin doesn’t vibrate.
She isn’t real.
“You let me go,” she murmurs. “Look at me.”
I shut my eyes and reach for the dagger strapped to my thigh.
Something sharp slashes the skin on the nape of my neck through the thick neoprene. I snap my eyes open and bounce away from her before she claws through a vital organ. Cold seeps into my skin, followed by warmth. The water between my mask and her face turns red.
That’s when I’m jerked upward. What the hell?
The rope . . . Adrien, no! I didn’t give the signal. If he pulls me up now, it’s over. I twist around and grip the taut cord, giving it a good yank. Instead of stopping, he reels me in even faster.
Shit.
The siren stares up at me, annoyance marring her borrowed face. She looks so much like real-Cadence again. Real-Cadence who’s now screeching into my earphones, “Slate? Can you hear me? Oh, God, Adrien, get him up. Get him back up . . .” In the background, I hear Rainier’s voice growl something. He’s probably telling Adrien not to listen to his daughter. “We can’t leave him in there, Papa!” Cadence’s cry lends me the strength for what I’m about to do.
I raise the dagger and saw through the rope, back and forth, back and forth. The siren’s eyes light up, and her sternness dissolves into a look of pure bliss. She thinks I’m choosing her.
The rope snaps. The frayed end rises in the water.
Yelling pounds against my eardrums. Yelling and crying. Cadence cares about me, and fuck if I don’t feel like I’m flying rather than sinking.
As my body drifts lower, the noise from above crackles, then buzzes, before vanishing completely.
The water fairy’s ruby lips arch