“Side by side is always okay with me, Galen.” Before she can come up with another smart remark, she stops them both. “Look. That is amazing.”

He follows her line of sight to a row of pointed rocks ahead of them. It reminds him of the entrance to the Cave of Memories. All the rocks spearing up from the ground look like teeth, ready and able to chew anyone brave enough to swim through them.

And if Emma is impressed with this, he can’t wait until she sees all the caves have to offer. Not only this spring-fed cave, but all of them. The ones in the deepest part of the ocean where the only inhabitants are the marine life that create their own lights to attract their prey. Maybe one day, after things have settled a bit, he’ll take her to the Cave of Memories. She would truly love that.

“This is the part in a horror movie where you’re supposed to turn back,” she says as they pass the first row of “teeth.” Her voice is light, but when he stops, she clings to his arm. “What? What’s wrong?”

Gently, he pushes her away from him and drifts a few feet backward. “Do you feel … heavier in this water?”

“No. Why? Do I look heavier?”

He rolls his eyes.

“Well, then what do you mean by heavier?”

He flicks his tail back and forth, watching as the wake stirs up some muck. “It feels different here. It takes more effort to get through the water. You haven’t noticed?”

She shrugs. “A little, I guess. Maybe it’s the freshwater. In saltwater, everything is more buoyant.”

“But you don’t feel a difference?”

“I don’t think I would have noticed if you hadn’t mentioned it.”

He retrieves her hand and laces his fingers back through hers. “I’m that distracting, huh?”

She smiles. “You have no idea.”

He leans in, intending for the smallest of kisses on her lips. Just something to tide him over, really. Just an innocent, controlled kiss, nothing like the raw passion he almost couldn’t contain this afternoon. At least, that’s what he intends.…

And then it hits him. A faint thrum of electricity that comes and goes. Prickly and intrusive one second, then fluid and soft the next. There’s no way that’s lightning.

It can’t be. He’s felt lightning in the water before. It’s almost like a rogue wave that sweeps through, and before you can blink, it’s gone—passing through your body without permission or apology. Yes, it’s tingly. But not like this.

This feels like … But can it really be?

He shakes his head to himself. No. There’s no way that I’m sensing a pulse.

Because Syrena do not have pulses like that. A Syrena pulse is strong, not like the watered-down thrumming he barely feels against his skin now.

Then what could it be?

7

IT’S A rare thing to see panic on Galen’s face. So when alarm takes over his expression and his entire body tightens like a drawn rubber band, I’m pretty much on the verge of freaking out. Especially since we’re in the stomach of a foreign cave with sharp teeth, and every time the thunder rumbles behind us, it sounds like said cave is hungry. And by Galen’s face, he’s also thinking we might be the appetizer. “Galen, I know you’re busy being all heavy and everything, but you have to tell me what’s going on, rightfreakingnow.”

Why is it that when someone clamps their hand on your mouth, it makes you want to scream? “Be very still, angelfish,” he whispers against the back of his own hand as he tightens it over my lips. A scream builds up inside me, rapping on my vocal chords to set it free. Swallowing doesn’t help. “I … I think I sense something.”

“Something?” I say, but through his hand it sounds like “Umfin?” I thought Syrena could only sense each other, not objects or animals or whatever other “things” Galen could be talking about. Already, this hand-over-mouth thing has grown old. Slowly, I peel his fingers from my face to show him I’m not going to do anything rash. No sudden movements, no loud noises, no swimming ahead.

Definitely no swimming ahead.

“What do you mean, ‘something’?” I hiss.

Galen won’t tear his eyes away from the tunnel ahead of us. Just a few more feet and the cave takes a sharp turn to the right. To think we were actually about to go down there, into the bowels of this place. “I sense … something,” he says quietly. “It’s not Syrena, of that I’m certain. I’ve never sensed this before.” He tucks me behind him, and for once, I let him. “Whatever it is, it’s right around that corner. It’s getting closer.”

I press my forehead into his broad back. “Are you trying to freak me out? Because it’s working.”

He chuckles and I relax a little. “I’m not trying to freak you out, I promise. It’s just … interesting. You’re not curious to see what it is?”

That’s when I notice that we’re moving. Ahead. Since when did Galen become curious? He’s usually the one pulling me back. “But you don’t know what it is. What if it’s dangerous? What if it’s like, Jaws’s prehistoric cousin or something?”

“What?”

“Nothing.” I admit to myself that I do sound a bit panicky. My voice slams against the cave walls, and when it returns to me, I can hear the distinct rattle of hysteria in it. I peer over his shoulder. “Do you see it yet?”