It was also a bit weird to see so much color. The pale blue of her walls, the bright colors of her bedspread, even the Michael Phelps poster on her wall. It all seemed so vivid after the constant whiteness of Sawyer’s house.

She flopped back in her bed, a twin-size that felt so much better than the empty space of the big bed she’d been sleeping in. Everything about here felt so much better, even though the house was small and worn down and completely lacked the grandeur of the beach house.

But that didn’t matter. This was home.

She looked over at her bedside table, expecting to see the picture of herself, her mom, and Harper that had occupied that space for years. When she saw it was gone, she sat up in a panic, but then remembered that she’d taken it with her when she left. She’d left it at the sirens’ house, hidden in the top drawer with her clothes.

Harper knocked gently on Gemma’s open bedroom door, and Gemma turned to look at her. Once they got back, Alex had gone home. Gemma hadn’t really wanted him to leave, but Harper pointed out that they had spent the last eleven hours together, and their father would be home from work soon. He’d picked up overtime to compensate for his time off the previous week, and wouldn’t get done until after seven.

“How does it feel to be back?” Harper asked.

“It’s pretty strange, actually,” Gemma admitted. “But I’m glad to be here.”

“And I’m glad you’re back.” She smiled a little at that and walked into the room.

“What’s the plan now?” Gemma asked. “Did you have one, beyond finding me?”

“Not really.” Harper leaned back against the wall next to the closet. “I was kind of hoping that you might have some ideas. Alex and I have been doing tons of research on sirens, but we can’t find anything.” She paused. “You are a siren, right?”

“Yeah, I’m a siren,” Gemma said with a heavy sigh. “So are Penn, Thea, and Lexi.”

“So what does that mean exactly?” Harper asked. “You turn into a mermaid, and then there’s that bird-monster thing that Penn changed into. You can sing and enchant people.”

“It’s kind of a lot of things.” Gemma lowered her eyes. She didn’t want to explain it all to Harper, at least not right now. That would mean telling her about the whole curse, and about how she had to kill to survive.

“We’ve got time to talk about it later,” Harper said, apparently noticing Gemma’s hesitance. “If you want to shower and relax a bit before Dad gets home.”

“Thanks.” Gemma smiled wanly at her.

“We do have time, right?” Harper asked. “How long do you think we have before the sirens come after you?”