“How are you feeling?” I summoned the brightest smile in my repertoire, the Aunt Dot Special, the one I flashed when I got home from a long trip and she was waiting on my porch to welcome me with a kiss to my forehead and a hug that smelled of her homemade rose perfume.

“The medics waved their magic wands over me.” She pulled back, and her fingers brushed her cheek dry. “They healed me before I had a chance to scar. It’s amazing what magic can accomplish these days.”

Though she had just climbed the steps, I led her back out again. Warg hearing being what it was, we couldn’t venture far enough for true privacy, but at least I wouldn’t have to see them hanging on my every word and zapping mental commentary back and forth among themselves.

“What happened at the Rebec place—” I began.

“It’s okay. Really.” A wavy strand of her hair had come undone, and she wrapped it around her finger. “You did what you had to do. You saved me. Again.” She tugged on the curl. “I think you managed what Mom failed to do. You knocked some sense into me. I see now that I don’t belong here. On land, I mean. I thought it would be… But it isn’t. Guess I’m more fish than girl.” A tired exhale. “I’ve made it this far. Graeson is paying me out of pocket for this gig, and that’s money I need for the trip.” She glanced up. “I’m going to stick around until Charybdis is captured. After that I’m heading home. For good.”

A pang arrowed through me. If Harlow returned to the sea, our paths would never cross again. Lakes were bad enough. An ocean? No. That was asking too much. I couldn’t face open water. Given Harlow’s experience topside with rage-mongering fae, I could hardly blame her for choosing the sea over land. Even if the water was no less dangerous, it was a familiar threat to her. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

“I’m tougher than I look.” Harlow squared her shoulders. “I can do this.”

“The kelpie is still down there.” Or so the witches claimed. “Can you fend him off alone?”

“I can swim circles around him.” A smile touched her lips. “I’m a mermaid, remember?”

An all-too-human one.

Hinges groaned behind us, and I turned as Graeson stepped onto the porch. The wargs hovered behind him. “We don’t have much time,” he announced. “The Garzas’ latest divination places the kelpie in Butler, Tennessee this time next week.”

A prickle of unease lifted hairs down my arms. I didn’t want Charybdis in the same state as my family.

“I’m ready when you are.” Harlow tugged on the strap of her backpack. “I’ve got everything I need right here.”