Coco cast him a slanted look. “I think you went a bit further than that.”

“You’re right, of course, Cosette. I broke a woman’s heart in the process—my one true regret in life.”

Rolling her eyes, Coco said, “Constantin leapt from these cliffs. When Angelica wept her sea of tears, the waters . . . revived him.” She gestured to the mist around us. The very mist from which he’d formed. “Their magic gives him life. Now he serves as a warning.”

We all stared at her. “What does that mean?” Beau finally asked.

“It means Isla poked her nose in like a prying busybody,” Constantin said, surprisingly pleasant given the circumstances. He swept a hand down his arm, his bare chest. He wore nothing save the cloth around his waist, his lower half obscured by mist. Condensation collected on his skin, curled in his hair. “She watched everything between Angelica and me, and when the waters intervened, she swept in and cursed me to guard the women of these waters—and their magic—forever.”

Célie’s gaze darted. “The women of these waters?”

“The melusines.” Constantin’s face contorted with distaste. “Fish women. Fickle women.”

“Temptresses,” Coco added. “The ones who dwell here are also truth tellers. Some are seers. The waters have given them strange abilities.”

My arms began to burn, and I readjusted my grip on Nicholina. “Who is Isla?”

Constantin snorted in response. “The queen of the melusines.”

“Claud’s sister,” Coco said at the same time.

“Is she a goddess, then?” Célie asked.

Constantin bowed slightly, inclining his head. “Some would call her such. Others would not. Either way, she is very old and powerful. If you seek an audience, however, I must warn you: she cannot interfere in the affairs of humans. Not without repercussion.”

Coco touched his arm. “We aren’t here for her, Constantin. Not yet, at least.” She looked to Nicholina, to Lou in my arms, and her entire body seemed to wilt once more. Constantin followed her gaze, his sharp eyes tracking over Lou’s sallow skin, her gaunt cheeks. He hummed a low note of understanding.

“Louise is ill.”

“And possessed,” I added a touch desperately.

His eyebrows shot up. “You believe the waters will heal her.”

“They healed you,” Beau pointed out, “and you were dead.”